Merging different editions under one SCIS Record & local practice in School Libraries

After a recent discussion with a colleague, I was curious whether it would be acceptable to merge different editions of a title into a single SCIS record and whether any schools engage in this practice. 

I posted a request for advice on the OZTL-Net form, along with a Yammer Group for NSW Public School library staff to obtain different perspectives.

A big thank you to the dozen or so who responded to my request in either group and enjoyed reading through each insight. I felt the need to share a summary of those responses with the broader professional community

The majority of responses favoured merging records, though the approaches and circumstances varied by school and its particular needs. Based on my responses, the reasons given were:

• Some want to know how many copies of a particular title are available, not the smaller details, e.g., the edition number or ISBN.
• Simplifies the search process
• Feedback from library users, e.g. if there are two copies of the same title, why do they appear twice in a search result? This included one response of placing the students first.
• Ability to merge catalogue records from SCIS

Some who did posed their own rules, e.g., it would apply to specific sets or collections, such as class sets, or would only create separate copies if the edition was distinct, e.g., an illustrated edition. One would create separate entries if the covers were different, i.e. if the same cover had different ISBN numbers, they were still merged together.

I was given one tip, and I would recommend it: If merging different editions, make sure that there is a documented process for doing it.

There were a few responses suggesting they prefer not to, and, if so, it was because they preferred separate records; in that case, it would come down to having correct data and bibliographic records.

I will take the ideas on board and work towards a practice that best suits my school and our needs.