Diving into MARC

What’s MARC got to do with it?

Spring 2008Spring 2008 LIB 630 Classification and Cataloging

Who’s MARC, anyway?• Artist or author?

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Franz MarcBlue Horses I

1911

Nope—none of themNope—none of them!!

Not a person, huh?

• What does the acronym “MARC” mean? – MARC is the acronym for MAchine-Readable Cataloging. It

defines a data format that emerged from a Library of Congress-led initiative that began thirty years ago. It provides the mechanism by which computers exchange, use, and interpret bibliographic information, and its data elements make up the foundation of most library catalogs used today. MARC became USMARC in the 1980s and MARC 21 in the late 1990s.

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Network Development and MARC Standards Office Library of Congress

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Machine-Readable?

• Machine-Readable: – “Machine-readable” means that one particular type

of machine, a computer, can read and interpret the data in the cataloging record.

• Understanding MARC Bibliographic: Machine-Readable Cataloging Part I: What Does MARC Mean?

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Why Machine-Readable?

• Why can’t a computer just read a catalog card? – Because the computer can’t interpret the words on the

card—it doesn’t know an author from a title!– The MARC record contains a guide to its data, or little

“signposts,” before each piece of bibliographic information.

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Signposts?

• Fields, subfields and punctuation (yes, that again!)– The place provided for each item of bibliographic

information (author, title, call number, etc.) is called a “field.”

– There are two kinds of fields:• Fixed fields (these have a fixed number of characters, i.e.

letters, numbers, spaces or signs, like punctuation). In the MARC record, they are contained in the Leader and the 008 field.

• Variable fields (these have a varied number of characters)

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What does a MARC record look like?

7Section of MARC file for Standard Cataloging for School and Public LibrariesDownloaded from Library of Congress catalog

Do you see anything you can recognize?

What about the title and statement of responsibility?

What does it all mean?

• The basic divisions of the MARC 21 bibliographic record are: 0xx Control information, identification and classification

number etc. 1xx Main entries (author name, meeting name, uniform

title) 2xx Titles and title paragraph (title, edition, imprint) 3xx Physical description 4xx Series statements 5xx Notes 6xx Subjects access fields 7xx Added entries (author name, meeting name, uniform

title) 8xx Series added entries 9xx Reserved for local implementation

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Don’t these sound familiar?Don’t these sound familiar?

FieldsFields

Fixed fields(Fixed, because they’re always of the same length)

– Fixed fields use codes to convey certain standard information about the work. In the MARC record, they are contained in the Leader and the 008 field.

• Leader Fields: provide information like type of record or bibliographic level

• 008 Fields: contain codes for publication status, dates, place of publication/country, etc.

– GUIDE TO MARC FIELDS

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Variable fields

(Variable, because their length varies!)– Variable fields contain the descriptive information

about a work. They may also provide access points that can be used to search for, find, and identify a bibliographic record in the catalog. Access points can be names, alternate titles, subject headings, and/or call numbers. Variable fields make up the bulk of the record. Online systems have a certain character called an “end of field” symbol which tells the computer when to end the variable field.

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Elements of a field 1FIELDS are marked by TAGS

– A tag: • Each field is associated with a 3-digit number called a “tag.” A

tag identifies the field -- the kind of data -- that follows. Even though a printout or screen display may show the tag immediately followed by indicators (making it appear to be a 4- or 5-digit number), the tag is always the first 3 digits.

– Two common tags are:• 100 tag marks a personal name main entry (author) • 245 tag marks the title information (which includes the title,

other title information, and the statement of responsibility)– MARC Terms and Their Definitions Part III of

Understanding MARC Bibliographic: Machine-Readable Cataloging

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Elements of a field 2• Some fields are further defined by INDICATORS

– Indicators do just that—they “indicate” to the computer that it must do something. The indicators are the next two characters after the tag in variable fields.

– Each indicator value is a number from 0 to 9. (Although the rules say it can be a letter, letters are uncommon.) Even though two indicators together may look like a 2-digit number, they really are two single-digit numbers.

12245 14 $a The emperor's new clothes / $c adapted from Hans Christian Andersen and illustrated by Janet Stevens.

Tag for title informationIndicators: 1 indicates a separate title entry is required ; 4 says “skip first 4 characters and file under “emperor’s”

Elements of a field 3• Subfields:

– Most of the fields in a MARC record contain several pieces of information. … Each of these pieces is called a Subfield and there are various ways to set these apart and to let the computer know where specific pieces of information can be found. Some of the possible subfields in the 245 field mentioned are title, subtitle, statement of responsibility, and format (also called medium).

245 14$aThe school library media manager /$cBlanche Woolls.

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Tag Indicators, indicating 1: separate title entry; and 4: skip 4 characters

Delimiters and subfield codes

Delimiters? Subfield codes?• What’s a delimiter?

