Section II - Preliminary Headings in the NAF

Preliminary Headings in the NAF (Additions and Changes to Authority Records)

Preliminary Authority Records in the NAF:

The NAF contains headings designated "preliminary" which may be identified by Level of Establishment fixed field 008/33 d; occasionally the 670 field will begin with a control number.

The code indicates that the item (book, serial, etc. ) was not available when the heading was established. Rather, the heading was established on the basis of a bibliographic record (manual or online) for the item. Although most NACO participants do not create preliminary headings, they are permitted to upgrade them to fully-established headings. LC catalogers must upgrade such headings when they are used in access points on national level bibliographic records, but NACO libraries are not obligated to upgrade such headings unless they are making a change for another reason, no matter how insignificant, to the authority record.

Procedure:

1. For personal names, do not change the heading in order to add qualifiers or dates, or because of a difference in fullness of forename. (Cf. LCRI 22.17 and 22.18, exception #3.)

2. If there is no change to the heading, upgrade the record to fully established by changing the Level of Establishment fixed field value from d to a and adding a 670 field for the work being cataloged.

3. If there is a change to the heading, change it and make other changes as noted in II above. Check for LC records in RLIN or OCLC that may need maintenance done.