Frequently Asked Questions

Updated 9/5/2023

PCIP Data

What is PCIP data?

PCIP stands for Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data. PCIP data is a block of specialized information that appears on the copyright page of a book. It’s modeled after the Library of Congress’s Cataloging-in-Publication program, which provides bibliographic records (aka cataloging data) for books prior to publication. Publishers and authors not eligible for LC’s CIP program may obtain PCIP data for their books from non-LC vendors.

A bibliographic record is like the driver’s license for your book. It provides the vital statistics that identify and describe your book to help librarians catalog it, which helps readers find your book in a library catalog. The bibliographic record for a book includes data such as the title and subtitle, author’s name, ISBN(s), multiple types of subject headings, LC and Dewey Decimal call numbers, and more.

CIP data is a bibliographic record created before a book is published, and PCIP refers to any CIP data not created by the Library of Congress. While LC only provides CIP data for books that haven’t been released yet, we also create PCIP blocks post-publication.

What does PCIP data do for me?

PCIP data helps librarians catalog books faster, which gets your books on library shelves faster. For a more detailed explanation read the articles “Why CIP Data Is Important” and “5 Ways to Screw up Your CIP Data“

How long will it take to get my PCIP data?

We generally complete orders within 5-10 business days. Once you’ve submitted the Book Information Form, we will send a PayPal invoice. That invoice will include your delivery date.

Please note that under no circumstances will you receive your PCIP data in less than five business days.

Will I be able to review my PCIP data after it’s finished?

Yes, we give our clients two business days after receipt of your PCIP data to review it and request error corrections. We will gladly fix any errors made on our part; however, we no longer offer the option to have us correct errors on the client’s part, even for a fee. We will make such changes only for minor issues. That includes adding an LCCN or an additional ISBN, or correcting a minor typo.

Should I send you my whole book?

No, it’s not necessary. To provide the fastest and most cost-effective service possible, we catalog your book using the information you provide on our Book Information Form. We rely on you to transcribe the title, subtitle, and author information exactly as it appears on your book’s title page so that the information in the PCIP data will match what’s found on the title page, per cataloging guidelines.

Because we don’t examine the entire book, the description you provide to us is vital for ensuring accurate cataloging. We’re not looking for marketing copy or the description found on the back cover of your book. What we need is a brief explanation of the book’s content, including significant concepts or plot elements. This information remains confidential and is used only to aid in proper cataloging of your book.

Will my PCIP data be identical to Library of Congress CIP data?

Yes and no. At Five Rainbows, we format your PCIP data according to all current standards and Library of Congress guidelines. However, we also add some information the Library of Congress may not normally include, such as target audience and previous-release notes. If your book is available in print and ebook formats but there’s no ISBN for the ebook, we may also include a note indicating this. All of this additional information may be helpful to librarians who are considering adding your book to their collections.

Also, please bear in mind cataloging is more art than science and each cataloger will have a different opinion about what subject headings and call numbers best represent a book’s content. While sometimes only a single option is available, most often a cataloger must choose between several alternatives. For this reason, our PCIP data may include slightly different subject headings and call numbers than LC catalogers would choose.

For each and every book we catalog, we conduct extensive research into how LC has cataloged similar recent books. However, we don’t simply cut-and-paste data from LC records. We apply our own knowledge and expert judgment to decide which subject headings and call numbers are best for your book. This is why the accuracy of the information you provide to us is so important. Please note that the subject headings and call numbers chosen for books similar to yours may not always be appropriate for your book; we understand the subtle differences and how they affect the cataloging of your book.

We format our PCIP data blocks according to LC’s latest formatting guidelines, which means when you receive your data block it’s preformatted to have the lines in the right order and the appropriate indention for each line. As long as you maintain the same spacing and relative indention, your PCIP data will look just like LC CIP data. The only real difference is the heading at the top. It will say “Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication Data” rather than “Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data.” Only CIP data created by LC may bear the designation “Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data.”

Will my PCIP data include a summary or table of contents?

We tailor our PCIP data to the practical needs of librarians, which is why we leave out summary and table of contents information that the Library of Congress sometimes includes. The only exception is juvenile and young adults books. We do include a brief (one sentence) summary for those books, which we ask you to provide.

Remember, LC catalogs primarily for their own needs, not those of the average public library. The data LC prefers to include in their online catalog sometimes differs from what most library catalogers would bother to enter into their systems. Would you want to manually type in a summary or table of contents? Few librarians have the time for this, even if they wanted to do it.

With our MARC records, you may opt to include a brief summary in the data uploaded to WorldCat and SkyRiver. The records submitted to these catalogs require some additional information not needed for PCIP blocks and they may also include optional information not found in PCIP data.

