Set Vs. Individual Records for Multipart Print Material (Other Than Periodicals)

This policy only applies to print works that are issued in multiple volumes.

Use a monographic set record for complete works in multiple volumes that are published in the same year with the same title.

Examples: Encyclopedias and multivolume biographies where all volumes have the same title.

For a multivolume set issued in a container such as a slipcase, even when the volumes are published in the same year with the same title.

If you will be circulating the volumes in the container as one piece, attach to the record for the set.
If you will be circulating the volumes separately, attach to the record for the individual volume.
Example: The Lyrics: 1956 To the Present which was issued as two volumes in a slipcase

Use an individual record for separate works published in a series.

Example: The Great Books of the Western World series—each volume has a separate title.

For multivolume works on the same subject by the same author, published in different years with different titles or subtitles.

Use individual records for each circulating volume.
Sets that do not circulate may be attached to a monographic set record.
Example: the biography of Winston Churchill by William Manchester. Volume 1 was published in 1983, Volume 2 in 1988, and Volume 3 in 2012. Each volume has a different title.

Keep in mind that dividing a set and circulating individual items may require the creation of a new bibliographic record.

Retrospective cataloging of existing items is highly recommended but not required.

Rev. 07-2024