6192009

1
MARC

• Beyond the Basics

2
MARC Review and Intro

• What does MARC mean?
• -- MAchine-Readable Cataloging
• MARC terms and their definitions (Next slide)
• Reviewing older, tricky fields
• Some newer fields and their uses
• MARC authority control
• How to find out more about MARC

3
MARC Terms and Their Definitions

• FIELDS (e.g. author, title, physical description,
  etc.) are marked by TAGS (a 3-digit number)
• Some fields are further defined by INDICATORS
  (numerals)
• SUBFIELDS are marked by SUBFIELD CODES (usually a
  letter) and DELIMITERS
• CONTENT DESIGNATORS is an inclusive term used to
  refer to tags, indicators, and subfield codes

4
Some Less Common MARC Fields
5
The 0XX Fields
The 0XX fields are mostly coded fields which
dont appear in the OPAC. They may, however, be
used in important ways by catalog software. Be
careful with these fields.

• 000 -- Leader
• 008 -- Fixed length data elements
• 022 ISSN
• 034 Coded cartographic data
• 037 -- Source of acquisition
• 041 -- Language code
• 043 -- Geographic area code
• 050 -- Library of Congress call number
• 082 -- Dewey classification number

6
Leader (000 Field)

• The leader is the first 24 characters of the
  record.
• Each position is assigned a meaning which mostly
  for computer use
• In some programs the leader may be edited if
  necessary
• The most important positions in the leader for
  editing are the 6th position type of record,
  e.g. language material, cartographic material,
  etc. and then 8th position bibliographic level,
  e.g. monograph, serial, etc.

7
The 008 Field

• Another important field is 008, the Fixed-Length
  Data Elements, or Fixed Field Codes
• Here is where you can encode such information as
  dates of publication, place of publication,
  whether a book is large-print, the language of
  the book, and so on.
• For items other than books, this field provides a
  place to encode information specific to the type
  of material being cataloged. E.g. for movies and
  videos, the length of the film and whether it is
  animated or live action.

8
The 2XX Fields
The 2XX fields are title-associated fields which
may or may not appear in the OPAC record

• 240 Uniform title
• 246 Varying form of title
• 255 Cartographic mathematical data
• 263 Projected publication date
• 265 Computer file characteristics

9
The 3XX Fields
The 3XX fields are descriptive fields which
mostly appear in the OPAC record

• 306 Playing time
• 310 Current publication frequency
• 321 Former publication frequency
• 362 Dates of publication and/or sequential
  designation

10
The 5XX Fields
The 5XX fields are note fields which appear in
the OPAC and may be searched only using keywords

• 505 Formatted contents note
• 508 Creation/production credit note
• 510 Review sources
• 511 Participant or performer note
• 521 Target audience note
• 526 Study program information note
• 530 Additional physical format note
• 538 System details note
• 546 Language note
• 586 Awards note

11
The 6XX Fields
The 6XX fields are subject heading fields which
are searchable in the OPAC as subjects

• 630 SH - Uniform title
• 655 Index term - Genre/form
• 658 Index term - Curricular objective
• 69X Local subject access fields

12
The 7XX Fields
The 7XX fields are added entry fields which are
searchable in the OPAC as titles or authors

• 730 Uniform title
• 740 Series added entry

13
Access Points

• Access points are the headings for which separate
  cards were created for the card catalog, and
  which a patron or librarian can search in an
  online catalog
• Most of the access points are in
• 1XX fields (main entries)
• 4XX fields (series entries)
• 6XX fields (subject access)
• 7XX fields (other added entries)
• 8XX fields (series added entries)

14
Authority Control

• The use of established forms for the same access
  point is called authority control
• Is it the Getty Museum or the J. Paul Getty
  Museum?
• Is it Twain, Mark or Twain, Mark, 1835-1910 or
  Clemens, Samuel, 1835-1910?
• Determining which form of a particular heading to
  use is essential for effective and efficient
  searching of our catalogs
• Library of Congress Authorities gives the most
  comprehensive list of subject heading and for
  small libraries such as in schools, Sears List of
  Subject Headings is quite adequate but be careful
  about differences between the two systems.

15
Local Authority Control

• Each library must make many decisions about what
  form its access points are going to take
• The library should also establish appropriate
  cross-references to established forms from
  non-used forms, i.e. See references
• A final purpose of the authority file is to lead
  the user from a particular form to various
  related forms, i.e. See also references

16
Parallel Content

• The fields requiring authority control are also
  fields that use parallel tag construction
• The parallel content can be summarized as
  follows
• X00 Personal names
• X10 Corporate names
• X11 Meeting names
• X30 Uniform titles
• X50 Topical terms
• X51 Geographic names
• X55 Genre/form headings

17
Fields in Authority Records

• Heading used (1XX)
• Heading not used (4XX)
• Broader or related headings (5XX)

• 150 aApples.
• 450 aApple trees
• 550 aCooking xApples.
• 550 aFruit.
• 550 aFruit trees.

18
Example of a Geographic Authority

• Heading used
• Heading not used
• Broader or related headings

• 151 aHawaii.
• 451 aHawaiian Islands
• 551 aUnited States.
• 551 aIslands of the Pacific.
• 550 aIslands.

19
A Special Case The X55 Field

• The X55 field, Genre/Form Subject, is a special
  case
• This field is relatively new but more and more
  records are appearing with this field
• Sears seems to ignore the use of the field
• What is GSAFD?
• Guidelines on Subject Access to Individual Works
  of Fiction, Drama, Etc. gives a list of genre and
  form headings
• Also be aware of the subfield v for form
  subdivisions of subject headings

20
References

• Access to many online resources discussed in this
  presentation, as well as the presentation itself,
  are available online http//rhslibrary.org/catal
  oging_aids.htm
• The chief source of information for this
  presentation is MARC Standards. Available online
  http//www.loc.gov/marc/.