6.0. Definition and scope
6.0.1. Definition
A series is a group of separate items related to one another by collective features (marks). The items may be intended for use in the sequence they are produced or not, and may be numbered or unnumbered, in production , broadcasting or other forms of publication. Such a group of item s may be a finite series (complete) or an open-ended series (ongoing and therefore incomplete).
The series statement is used to identify and index items belonging to the same series . It may also be applied to serials incorporating broadcast programs and timeslots (the content of timeslots being related because it is broadcast in the regular timeslot) (see also 1.B.7.2 and 1.B.9.3.1-1.B.9.3.2).
This area is used when all parts of the item are published or broadcast (or are intended to be published or broadcast) in the same series or subseries. In other cases, e.g. where a publisher's series varies from the commonly used series title, the series or subseries statement(s) may be given in a note (see 7.B.19).
When an item belongs to more than one series and/or subseries, the area is repeated. The order of the statements is determined by the order of preference of the sources for the area; in the case of these being of equal value, the order follows the sequence of information found in the chosen source.
Archival series is a different type of series from that defined above. For full guidance on this type of series see the ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description, and Rules for Archival Description.
Note, however, that where material in a named or identified collection is catalogued at the level of the individual item , it is the practice for some audiovisual archives and libraries to record the collection title (and series in collection, if applicable) in this area of the cataloguing record (see 6.J).
