Occasionally you will come across a title in the catalog that does not have any copies attached to it. We call that an empty bib record. System has several processes to "clean up" these empty bibs.
Once a month, System runs a routine that deletes all of the copies with a status = 'wd' or withdrawn. Any bib records that end up empty through this process are deleted in a separate process once or twice a month as staff time permits.
For bib records that end up empty from other processes, System tries to clean those up at least every six weeks, but sometimes it stretches out longer. These empty bibs are harder to do because System staff have to examine them one-by-one. In some cases, the empty bib is actually a current title undergoing cataloging and in the case of world language materials, it can take weeks to get items attached. In other cases, one of the System members may input on order record, but doesn't create any copies as they should. So it's not a simple matter of "just delete all the empty bibs".
If you encounter an empty bib record you think should be deleted, report it to Cataloging using the Catalog Correction Form found on OZ. Clean up is an ongoing process and just like doing the dishes, there's always a new batch to "wash" every day.
rev. 1/2020
On The Horizon is an FAQ publication for the staff of the Fresno County Public Library on the use of Horizon and ValleyCat.
