Materials Stored at PASCAL

General Guidelines

  1. Materials in any physical form normally considered appropriate for library collections may be stored at PASCAL, if the conditions of this policy are met. Owning libraries agree to be guided by decisions of the PASCAL Board.
  2. The depositing library will retain ownership of materials it stores at PASCAL.
  3. Materials in an advanced state of deterioration, infested with mold, insects, or other vermin, and potentially flammable or destructive items will not be accepted.
  4. Archival materials and artifacts that meet other criteria in this policy will be accepted for storage.
  5. In the case of duplicate items targeted for discard by depositing member, PASCAL staff will determine which copies are in the "best" physical condition for storage.
  6. If a library attempts to store materials that duplicate items already stored and the duplicate items are then discarded, the depositing library may continue to count those items in its holdings statistics. In some cases, it may be possible to address recall requests by supplying electronic versions of the materials.
  7. Depositing libraries may recall their own stored materials permanently. Permanent recall of materials should be kept to a minimum.
  8. There is a $5.00 charge for each item permanently recalled.
  9. Requests to permanently recall combined serials or materials deposited by another library must be submitted in writing, along with justification, to the PASCAL Oversight Committee for decision.

Non-Duplication of Serials

Only one copy of a serial title should be stored at PASCAL. Serial holdings from depositing libraries may be combined to form one complete run of a print serial title. The depositing library will retain ownership of material it stores at PASCAL.

If a library attempts to store materials that duplicate items already stored in PASCAL and the duplicate items are then discarded, the depositing library may continue to count those items in its holdings statistics. Requests to permanently recall combined serials or materials deposited by another library must be submitted in writing along with justification to the PASCAL Governing Board.

Before sending materials to PASCAL, participating libraries will determine if the exact materials are already in PASCAL. Whether a title duplicates what is already in PASCAL should be determined by a match on both OCLC number and title, as well as a match on specific holdings information from records in Prospector. Although storing the best copy is ideal, it is not practical for PASCAL staff to retrieve volumes and examine physical condition nor is it feasible for staff in the various libraries to compare their in-house items to what is already stored in PASCAL.

Each library should, to the extent possible, note damage or incomplete condition in the item level or in holdings statements so that other libraries can readily see physical condition and act accordingly. Prior to sending undesirable volumes, a library should search to see if another participant has undamaged volumes or a library may choose to send duplicate volumes if it has intact holdings while damaged volumes are already located at PASCAL. A library may elect to discard its damaged holdings and rely on the better holdings whether located at PASCAL or in another participant library.

Monographic Duplication

Sending of duplicate copies of a given monographic title from the same institution is discouraged except in exceptional circumstances.

Non-Paper Media—AV/media, video, film, VHS, etc.

Microfilm, videos and film are sent like any other material. Microfilm and videocassettes are stored in trays. 16mm films are stored on shelves. Microfiche can be sent either individually or in runs. Each run should be attached to an item record. The fiche should be requested individually from a tray. If a library decides to send runs of microfiche, PASCAL will provide trays. Microforms can duplicate paper copies. If microforms are processed individually then they are counted individually in PASCAL inventory. If they are sent in runs, then each run is counted as one volume.

Rare Materials, Special Handling

Rare materials should be designated as non-circulating. Patrons will be directed by information in the item record or by owning library staff that these items may only be used by appointment at the home library. Rare material should be requested by owning library staff via e-mail or telephone to PASCAL staff.

Archives

  1. At a minimum, archival collections should contain box-level inventories in order to establish basic intellectual control and facilitate ready retrieval of materials.
  2. Archival materials should not be permitted to be viewed on-site at the PASCAL facility due to issues concerning copyright, access restrictions, theft, ownership, and other matters of potential legal importance.
  3. Request for archival materials should be made through the archival institution that maintains the research materials. Upon specific request, authorized archival personnel will recall boxes from the PASCAL facility for researcher use.
  4. Research materials will be returned to the PASCAL facility following their use.
  5. All such transactions may be documented at the discretion of the owning library through call and transmittal slips in the event of loss or theft.

Cataloging

  1. All materials to be sent to PASCAL must be represented by a machine-readable bibliographic record appearing both in the local library's OPAC and in Prospector. Cataloging will be the responsibility of the owning library and must be completed before materials are shipped to the storage facility. It is critical that materials be cataloged as fully and accurately as practical, since the cataloging record will be the only mechanism for identifying and retrieving the desired materials. Records may be suppressed in Prospector at the discretion of the owning library.
  2. Full-level cataloging for each item is the ideal model. Full-level cataloging assumes that a bibliographic record has been created/used in OCLC or created locally. Information in the record includes author, title, other title information, imprint, physical description, series (if appropriate), any appropriate notes, and subject and other tracings as appropriate.
  3. If the library cannot provide full-level cataloging, the minimum acceptable will be K-level cataloging. K-level cataloging includes author, title, other title information, imprint, physical description, and series (if applicable). It usually does not contain notes or tracings, although some subject access to these materials would be very desirable (at least one or more subject headings assigned).
  4. Collection level records or other minimal level records for special or archival collections are acceptable.
  5. Local policy will determine the assignment and form of classification numbers. The call number assigned by the owning library will continue to display in the record. Call numbers have no relevance within PASCAL, but they could still be used to locate all materials on a given subject whether housed locally or off site.
  6. All physical volumes or units attached to the bibliographic record must be represented by an item record. The item record will include the owning library's barcode. A second inventory barcode will be applied to existing item records by PASCAL staff.