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Microfilms are generally cataloged in a similar manner to books. They are considered "reproductions," which means the details in the 300 field should reflect the original publication information for the book; the reproduction information for the microfilm is given in a 533 note.

As a result, microfilm records should mirror book records except in three important places:

1) In the fixed fields, "Form" should be followed by an "a". This marks the item as a microform reproduction of the original book.

2) In the 245 field, there will be a"$h [microform]" following the $a title field. For example:

A history of music in Knoxville, Tennessee, 1791 to 1910 |h [microform] / |c by Emma Katherine Crews

3) There should be a 533 field detailing the nature of the reproduction. The exact breakdown by this has varied over the years, as it took the cataloging community a little while to come together on best practices. Because of this, you may find 533 fields of varying quality. But these should be constructed as follows:

Microfilm. |b [Place of micro-publishing] : |c [Micropublisher], |d [date of micropublisher]. |e [number of reels] ; [size of film]

Example: Microfilm. |b Ann Arbor, Mich. : |c University Microfilms, |d 1962. |e 1 reel ; 35 mm.

Fix up this field when appropriate. Occasionally you may find the same information in a 500 field without the subfield tags; leave the information there, rather than moving it.

Other fields to keep in mind:

-The 300 field may list "leaves" instead of "pages." This is fine; in cataloging, a "page" has printing on both sides, while "leaves" have printing on only one side.

-While not necessarily microfilm specific, the 502 field will probably pop up quite a bit. It will document that the item in question is either a thesis or dissertation, and name both the degree and the university that granted it.

502 _ _ Thesis (Ph.D)--University of Wisconsin.

CDH, 11/4/13

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