ISO 10324:1997

Overview

ISO 10324:1997 - Information and documentation - Holdings statements - Summary level specifies display requirements and the content structure for summary-level holdings statements for serial and non-serial bibliographic items. The standard defines the data areas and data elements needed to communicate library holdings consistently (for print display or human-readable reports). It applies to holdings for bibliographic items in any physical medium and is independent of cataloguing rule systems. ISO 10324 requires that each holdings statement be linked to an item identifier (the method of identification is outside the standard).

Key topics and technical requirements

• Purpose: Promote consistency in the communication and exchange of holdings information at a summary level for single or multiple libraries/institutions.
• Data areas (defined segments of a holdings statement):
  • Item identification area
  • Location data area
  • Date of report area
  • General holdings area
  • Extent of holdings area
  • Holdings note area
• Important data elements include (but are not limited to):
  • Item identifier (e.g., ISSN, ISBN, record control number)
  • Institution identifier, sublocation identifier, copy identifier
  • Call number (shelving location)
  • Date of report (currency of information)
  • Type of unit, physical form, acquisition status, retention status, completeness
  • Extent, enumeration, chronology, and specific extent notes
• Display rules: Specifies content and sequence of data elements and requirements for inclusion of data areas in display-form reports. It addresses punctuation, separators, composition, different physical media and handling of multiple locations/copies.
• Machine-readable use: The data elements should be included in machine-readable records but ISO 10324 does not define data encoding or storage formats.

Applications and practical value

• Standardizes how libraries and cultural heritage institutions present holdings information in catalogs, union catalogs, summary listings, OPACs, and discovery services.
• Improves interoperability for interlibrary exchange, collection analysis, serials management, and consortium cataloging.
• Useful for creating clear human-readable holdings displays and ensuring consistent fields are available for downstream machine processing (even though encoding is out of scope).

Who should use this standard

• Librarians and cataloguers preparing holdings statements
• Library system vendors and metadata specialists designing displays and holdings modules
• Consortia and union catalog administrators
• Digital repositories and collection managers reporting holdings across sites

Related standards

• ISO 832 (abbreviation rules for bibliographic terms)
• ISO 8601 (representation of dates and times)
• Annexes in ISO 10324 include taxonomy, display formats, examples and application guidelines to aid implementation.

Keywords: ISO 10324, holdings statements, summary level, library holdings, bibliographic items, data elements, location identifier, extent, enumeration, chronology.