Navigating your OPAC with Astrolabe and MARC

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Navigating your OPAC with Astrolabe and MARC

• SUNY/LA Conference Workshop
• SUNY Maritime
• Maggie Horn, SUNY OLIS

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This is an Astrolabe
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And this is a sextant

• Also used for navigation!

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This is a MARC record
00638cam2200205Ia450000100130000000300060001300500
17000190080041000360400018000770820010000950900024
00105049000900129100003400138245011900172260004200
29130000290033374000230036270000350038599400120042
0ocm11830383OCoLC20060919091356.0850321s19
31 nyua 000 0 eng d_aKSU_cKSU_dOC
L 4_a817.4 _aPS3503.E49_bT8 1931
_aZ4FA1 _aBenchley, Robert,_d1889-1945.10_
a20,000 leagues under the sea, or, David
Copperfield /_cby Robert Benchley with
illustrations by Gluyas Williams. _aNew York
_bBlue Ribbon Books,_c1931. _a233 p.
_bill. _c21 cm.01_aDavid Copperfield.1
_aWilliams, Gluyas,_d1888-_eill.
_aC0_bZ4F
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• What does MARC mean anyway?
• Mysterious
• Arcane
• Recondite
• Curiosa

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• No, really, what does it mean?
• MAchine
• Readable
• Cataloging
• Thats all there is to it

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• Communication format
• For sharing records between libraries
• For creating displays on cards and OPACs
• For creating indexes in OPACS
• For data manipulation and data mining (statistics)

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This is a MARC record as were used to seeing it
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But what is all that gobbledygook

• Fields
• Entire string of information represented by tag
• Term is frequently used synonymously with tag

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MARC Terminology

• Tags
• Three digit number identifying the type of data
  to be found in the field
• Catalogers call a field by the tag 245 two
  four five or two forty five, but not two hundred
  forty five
• When referring to a class of tags, we use x for
  a wild card 6xx all tags in the six hundred
  series
• In ALEPH speak, when you need a wild card, you
  use (6 any 6xx tag)

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MARC Terminology

• Indicators
• One digit code (number or blank), with special
  instructions about the tag
• Occupies the two spaces after the tag
• Use varies from tag group to tag group
• Referred to by catalogers as first and second
  indicators
• Always referred to as the separate numbers
• Always combined with the tag name

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MARC Terminology

• Subfields
• Consists of a delimiter and a code which
  indicates kind of data within the field
• Delimiter is a special character used to tell
  system that code is coming up explain why
• Delimiter may be represented as or or
• Code is a single letter or number
• Referred to as delimiter c or c or dagger
  c or
• Always used with tag name
• Definitions and uses of subfields vary across
  tags but are similar within groups of tags

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MARC Terminology

• Control fields
• Coded information used by the system for
  instantly identifying elements of the record
• Referred to as fixed fields
• Defined length of the field (fixed get it?)
• with defined values for the codes
• Frequently unintelligible to the user but
  critical for the system

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MARC key

• If you know the Dewey Decimal system breakdowns,
  you can know MARC!
• Tag
• 000 Control fields/Number Fields
• 1XX Main entry fields
• 2XX Title or title paragraph fields
• 3xx Description (collation) fields

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MARC key

• Tag
• 4XX Series Fields
• 5XX Note fields
• 6XX Subject fields
• 7xx Added entry fields (with links to other
  records)

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MARC key

• Tag
• 8XX Series Fields these are fully authorized
  series fields and Holdings fields, but were
  not going there
• 9XX Local use (including OCLC/RLIN) fields
• Actually any 9 tends to mean local e.g.
  09x, 59x, 79x, 29x

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Fixed Fields

• Vary by format
• Two are required
• LDR
• 008
• In OCLC, these are seen as one, friendly field

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In OCLC
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In ALEPH, Cataloging

• LDR L nam2200277Ia450
• 008 L 870416t19761971njuab0010engd

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Using MARC

• Were going to decode some records now
• Well talk about how all this has an effect on
  your catalog in the next section

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Presentation and Indexing

• Cataloging and MARC coding affect how
  effectively your catalog operates
• Even if your catalog is not online!

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• Display and indexing are dependent on
• Content (including ISBD punctuation)
• Coding of MARC fields
• Local decisions
• Correct mapping of MARC fields with display
  labels

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• The next slides demonstrate some choices made
  for display

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• The next slides show some problems that are
  solely MARC coding
• Primarily evident in browse indexes

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• The next slides show problems in content of the
  cataloging record which affect retrieval (i.e.
  this is NOT the fault of the MARC coding)

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• Lets go online now to see some more problems and
  maybe fix a few

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Contact information

• Maggie Horn maggie.horn_at_suny.edu