NYPL catalog ID (B-number)

Required if Applicable

Primary identifier for a bibliographic record in Sierra, where b-number (or “bnumber”) is short for bibliographic number

Table of Contents

  1. Source
  2. Guidelines
  3. Format
  4. Inheritance
  5. See Also

Source

  • Sierra bibliographic records

Guidelines

  • The NYPL catalog ID (B-number) identifier is automatically populated into records when importing MARC records
  • If adding a NYPL catalog ID (B-number) to a record manually:
    • Include the record type indicator (lower-case b) followed by the unique record number (typically 8 digits) as it appears in the address bar when viewing a record in the Research Catalog or Legacy Catalog
      • If the bnumber is not displaying in the address bar of a record in the Legacy Catalog, click 🔗 Permanent link for this record
    • Do not include the final check digit when retrieving the NYPL catalog ID (B-number) from the bibliographic record in Sierra
    • Do not include any spaces or punctuation
  • The following guidelines generally apply to usage of NYPL catalog IDs (B-numbers) in most cases, but there may be exceptions
    • A NYPL catalog ID (B-number) should generally only be assigned to one record in the Metadata Management System
    • A record should generally only have one NYPL catalog ID (B-number) assigned at that particular level
    • A record may have multiple NYPL catalog IDs (B-numbers) if it is inheriting values from a higher-level collection and/or container
    • If any of the above guidelines do not seem appropriate based on specific record structure or division-specific needs, discuss with the Manager, Metadata Services, before proceeding further

Format

Preferred structure
bunique numeric identifier
Example
b11689179

Inheritance

  • Set NYPL catalog IDs (B-numbers) added to collections and containers to be Inheritable

See Also