Search

The article presents answer to various questions related to continuing resources. "Continuing resource" is an umbrella term that encompasses serials as well as other resources that will be issued for an indefinite period of time but that do not meet the definition of "serial" as given in cataloging codes. Magazines, newsletters, journals, annuals, as well as updating databases and updating Web sites are all continuing resources. All bibliographic resources can be divided into "finite" and "continuing". The term "continuing resource" was developed during the work on revising the three major serials cataloging standards to accommodate seriality that took place from 1997 to 2003. In order to understand the model of the bibliographic universe that underlies the continuing resources concept, it is helpful to understand that finite versus continuing constitutes only one of the dimensions of seriality. Serialists have long recognized that certain types of resources, such as updating loose-leafs, exhibit some characteristics of both and serials. The overarching category called continuing resources was developed in order to recognize the similarities among all resources that continue indefinitely.