Is This Rule Necessary? A Discussion of New Rules for Rare Serials

Rare serials have always been the stepchild of cataloging rules, in both the serials cataloging world and the rare book cataloging world. This article focuses on the problems raised by this history, including definition of “rare” in the serials world, a description of their special characteristics and of the problems rare serials pose for catalogers. Issues addressed include the inadequacy of present day rules for accurate cataloging and recommended solutions for these problems that have been developed and tested by the authors