Machine Readable Cataloging (MARC) 21

Michelle AndersonLindsay Berry

Dorothy HirschLI 804

MARC 21 What MARC is How MARC was developed How MARC is used The future of MARC Our evaluation of MARC

What is MARC 21? Stands for MAchine Readable Cataloging Catalog record includes four things:

› Description of the item› Main entry and added entries› Subject headings› Classification or call number

An example of a MARC record:

What does all the coding mean? Let’s take a closer look.

More on MARC Library of Congress developed the LC

MARC format when computer use began LC MARC system used brief numbers,

letters, and symbols to mark different types of information

The LC MARC system evolved into MARC 21

Who is responsible for maintaining MARC 21?

Bibliographic format and documentation is maintained by the Library of Congress

Two groups review and revise MARC 21 content:› MARC Advisory Committee› The Machine-readable Bibliographic Information

(MARBI) Committee Committee of the ALA Made up of three representatives from technical

services, automation services, and reference services

History of MARC 21 Need for standardized cataloging system

› Developed by libraries to get full use out of computers

› Made shared cataloging a reality› Made library automation affordable› Comprehensive and flexible record› Two main design components:

Structure-form the information takes Standard for machine-readable records

History of MARC 21 Pre-MARC computer systems (early to mid

1960s)› Could only be used by trained library personnel› Could only be used by the library that created

the system› Limited use

Circulation Overdue Notices Fixed length

About 120 characters Either too much space or not enough space

History of MARC 21 Research and Development, MARC I and

MARC II› Library of Congress chosen to facilitate

research› Research began at LofC in 1965› Two main focuses:

Development of a machine readable format for library records

Potential use of an automated system

History of MARC 21 MARC I

› Small group of libraries using computers was used as a test group

› Became evident that shared records would be a great advantage of an automated system

› Searching could be done using non-traditional words of phrases

› Gathering of statistics could improve storage and circulation

History of MARC 21 MARC II

› MARC I expanded in 1967 into MARC II› Communication format standard

Magnet tape Transmission of magnetic tape by US mail Flexible formatting

System developed into USMARC in the 1980s Combined with CAN/MARC (Canadian MARC)

in 1997 to become MARC 21

Benefits of the MARC 21 system Prevents duplication of work Allows libraries to share authority information Enables libraries to access authority data that is

predictable and reliable Cost effective Quality enhancing Prevents librarians from ‘reinventing the wheel’ Allows all persons who distribute and use

authority data to communicate with each other

Uses of MARC 21 MARC 21 transmits data (specifically

bibliographic data) from one system to another

Reduces the work load of librarians by eliminating the need to catalog information that has already been added to the system

Standard form used in machine readable information

Who is Using MARC 21 The Library of Congress uses MARC 21

› Current LofC classification schedules are produced from records in MARC 21 classification format

Around fifty systems are available to collect, organize, and manage MARC 21 records

MARC 21 Records Systems Follett Software Company-serves more than

100,000 schools and universities in the U.S. and 165 countries worldwide

Library.Solution-serves thousands of libraries worldwide, includes circulation and self checkout functions

Polaris- serves over 1000 libraries worldwide, has a multilingual edition that includes 115 languages

Koha- free/open source, a community of collaborating libraries worldwide

Future of MARC 21 There is some competition with other cataloging

systems:› RDA› AACR2

These systems are thought by some to be more in line with ideas of web 2.0 and the semantic web

There is strong support in the library world to adapt and improve the MARC 21 system, rather than switch systems completely

References Bibliographic exchange formats. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.bl.uk/bibliographic/exchange.html, June 2, 2010. Block, R. RDA: Boondoggle or Boon? And What About MARC? (2009, April

22). Retrieved from http://www.nelib.org/netsl/conference/2009/RickBlock.pdf, June 14, 2010.

Bowen, J. (2005). What's after AACR2? Retrieved from : http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alcts/resources/ano/v16/n6/nws/rdaqs.cfm

Byrne, D.J. (1998). Marc manual. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, Inc. Coyle , K. and Hilllman , D. (2007). Resource description and access

(RDA), cataloging rules for the 20th Century. D-Lib Magazine .Retrieved from: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/january07/coyle/01coyle.html

Frequently Asked Questions. (2006, July 12). Retrieved from http://www.loc.gov/marc/faq.html, June 14, 2010.

Frequently asked quetions about cataloging. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.loc.gov/aba/about/catfaq.html#skip_menu, June 2, 2010.

References Full Level Record – Book. (2003, October). Retrieved from

http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/examples.html, June 12, 2010. Furrie,B. (2009). Understanding MARC-bibliographic. (8th ed.). Washington DC.:

Library of Congress. Joint Steering Committee for the Development of RDA. (2010). Frequently asked

questions. Retrieved from: http://www.rda-jsc.org/rdafaq.html Library of Congress (2004). Understanding MARC authority records (2nd ed. )

Washington DC: Library of Congress. Marc records, systems, and tools. (2009, May 8). Retrieved from

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marcsysvend.html, June 2, 2010. Network Development and MARC Standards Office (2009). FRBR display tool: version

2.0. Retrieved from: http://www.loc.gov/marc/marc-functional-analysis/tool.html Schottlaender, B. E. C., (Ed.) (1998) The future of the descriptive cataloging rules.

Chicago and London : American Library Association. Taylor, A. G. (Ed.) (2007). Understanding FRBR. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited. Zenn,S. (2004). An introduction to MARC 21 cataloging. Retrieved from:

http://wotan.liu.edu/home/smzenn/