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MARC Holdings for Serials

MARC Holdings are meant to indicate to the public how many issues of a serial you retain and/or which issues you have received. This information does not currently display in the catalog and therefore is not visible to the public. 

SWAN recommends libraries do not use this feature. Any holdings data that is generated automatically or manually entered into a record will need to be removed manually. If this data is not manually removed by the library, any future public visibility of MARC Holdings will provide inaccurate holding information for your library to patrons. There is currently no way for SWAN to locate MARC Holdings information for a library, so cleaning up your MARC Holdings as you go is the only way to maintain reliable data. 

Item records created during Serial Check In will display regardless of whether you choose to maintain MARC Holdings.

If your library would still like to use this optional feature, there are two methods for entering MARC Holdings information into a record shown below.

Option 1: Configure Symphony to update MARC holdings automatically

There are two settings in the Serial Control record that trigger automatic updating of the MARC Holdings record:

  • The first is in the OPAC Display tab.  If you check the "automatically update MARC Holdings" box, an Holdings (863) tag will automatically be inserted into the MARC Holdings record for each issue checked in on this control record.

MARC holdings OPAC display tab

  • The second is in the Distribution tab, in each listed distribution.

MARC holdings distribution tab

If "Update MARC holdings records" is checked, a Holdings (863) tag will automatically be inserted into the MARC Holdings record for each issue checked in under this specific distribution.  A MARC Holdings record does need to exist for this setting to apply.

  • Display of MARC Holdings using Option 1 in WorkFlows:

Display of MARC Holdings WorkFlows

If you choose to use Option 1, 863 tags must be manually be removed when items are discarded; they will not be removed automatically.

Option 2: Manually update MARC holdings with an 866 textual holdings statement


Instead of automatically creating Holdings (863) tags each time you check in an issue, you can enter one holdings statement in an Textual Holdings (866) tag.

  • Make certain both the box in the OPAC Display tab and the box(es) in the Distribution tab are unchecked.
  • After creating your control record, navigate to the MARC Holdings tab.  If a MARC Holdings record does not already exist for your library, you need to create a new one. 

If a MARC Holdings record already exists for your library, click on your MARC Holdings record to open it.  Skip steps 1 through 3.

  1. Click on the Create a Serial Holdings Record tool.

Create a Serial Holdings Record tool

  1. Choose your 3-letter library code from the dropdown and click OK.
  2. Type the Home Location where this serial is shelved in the Location (852) tag.
  3. Type your holdings statement in the Textual Holdings (866) tag, e.g., Library keeps one year.

Modify control: create a MARC holdings record

  1. Click Save, and Close.
  2. Click on the Link To Serial Holdings Record Helper.

Link To Serial Holdings Record

  1. Choose the MARC Holdings record you just created from the list of unlinked holdings records.
  2. Click Link to Holdings Record.  Your MARC Holdings record is now finished and linked to your control.

Link to Holdings Record

  • Display of MARC Holdings using Option 2 in WorkFlows:

MARC_Holdings_007.png