Cataloging - Discarding vs Deleting Records
About
This article and video tutorial (below) cover the difference between discarding and deleting, when to discard, when to delete, and how to do either process.
Discarding vs Deleting: What's the Difference?
Discarding an item will ensure that your library's OCLC holdings are updated, which means you won't receive ILL requests for items you no longer have. MSC system administrators run a monthly discard report (on the 1st of the month) removing these items from the system, then they send the list of successfully discarded items to OCLC for updating. Finally, they email the msc-discuss listserv with a count of discarded items by library, as well as a list of items that didn't discard, aka problem discards.
For information on problem discard items, see Cataloging - Problem Discards.
Deleting an item doesn't update your library's OCLC holdings; however, there are instances when you may want to delete instead of discard.
Discard When...
1. The item you're removing is your library's last copy on that bibliographic record, which means you need the change to be reflected in OCLC.
2. Your replacement for the last copy doesn't match the bib record the original item was attached to, e.g. the replacement audiobook has a different narrator, is expanded or abridged, etc. You should attach the replacement to the correct bib record and discard the old copy to update your OCLC holdings.
3. You're not sure if you should discard or delete.
Delete When...
1. You want to remove an extra copy of an item from your library's holdings on a bib record. For example, if you have two or more copies of an item and, after removing a copy / copies, you'll still have at least one, you can use delete. This is because your library's OCLC information isn't changing (you still have an item available for ILL), so it doesn't need to be updated.
2. Your replacement for the last copy still matches the bib record the original item was attached to, e.g. the replacement audiobook has the same narrator, is the same length, etc. Once you've received your replacement and added it as a copy to the bib record, you can delete the old copy.
3. You want to remove a brief / local record that was never submitted to OCLC, e.g. ILL dummy records, mobile hot spots, seed library items, tools, cake pans, etc.
Before deleting a mobile hot spot item record from the system, please notify the State Library if the device was lost or damaged by opening a ticket (Department: Statewide Projects). The State Library will ask the provider to turn off the service to that device and will issue a new device to the library.
Discarding
You can discard items in the Call Number and Item Maintenance wizard or in the Global Item Modification wizard. If you only have one or two items you need to discard, Call Number and Item Maintenance works well. If you have a cart full of items to discard, Global Item Modification works best.
Discarding a Small Number of Items
1. Check to see if the item:
- Has holds
- Is checked out to a patron or system user
- Was marked lost
2. if the item meets any of these criteria, refer to Cataloging - Problem Discards to resolve the issue.
3. Open the Call Number and Item Maintenance wizard (Cataloging module > Common Tasks toolbar > Call Number...).
4. Look up the item you want to discard.
- If you have the item in hand:
- Select Item ID from the Index drop-down.
- Scan the item barcode.
- If you don't have the item in hand:
- You can look it up in Enterprise and copy the item ID from there.
- You can do a search in WorkFlows.
5. Click the Call Number/Item tab.
6. Click the item ID you want to discard so that it's highlighted.
7. Change the Home location to DISCARD. A red S will appear, signifying that the item will be shadowed. This means patrons won't be able to see the item in Enterprise and staff won't be able to see it during a browse search in WorkFlows.
8. Click Save.
The item will remain in the system until the first of the month when the monthly discard report is run. Once the report runs, the discarded item will disappear from the system and cannot be retrieved.
Discarding a Large Number of Items
If you don't have time to perform steps 1-2 for each item at the beginning of this process (not unusual when discarding items in bulk), simply be prepared to do them later if any items show up on the monthly problem discards report.
1. Check to see if the item:
- Has holds
- Is checked out to a patron or system user
- Was marked lost
2. if the item meets any of these criteria, refer to Cataloging - Problem Discards to resolve the issue.
3. Open the Global Item Modification wizard (Cataloging module > Item Maintenance toolbar > Global Item...).
4. Select DISCARD from the Home location drop-down. This is the only drop-down you need to change.
5. Scan your items. They'll display in a list in the middle of the screen.
If you click on one of the discarded items in the list, you'll see the Home location has automatically been modified to DISCARD.
