| For LibrariansStandardsMARC21 |
| |
| Introduction to Machine Readable Cataloguing (MARC21) Format |
|
Machine Readable Cataloguing (MARC) formats are standards for the representation and communication of bibliographic
and related information in machine-readable form. It is initially called MARC before 1980s and became USMARC in the 1980s.
In the late 1990s, all USMARC products have become MARC 21 products. The MARC 21 formats are maintained by the Library of
Congress in consultation with various user communities.
MARC 21 provides the mechanism by which computers exchange, use, and interpret bibliographic information, and its data
elements make up the foundation of most library catalogues used today. Five MARC 21 formats includes bibliographic, authority,
holdings, classification and community information.
|
| |
| What documentation is available? |
|---|
The Complete MARC Package is the comprehensive documentation package for working with MARC formats. It includes:
- MARC 21Concise Formats
- MARC 21 Format for Bibliographic Data and Updates
- MARC 21 Format for Authority Data and Updates
- MARC 21 Format for Holdings Data and Updates
- MARC 21 Format for Classification Data and Updates
- MARC 21 Format for Community Information and Updates
- MARC Code List for Languages
- MARC Code List for Countries
- MARC Code List for Geographic Areas
- MARC Code Lists for Relators, Sources, Description Conventions
- MARC Code List for Organizations
- MARC 21 Specifications for Record Structure, Character Sets, and Exchange Media
|
| Are there any translations? |
|---|
MARC 21 has been translated into languages such as Catalan, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Korean, Norwegian,
Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish. They are either direct translations (Translation) of the MARC 21 format,
or are close adaptations (Adapted Translation) to MARC 21.
|
| |
| Want to know more? |
|---|
|
If you are new to MARC 21 and wish to know more about it, Understanding MARC Bibliographic is a good introduction to the
MARC 21 Bibliographic format and includes a bibliography, discussion questions and examples.
|
| |
| Website |
|---|
For further information regarding MARC 21, please go to http://www.loc.gov/marc/. |
| |
