• Login at https://nnels.ca using your account information
• Once you login, you should see a link called Shortcuts at the top of the page
• Click on Summary/Subjects Editor in the drop-down menu. This will take you to a list of all our repository items (book records).
• Select a Record Set to work on. Refer to the Completed Records Set page.
• Click on the edit link (in the far right column) for a particular book in order to edit it.

These fields are all mandatory. This is the order I do things in.

Select a Record Set to work on. Refer to the Completed Records Set page.

• Leave articles (the, a, an) at the front of the title. Ex: The two towers; not Two towers, the
• Only capitalize the first word of the title and proper names.
• Use a colon to separate any subtitle from the title (space, colon, space). Ex: The hobbit : there and back again

This information should already be in the record, but it needs to be looked at quickly to make sure it is actually there, and is in the right format. If the information needs to be added or if it looks wrong, some sources to find the right information are: OCLC Classify (first place to look, as it should have the name authority) Google, Goodreads, Worldcat, publisher's website.

This is the author, authors, or entity that created the item.

• Each author should have his or her own field, not all in the same box.
• The format is Last name, First name. Ex: Tolkien, J.R.R.
• If the author uses a single name, use that. Ex: Madonna
• If the author is a pseudonym use that. Ex: Galbraith, Robert
• If the item is a collection of short stories, it is sufficient to put in the editor's name. Again, one line per editor.
• Some items are created by non-human entities, like corporations. This may come up with academic printing presses or conference proceedings. Use the corporate name. Ex. University of Alberta Press
• WorldCat is a website you can use for various thinks, including authorship - so this might clear up any confusion if there is any.

This is a contributor who is not the author. If there is one, it will be included with the record. This can be a translator.

• The same rules that applied to Creator apply here.

These are subject headings that will be applied to the item. Currently we use FAST subject headings and copy catalogue them from MarcEdit via the Z39.50 module or from WorldCat.

This is an important field that can be difficult at times. There will usually be multiple entries. We want at least one.

We use FAST Subject Headings (and remove the rest). They are essentially simplified Library of Congress (LoC) Subject Headings. Over time working with them, they will become easier to recognize and get a feel for. Most of the time, FAST Subject Headings will just be copied directly from a source - the following discussion about LoC Subject Headings may come in handy for spotting FAST vs. LoC Subject Headings, and also for times when you may need to convert LoC to FAST.

FAST Subject Headings are usually comprised of a single term, whereas LoC Subject Headings tend towards multiple terms.

An LoC term may look like this:
Refugees--Cambodia

FAST would handle it this way:
Refugees
Cambodia

Essentially splitting the Subject Heading into 2 terms.

There are also instances where FAST can have multiple terms as well.

LoC term:
Women--Social conditions

FAST term:
Women--Social conditions

This is generally rare as most FAST headings are just a single term (as in the Cambodia example above, so you can't just do this all the time), but you will see certain terms again and again (for example, Murder--Investigation is common for mystery novels).

You can check searchFAST to verify how certain terms are handled. Over time you will learn to spot which Subject Headings are likely to use 2 terms, but searchFAST is always a good resource for this.

Also be aware that some FAST syntaxes are different than LoC. For example, place names.

LoC: Georgia (Atla.)
FAST: Atlanta--Georgia

LoC is City first with State/Province/Country in parentheses. FAST is State/Province/Country--City. So, take care when manually converting LoC subject terms to FAST. There are also other differences, for example when dealing with people's names and their birth and death dates, and when dealing with named events (for example the Vietnam War). Again, use searchFAST to get the general syntax, and then you will know going forward.

The majority of FAST terms can simply be derived from LoC terms by just taking the first part of the LoC subject term. This is most apparent when it comes to fiction.
LoC adds the term --Fiction at the end of subject terms for works of fiction. For example:
Missing persons--Fiction
The FAST term would just be:
Missing persons

Where to find FAST subject terms

OCLC Classify was the best place to get these terms, however it has shut down. These are generally the easiest alternatives, however if I can find something that works better I will incorporate it.

1. Z39.50. The best way to search for records in Z39.50 is by using the ISBN. This will generally return multiple records for the same item. Check each record until you find one with FAST subject headings. If the records for a particular ISBN don't have FAST subject headings, try different ISBNs (ie: Paperback vs. Hard cover vs. Large print vs. Audiobook vs. etc.). Failing that, search via title and author. Searching via title often yields pages of irrelevant records. If you must use a title search, use the AND operator and second search box to search for author Name.