– A delimiter is a character used to separate subfields. Different software programs use different characters to represent the delimiter on the screen or on printouts.

– The most common delimiter characters are $ or |• Subfield code?

– Subfield codes are one lowercase letter (occasionally a number) preceded by a delimiter. Each subfield code indicates what type of data follows it.

– Example:Example:• 300 ## $a 675 p. : $b ill. ; $c 24 cm

Field 300 is Physical description. There are no defined indicators (##) $a=pagination $b illustrations $c size of item

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Important fields to be aware of

020 International Standard Book Number -- (ISBN)(R, or Repeatable i.e. there can be more than one 020 field) Indicators undefined [Indicators undefined [entered as ##entered as ##]. ]. Subfields used most often: Subfields used most often:

$a -- International Standard Book Number$a -- International Standard Book Number$c -- Terms of availability (often a price)$c -- Terms of availability (often a price)$z -- Cancelled/invalid ISBN (R) $z -- Cancelled/invalid ISBN (R)

Example: 020 ## $a 0877547637

The computer is programmed to recognize that field 020 means the standard number and that $a in this field stands for ISBN, so it will display or print that out as ISBN:0877547637

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A typical 2xx level entry• The 245 tag: Title and statement of responsibility

245 14$aThe school library media manager /$cBlanche Woolls.

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Notice the Notice the // ? Remember what that means? ? Remember what that means?

That’s right, it’s the ISBD punctuation that says what follows is That’s right, it’s the ISBD punctuation that says what follows is whoever’s responsible for the item! whoever’s responsible for the item!

Then what comes before it is the title—right?Then what comes before it is the title—right?

The The $a$a is the MARC sign (called a is the MARC sign (called a delimiterdelimiter) for the ) for the titletitle subfield subfield

The The $c$c delimiter delimiter indicates the indicates the authorauthor subfield subfield

The The 1414 isn’t fourteen, it’s 2 isn’t fourteen, it’s 2 indicatorsindicators:: 1 to show that a title 1 to show that a title added entry is needed, 4 to tell the computer to skip 4 spaces added entry is needed, 4 to tell the computer to skip 4 spaces when alphabetizing, i.e. skip “The” and the space (4 when alphabetizing, i.e. skip “The” and the space (4 characters: t,h,e,space) that follow and start at “school” characters: t,h,e,space) that follow and start at “school”

Two more 245 examples

245 00$aLibrary evaluation :$ba casebook and can-do guide /$cDanny P. Wallace, Connie Van Fleet, editors.Library evaluation : a casebook and can-do guide / Danny P. Wallace, Connie Van Fleet, editors.

245 00$aWorld Book millennium 2000$h[computer file].World Book millenium 2000 [computer file].

Notice here that the GMD is included, since that’s part of the title and statement of responsibility area

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082 - Dewey Decimal Classification Number

R i.e. repeatable—there can be several numbers• First indicator:

Indicates which edition of the Dewey Decimal Classification schedules was used

Abridged edition – indicator 0 Full edition– indicator 1.

• Second indicator: Indicates whether the Dewey Classification number was assigned by the Library of Congress or by another library or vendor.

LC: 0 Other: 4• Subfields:

$a Classification no. (R) $b item no. (NR) $z edition no. (NR)

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100 Main entry -- Personal name -- (primary author)

(NR [not repeatable]; there can be only one main entry) Indicator 1: Type of personal name entry element

0 -- Forename1 -- Surname (this is the most common form)3 -- Family name

Indicator 2 undefined. Indicator 2 became obsolete in 1990. Older records may display 0 or 1

Subfields used most often: $a -- Personal name $b -- Numeration$c -- Titles and other words associated with a name (R)$q -- Fuller form of name$d -- Dates associated with a name (generally, year of birth)

Example: 100 1# $a Gregory, Ruth W. $q (Ruth Wilhelme), $d 1910-

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What does “main entry” mean?

• main entry The entry in a library catalog that provides the

fullest description of a bibliographic item, by which the work is to be uniformly identified and cited. In AACR2, the main entry is the primary access point. In the card catalog, it includes all the secondary headings under which the item is cataloged (called added entries). For most items, main entry is under name of author. When there is no author, main entry is under title.

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245 Title Statement (NR) Indicator 1: Title added entry

(i.e. Should the title be indexed as a title added entry?) 0 -- No title added entry (indicates a title main entry; i.e. no author is given 1 -- Title added entry (the proper indicator when an author is given in

field 1XX; the most common situation)

Indicator 2: Nonfiling characters 0-9 --Number of nonfiling characters present, including spaces; usually set at

zero, except when the title begins with an article; e.g., for The robe, the second indicator would be set to 4. The letters T, h, e, and the space following them are then ignored in alphabetizing titles. The record will be automatically filed under "r" -- for Robe.