My book has already been published. Can I still get PCIP data?

If you are updating your book’s interior, you may order PCIP data and add it to your book’s copyright page. If you’re not updating the book, we suggest you order one of our MARC record packages instead, which gets your book into the WorldCat and SkyRiver catalogs. Nearly every library in the US subscribes to either SkyRiver or one of OCLC’s services (such as WorldCat). They download cataloging data via these companies’ portals.

Can you create PCIP data for my book if I don’t have an LCCN yet?

Absolutely. An LCCN (Library of Congress Control Number) is not required. Please note that we can’t assign an LCCN to your book; only the Library of Congress may do that.

You can get an LCCN (also known as a PCN or Preassigned Control Number) from the Library of Congress’s PrePub Book Link portal.

What’s the difference between an LCCN, a PCN, and a Library of Congress call number?

An LCCN (Library of Congress Control Number) and PCN (Preassigned Control Number) are the same thing; PCNs are the version assigned to self-published books. An LCCN is a ten-digit number assigned by the Library of Congress to identify your book. It serves a similar purpose as an ISBN.

You must apply for an LCCN through LC’s PrePub Book Link portal. A Library of Congress call number is assigned by a cataloger during the PCIP creation process. A call number is an alphanumeric code that identifies your book on library shelves.

May I change the capitalization/punctuation in my PCIP data?

Please do not alter the punctuation or capitalization, or delete any blank spaces in your PCIP data. If you alter the punctuation and/or spacing in your PCIP block, it will no longer be valid cataloging data. The PCIP blocks we create adhere to all current standards. We provide your PCIP block to you in the appropriate format with the requisite punctuation and capitalization already in place.

May I change the line indents in my PCIP data?

Please do not alter the relative indention in your PCIP data. We provide your PCIP data to you already formatted according the current format prescribed by the Library of Congress. You may change the typeface and font size, but please don’t change the punctuation, capitalization, spacing, or relative indention.

MARC Records

What is a MARC record?

MARC records are computer files (MARC stands for MAchine-Readable Cataloging). A MARC record is cataloging data presented in a specific electronic format designed for library computer systems. Each record contains the same data found in a PCIP block, plus additional information not found in PCIP blocks. Some of the data is there strictly for computers to read, but most of it provides information to help librarians and readers alike.

Additional information found in MARC records includes list prices, types of illustrations, fiction genres, target audiences, summaries for adult/general audience books, and more. We also now include special MARC fields that define content types (text, image, etc.) as well as other descriptive information.

Because MARC records are designed to be read by computers, not humans, they look like gobbledygook to most people. Every MARC record must be coded in accordance with the Library of Congress’s MARC 21 Format for Bibliographic Data (over 700 pages long), OCLC’s specific requirements for WorldCat records, and the much newer Resource Description & Access standard (over 1100 pages long). For ebook MARC records, we follow LC’s special guidelines for electronic resource records, known as the Provider-Neutral E-Monograph MARC Record Guide.

Much of the coding in a MARC record exists strictly for use by library computers; it contains alphanumeric codes that mean nothing to anyone who has never hand-coded a MARC record. Fortunately, at Five Rainbows we speak MARC-ese fluently — so you don’t have to!

What is WorldCat?

WorldCat is the largest library catalog in the world. Librarians can download records from WorldCat to their local library catalog or use the information to decide whether to buy the book for their library’s collection.

Readers may also view the records in WorldCat and click links to find the book in a library or buy it from online retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Click here to view a WorldCat record and see the “Find a Copy in the Library” links. (You may need to enter a zip code to see the library links.)

Only libraries and authorized vendors may upload MARC records to WorldCat.

What is SkyRiver?

SkyRiver is a catalog similar to WorldCat, though unlike WorldCat, SkyRiver has no public website. Librarians can download SkyRiver records to their local library catalog or use the information to decide whether to buy the book for their library’s collection.

Only libraries and authorized vendors may upload MARC records to SkyRiver.

How do I check if my book is already listed in WorldCat?

Visit WorldCat.org and look for the search box below where it says “Find items in libraries near you.” To find your specific book, and the specific edition of it you’re ordering cataloging data for, we recommend searching by ISBN. To do so, enter into the search box bn:ISBN (replace “ISBN” with the actual number for your book). You may enter the ISBN with or without hyphens. If your book doesn’t have an ISBN, you’ll need to search by title, which may or may not work.

If you’re ordering MARC records for multiple versions of the book (e.g., paperback, hardcover, and ebook), then you’ll need to search for each version separately in WorldCat.

Is there a difference between a WorldCat/SkyRiver record and a MARC record?