2. WorldCat.org - This is probably the better bet, and faster. This OCLC website allows you to search by title and/or author. It will return separate entries for each form of the item (ie: print, audiobook, ebook, etc.). Generally the print entries are the best to use.

After searching, click on the result and in the result page click on "Show more information" to get a variety of information, including subject headings (listed as "Subjects") - the first few subject headings will show on-screen. Click "Show more" to see all of them.

Subject headings will be a mix of LoC, FAST, French, BISAC, and more. FAST will become recognizable with experience. Here is an annotated screenshot of the subject headings for Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn):

FAST subject headings are marked with a Green Star. Notice that LoC terms are similar - in this case they just have the term Fiction at the end.

The terms that WorldCat provides do not have subfields or double dashes (--), however when there is a capitalized word (ie: "Fiction" in the LoC examples) that usually indicates a break in the Subject Heading.

Note: Wives Crimes against. This is a FAST term and by noticing the capitalization of Crimes, we can tell that the form should be "Wives--Crimes" against. That will need to be changed when copied into the Subject field in Drupal. Moving forward, "&&–&&Crimes against" is now recognizable as a secondary FAST term that you can spot in the future.

You may also see terms that identify the genre of the item. This is what the Genre field is for, and so can be omitted in the Subject field. In the past, before LoC created a genre taxonomy, genre terms were put in the Subject field, but that is an outdated method. BISAC terms are also genre identifying so can be left out. However, these terms are a good guide as to what the genre is, and so can be helpful in creating the Genre Terms.

For example you may omit this term from the Subject field:

Detective and mystery fiction

There are also deprecated LoC terms to keep an eye out for - some of the old Genre terms for fiction ended in "stories" but the new ones end in "fiction" - for example:

Detective and mystery stories
Romance stories
Love stories

These can be omitted as well.

Replace outdated subject headings with more up-to-date terminology pulled from one of the following sources:

• GVPL's Indigenous Subject Headings
• X̱wi7x̱wa Library Subject Headings
• Manitoba Archival Information Network (MAIN) Subject Headings

Refer to the Greater Victoria Public Library's (GVPL) list first.

Use the following guidelines when working with Indigenous subject headings:

• Use "Indigenous" for original peoples in all areas.
• In Canada, Indigenous refers to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit collectively. Use First Nations, Métis, or Inuit for materials about those groups specifically and individually.
• First Nations and Métis do not require a geographic qualifier for Canada, as those terms are only in use for people within Canada, but may have a geographic qualifier for provinces or cities.
• Inuit requires a geographic qualifier for Canada, as the term can also apply to peoples in Greenland and Alaska.
• "Indigenous peoples" should be followed by a geographic qualifier
• If materials identify people specifically as "Métis" or "Michif," use the subject heading "Métis." Otherwise, use "Indigenous peoples – Mixed descent."
• Use the LCSH "Indian(s)" headings as pattern examples and examples of geographic subdivision
• Whenever possible, add a geographic subdivision, broad (North America) or narrow (British Columbia – Victoria). Add even if not in original heading (if one can be determined).

The following are generalized workflow guidelines:

• Remove the most culturally inappropriate headings from the catalogue; term "Indians" is a common one encountered in LCSH; "Indigenous" is the more current and appropriate term
• Remove "Indian" from the names of Indigenous groups (example: use Dene Tha' not Dene Tha' Indians)
• If a name of an Indigenous group is not on any of the 3 lists above, the general guideline would be to search for the preferred form of the name as identified by the groups themselves or Indigenous reference sources (example would be to use Haudenosaunee, not Iroquois)
• This also means if the preferred form of the name as identified by the group includes the term "Indian," we can keep it in place. This may be more common with US Indigenous groups, as "American Indian" is typically viewed as acceptable by many Indigenous nations.
• In some cases, in order to use more appropriate terminology, you may have to replace a subdivision with a first level heading (example might be the use of "Residential schools" as a subdivision)
• Follow established rules in LC for geographic subdivisions ; example would be Indigenous peoples – Civil Rights – Canada or Indigenous peoples – Canada – Claims
• Be mindful when cataloguing items which use "folklore," "mythology," or "legends" ; the content found within these items may have spiritual and religious roots and should get a "Religion" subject heading instead.

