30.19.1.  "Mega" CD-ROMs

Another manifestation of the electronic serial is the "mega" CD-ROM title, a CD-ROM product incorporating many journals under a collective title.  The titles can be "picked up" and "dropped" by the CD-ROM title at will, so that holdings information for the individual titles is difficult to document.  Sometimes these journals are "embargoed," i.e., the latest issues that have already appeared in print will not be published on the "mega" CD-ROM until a month or three months later so that users will still purchase the print version for up-to-date access to the information.  Bibliographic information for the individual journals, such as publisher and beginning date of publication, may not be provided in a manner easy to document for cataloging purposes.

These full-text journals within a "mega" CD-ROM may or may not have exactly the same content as the print versions.  Illustrations, advertisements, letters to the editor, or other editorial information may not be included in the CD-ROM product.  CD-ROMs may, on the other hand, include searchable indexes to and abstracts of the journal articles.  They may also include reference books, such as glossaries, directories of organizations, or product catalogs (just as many print journals do).   Access points or analytic cataloging may be needed for such additional material.

CONSER catalogers provide only the description for the basic "mega" CD-ROM title on the national record.  Access to its individual titles may be provided according to each library’s needs:   added entries on the local record for the "mega" CD-ROM; minimal level analytic records, perhaps using 773 for host item entry; holdings information provided on the related record for the print publication; etc.

See also:

Module 30.  Direct Access Electronic Serials