There’s no difference. The records uploaded to WorldCat and SkyRiver are MARC records. We upload the exact same records to each catalog.

Will you send me the MARC record after it’s finished?

No, we don’t provide these to clients. You need special software to view a MARC record, and unless you have the specialized knowledge required to interpret those records, it will make very little sense to you anyway. Seeing the record would likely raise more questions than it would answer. Your MARC record will include the same basic information as your PCIP data. Most of the additional information required for a MARC record is computer code, not plain English.

If you order only a MARC record (no PCIP data), we will provide a MARC Record Summary for you to review before we upload your record. This file is not PCIP data and may not be printed on your book’s copyright page.

How do I know if I need both print and ebook MARC records?

The decision is entirely up to you. Read all the MARC record information on our website and then decide whether two records are best for your book, or if a single combined record will suffice. We can’t make this decision for you — it’s completely at your discretion.

Please note: We offer only one MARC record per format. For example, if you have two paperback versions for your book, we will create a record only for one of those versions.

How is a MARC record different from PCIP data?

PCIP data is a block of specially formatted text that appears on your book’s copyright page. MARC records are specially formatted computer files that look like gobbledygook to the average human eye. A MARC record is simply not designed for you or your readers to understand — it’s made for library computer systems, to provide all your book’s information in a format that only specialized software can decipher. The software will then interpret the data and present it in whatever format it’s programmed to use.

The difference is clear — and striking. Why? Because PCIP data is designed for people to read; MARC records are designed for computers to read.

What’s the difference between MARC records for print books and ebooks?

There are several differences, including the description of the item and the coding of several other fields. For instance, an ebook record is coded as an electronic resource rather than a monograph (book).

How often do you upload records to WorldCat and SkyRiver?

We upload MARC records in batches, generally on a weekly basis. If you ordered PCIP data your book, we’ll upload your MARC records no less than three business days following your chosen delivery date since we allow two business days for clients to report errors. If you ordered standalone MARC records, we’ll upload them on the next available delivery day after we complete your order, no less than three business days after your PCIP delivery date. It may take a several days for your record to show up on WorldCat.org, barring any system glitches.

Please note that SkyRiver has no public interface.

Can my MARC record be updated after its initial upload?

No, MARC records cannot be altered after they’ve been uploaded to WorldCat or SkyRiver.

General Cataloging Topics

Why do you ask for the author’s birth year?

This information is often needed to differentiate two authors with the same first and last names. PCIP data, and especially MARC records, require name authority headings — a line that spells out the full name of the main author. Name authority headings should be unique in the Library of Congress catalog, which is where the overwhelming majority of libraries get their authority headings. If two authors have the same name, it’s standard cataloging practice to add the middle name/initial or birth year to the name authority heading. We’ve settled on author’s birth year as the simplest solution.

Why don’t we add the middle name or initial? Based on feedback from our clients, we’ve learned they prefer the birth year method of differentiating name headings. If you include your middle name, it will appear in library catalogs. This means if you name is given on the book’s cover as “John Smith” but we include the name heading “John David Smith,” then WorldCat and other catalogs will show the author name as “John David Smith.”

I found a perfect subject heading in a book similar to mine. Will you use it?

When you fill out the Book Information Form, you are offered the chance to provide keywords/phrases to help us catalog your book. If you enter a subject heading you saw in another book as one of your keywords (provided it was used in a recent book on a similar topic), we will consider it. However, we cannot promise to use a particular subject heading. When we catalog a book, we strive to choose the most appropriate subject headings based on our cataloging expertise and experience, as well as current Library of Congress practices.

Why does the capitalization/punctuation in my cataloging data look strange?

Bibliographic records do not follow conventional rules for grammar and punctuation. At Five Rainbows, we follow the guidelines found in the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd Edition, the bible for library cataloging, as well as the newer Resource Description & Access.

Why don’t the subject headings in my cataloging data match the keywords I provided?

We ask for keywords/phrases in our Book Information Form, but these serve only as guides to aide our cataloging. All subject headings must be chosen from set lists, known as thesauruses. We cannot create new subject headings; only the agency that devised the thesaurus may do that. Our cataloging data now includes headings from multiple thesauruses, including the Library of Congress Subject Headings, BISAC subject headings, Medical Subject Headings (MESH), and American Mathematical Society headings.

If your book deals with a discipline that employs unique jargon, we may not always be able to find a subject heading exactly like the phrases you provide to us. If the terms you give us are specialized, please explain them briefly in the “Book Description” section of our Book Information Form. Also, if your’e using a common term in a different way, please give us an explanation of that as well. Doing so will reduce the chances we might misunderstand your usage of the terms and will help ensure accurate cataloging.