Deleting
You can delete items in the Call Number and Item Maintenance wizard or in the Delete Title, Call Numbers or Items wizard. The Call Number and Item Maintenance allows you to delete call numbers and items, while the Delete Title, Call Numbers or Items wizard allows you to delete title/bib records as well.
Deleting Using Call Number and Item Maintenance
1. Check to see if the item:
- Has holds
- Is checked out to a patron or system user
- Was marked lost
2. if the item meets any of these criteria, refer to Cataloging - Problem Discards to resolve the issue.
If your library's OCLC holdings will be incorrect once you delete, e.g. you delete your library's last copy of something but it will still show as available for ILL in OCLC, then you need to discard the item instead.
3. Open the Call Number and Item Maintenance wizard (Cataloging module > Common Tasks toolbar > Call Number...).
4. Look up the item / call number you want to delete.
- If you have the item in hand:
- Select Item ID from the Index drop-down.
- Scan the item barcode.
- If you don't have the item in hand:
- You can look it up in Enterprise and copy the item ID from there.
- You can do a search in WorkFlows.
5. Click the Call Number/Item tab.
6. Click the item ID or call number you want to delete so that it's highlighted.
7. Click Delete(x). You'll see in the screenshot below that the second copy is gone, leaving only the first copy.
The item will immediately be removed from the system and cannot be retrieved.
Deleting Using Delete Title, Call Numbers or Items
1. Check to see if the item:
- Has holds
- Is checked out to a patron or system user
- Was marked lost
2. if the item meets any of these criteria, refer to Cataloging - Problem Discards to resolve the issue.
If your library's OCLC holdings will be incorrect once you delete, e.g. you delete your library's last copy of something but it will still show as available for ILL in OCLC, then you need to discard the item instead.
3. Double-check your wizard properties so you're less likely to delete another library's items:
- Close the wizard if it's open already.
- Right-click on the wizard and select Properties...
c. On the Behavior tab, check all the boxes in the Select Behavior section.
d. On the Defaults tab, choose EXACT for Type, Item ID for Index and your individual library from the library drop-down.
e. Click OK.
f. When you close WorkFlows, select Yes when prompted to save changes.
4. Open the Delete Title, Call Numbers or Items wizard (Cataloging module > Title Maintenance toolbar > Delete Title...).
5. Scan the item barcode.
6. Check the box(es) next to the item(s) / call number(s) you want to delete. This will bold and italicize them.
7. Click Delete at the bottom of the screen.
The item will immediately be removed from the system and cannot be retrieved.
Video Tutorial
Discarding vs Deleting Records
Related Articles
Standard Cataloging Procedures - Transferring, Discarding & Deleting Records
Standard Cataloging Procedures The Standard Cataloging Procedures (SCP) articles and video tutorials (below) are meant to be a guide for cataloging practices in the Montana Shared Catalog library consortium. For more explanation of the topics covered ...Standard Cataloging Procedures - Creating Temporary & Permanent Local Records
Standard Cataloging Procedures The Standard Cataloging Procedures (SCP) articles and video tutorials (below) are meant to be a guide for cataloging practices in the Montana Shared Catalog library consortium. For more explanation of the topics covered ...BCA - Collection Maintenance Reports
About This article covers a variety of BCA reports that can be used to maintain your library's collection, as well as best practice recommendations. All these report templates can be accessed by logging into BCA and navigating to Shared Reports > ...Standard Cataloging Procedures - Copy Cataloging
Standard Cataloging Procedures The Standard Cataloging Procedures (SCP) articles and video tutorials (below) are meant to be a guide for cataloging practices in the Montana Shared Catalog library consortium. For more explanation of the topics covered ...Standard Cataloging Procedures - Managing Call Numbers & Item Records
Standard Cataloging Procedures The Standard Cataloging Procedures (SCP) articles and video tutorials (below) are meant to be a guide for cataloging practices in the Montana Shared Catalog library consortium. For more explanation of the topics covered ...