Why embed data in the bibliographic record?
Library staff are used to searching for data in OCLC and importing CONSER records. Thus, housing the current publication pattern in the CONSER record for import into a system makes the most sense. In order to facilitate the experiment, OCLC is defining a new field 891 that will be used in bibliographic records to carry holdings data. Fields 853 and 863 will be embedded within the 891 field. By adding indicators and subfields, a CONSER library can include all the coding necessary to enable the data to be imported, with only slight changes, into a MARC holdings record or MARC-based serial check in record as a regular coded field.