Subfields used most often: $a --Title proper $h --Medium (often used for non-book media) $p --Name of

part/section of a work (R) $b --Reminder of title (subtitles, etc.) $c --Remainder of title page transcription / Statement of responsibility

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260 Publication, distribution, etc. (Imprint) (R)

Indicator 1: Sequence of publishing statements

# -- No information provided

Indicator 2: Undefined, therefore #

Subfields used most often: $a -- Place of publication, distribution, etc. (R)$b -- Name of publisher, distributor, etc. (R)$c -- Date of publication, distribution, etc. (R)

Example:Example: 260 ## $a New York : $b Chelsea House, $c 1986.

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300 Physical description (R)

Indicators undefined: ##Subfields used most often:

$a -- Extent (number of pages) (R)$b -- Other physical details (usually illustration information)$c -- Dimensions (cm.) (R)$e -- Accompanying material (for example, "teacher's guide" or "manual")

Example: 300 ## $a 139 p. : $b ill. ; $c 24 cm.

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Where can I find more details about fields and tags?

• Tag of the Month from FollettNeed help understanding MARC tags?

Turn to Tag of the Month. This helpful resource features a new topic every month, including a description of the tag's uses and working examples. You'll find Tag of the Month only at Follett Software.

The Tag of the Month page also features links to other helpful cataloging resources, including the online version of Understanding MARC Bibliographic: Machine-Readable Cataloging, the definitive book on MARC, co-authored by the Library of Congress and Follett Software.

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Will I have to create a MARC record?• No!

– If you do the original cataloging with cataloging software, then the computer will be programmed to automatically create the MARC record, for export to another program, or

– You can subscribe to a MARC creation service from your vendor, e.g. Follett through Alliance Plus™ and Alliance A/V™

– For copy cataloging, you can download from another source and import to your software

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How can I import?

• You can download MARC records for free1. Go to http://catalog.loc.gov in your browser and

then click on Basic Search.2. Conduct your search.3. If only one item is found, you will see the single

record display. Otherwise select the appropriate title from the list.

4. Click on the Full Record tab and examine the record.

5. You can then click the MARC Tags tab and see the MARC record.

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Continued on Continued on next slide! next slide!

Importing Marc part deux

6. If the cataloging record meets with your approval, scroll down to the bottom of the screen. You will see the following box:

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7. Click on the drop-down menu and select one of the MARC alternatives. Then click on the Print or Save Search Results button.

8. You will see a long string of numbers and words. This is your MARC record. 

9. On your browser menu, select File and then choose Save As. [make sure you save as text!]

Importing MARC Part the Third

10. Open your cataloging/circulation software11. Import according to the software instructions (they’re

all different, of course!)• See, for example,

Instructions for Importing MARC Record Files (Various Sources) Follett Library Automation Systems / Version 4.23 – 6.2 (a pdf file!) or

• Exporting/Importing MARC Records (for a Mac version of Winnebago)• Strangely enough, you used to be able to find info about this at

http://www.recreationalvehiclesecrets.com/import-marc-records-and-winnebago.asp --alas, that website now no longer exists—just as Winnebago no longer exists as cataloging software—it’s became Sagebrush Spectrum, and now it’s owned by Follett!

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Give us an example!

• Brief Record:

– LC Control No.: 2007009009 LCCN Permalink: http://lccn.loc.gov/2007009009 Type of Material: Book (Print, Microform, Electronic, etc.) Personal Name: Intner, Sheila S. Main Title: Standard cataloging for school and public libraries / Sheila S. Intner and Jean Weihs. Edition Information: 4th ed. Published/Created: Westport, Conn. : Libraries Unlimited, 2007. Description: xii, 286 p. : ill. ; 26 cm. ISBN: 9781591583783 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1591583780 (pbk. : alk. paper)

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MARC Record (selected tags)

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Tag 020 is ISBN

Library of Congress shows delimiters as | rather than $

Tag 082 gives Dewey classification numberSubfield |2 (or $2) shows that number could be extended to

025.322

Tag 050 is LC classification

Tag 650 marks subject headings

Tags in the 500s are Notes

Tag 010 is LC control number

Tag 040 is Cataloging Source

Tag 035 is system control number

Does MARC have a home?

• – The Network Development and MARC Standards

Office plans and develops library and information network standards at the Library of Congress. It is the maintenance agency for several national standards, including the MARC 21 formats. To contact it, please e-mail ndmso@loc.gov.

– The MARC Standards webpage has links to extensive documentation on MARC 21, including the concise formats, code and field lists, information about MARC 21 development, and additional documentation to help users with the MARC 21 format. Some of the documentation is available in translation.

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