SWIFT

1. Determine whether or not the item is brittle

   An item is judged to be unsuitable for regular processing due to brittleness under the following circumstances:

   1. Bound items

      Cover and/or pages are damaged or becoming detached and are subject to crumbling. Note: Hardcover volumes whose covers and pages remain intact may be processed according to regular procedures despite brittleness.

   2. Unbound items

      Paper fails the corner fold test: turn to page 50 of the volumes, or the middle if there are fewer than 50 pages. If the page has text or illustrations that cover it entirely, go to the next page with a blank margin to perform the test. Using the forefinger and the thumb, fold in a small section of the lower right-hand corner of the page. Fold it flat against the page. This is one fold. Take the same corner and unfold it back to its original position. Then fold it flat the opposite way along the fold line. This is the second fold. Four folds should be made to measure the degree of brittleness. After the fourth fold, flatten the corner and give a light tug to see if it is still attached to the page.

      • If the paper withstands four folds it is considered flexible and the item can be bound or repaired. Proceed to catalog the book according to procedure.
      • If the paper breaks off before the fourth fold, it is brittle.

2. Routing of brittle items for retention and treatment decisions

   1. Route brittle items back to MAS with the following two riders inserted:

      • Blue T1 with "brittle" box checked
      • D115m (for monographs) or D115s (for serials)

   2. If there is a CLIO record for the item input a tracking note into the MFHD: brittle/mas If the item lacks a CLIO record do not create one for the purpose of tracking.

   3. MAS will direct the item to a selector who will decide on one of the following options for handling the piece:

      • Discard
      • Film and discard
      • Retain but do not film
      • Retain and film.

      Items to be retained will be tracked and routed back to the appropriate cataloging department with the D115 rider inserted.

      Brittle items to be filmed and print discarded after filiming will be delivered by MAS to the Preservation Reformatting Department (PRD) in Room 101 to shelves labeled as "Brittle books from MAS".

      Note: If a book in this category has a bibliographic record that is tracked to MAS, consult with Dave Motson in Database Maintenance to either suppress or delete the record.

3. Cataloging of brittle items

   Catalog retained items according to the usual procedures, noting the following:

   • Books with D115 riders should not be processed for Precat.
   • If standard copy is unavailable, track the item to OSMC as a priority 1item.
   • Retain the D115 form and insert a red priority 1 rider whether sending the book to Binding and Shelf Preparation (BSP) or tracking it to OSMC.

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