Select the age group that the item is for - it is a drop-down menu.

• Only use Juvenile, Adolescent, or Adult.
• Juvenile - for children's material (about 12 and under).
• Adolescent - for young adult material (teenagers).
• Adult - for adult material.
• Sometimes it isn't entirely clear which one to use - there is crossover, especially in Juvenile and Adolescent.
• The Abstract should give you an idea of who the audience is.
• If you know authors, then they should give you an idea as well (especially children and teen authors).
• At the bottom of the OCLC page for the item, there are links to WorldCat pages for them - these will often have useful information about audience.
• Other sources are: Google and Goodreads. If you are desperate try the publisher's site.

This is the item summary.

• If the abstract is empty or isn't right, find a summary and copy and paste it in. Amazon, WorldCat, Goodreads, and the publisher's site are good places to find them.
• Delete characters that aren't displaying properly - sometimes there will be squares or other special characters that aren't correct.
• Fix any spacing errors or missing punctuation or "&tbsp"s that appear.
• Replace any words or phrases in all caps with sentence case. Screen readers may read each letter rather than the entire word if in all caps.
• After pasting in the summary, or if there is one already present, highlight the whole thing and click the Remove Format button (the icon is a white eraser between the quotation marks and the Omega symbol). This gets rid of any formatting like italics, bold, etc.

This is generally fine. Items that aren't in English may have to have their language properly selected. When working with a non-English record set, if the first handful of items have the language correctly set, you can assume that the rest are ok.

Both of these fields needs to be set.

Only one category can be picked.

• Only use Non-fiction, Fiction, Drama, Short story, Poetry.
• Don't use the other formats.
• Non-fiction and Fiction should be obvious.
• Drama is for plays.
• Short story is for a single short story or a collection of short stories.
• Poetry is for poetry collections.

This field only needs one entry, but can have as many as necessary separated by a comma.

• Here is a list of Genre terms with descriptions: NNELS Genre Terms
• It is important to only use those terms. The field will auto-populate in Drupal - so you can start typing and then select the correct term from the dropdown menu.
• There are terms specifically for Non-fiction, and terms specifically for Fiction.
• Most times a single genre is fine, sometimes multiple genres are better. Ex: Science fiction, Apocalyptic fiction might be better than just Science fiction. The same applies to nonfiction. Ex: I would use History and geography, Medicine, health and fitness for a history of medicine and medical procedures (in fact I did!). Just use the least necessary to accurately describe the item.
• There are genre terms that should be added to describe the form or type of the item in addition to what it's about. Ex: Fantasy fiction, Comics (Graphic works) would be a fantasy graphic novel; Music, Nonfiction comics, Biographies and autobiographies would be a biography about a musician or musical group told in a graphic, comic book style format.
• There are genre terms that signify special content that should be added as needed. These are Canadian fiction, Canadian nonfiction, Canadian drama, Canadian poetry, French language materials, Indigenous materials, Juvenile fiction, Juvenile nonfiction, Young adult fiction, Young adult nonfiction.
• Canadian genre terms are for books by Canadian authors or about Canadian subjects. Same idea with Indigenous materials.

• Literary arts is used for books about books, criticism, libraries, etc. It is also for books about authors. Ex: Literary arts, Biographies and autobiographies would be a biography about an author.
• Biographies and autobiographies covers memoirs as well as biographies.
• Juvenile fiction can be tough because it's usually a big combination of Humorous fiction, Magical realist fiction, Science fiction, Fantasy fiction, Detective and mystery fiction, etc. So instead of trying to pin it down, just use Juvenile fiction. This also prevents juvenile results from showing up when patrons looks for adult genre books like mystery or science fiction. Genres that should be added to Juvenile fiction should be things like Comics (Graphic works), Picture books, Choose-your-own stories, and Canadian fiction and Indigenous materials.
• Young adult items should be treated like adult books, in that they should get full genre treatment. This is because young adult material tends to be more focused in its content, and also adults read them.
• Picture books are specifically for children's picture books (sometimes these may be non-fiction).
• If unsure, picture books can be identified in the WorldCat description - they are often around 30 pages long, the pages are unnumbered, are illustrated, and often over-sized. Ex from WorldCat Description field: 36 unnumbered pages : colour illustrations ; 24 cm.
• If you can't figure out a novel's genre, or it doesn't fit any of the categories, use General fiction.