What is MARC?

MARC is the acronym for MACHINE - READABLE - CATALOGING record. A MARC record is a bibliographic record, formatted to be read by a computer. 

Traditionally, information was listed on the catalog card then filed and stored in a card catalog. MARC provides the means for interpreting what used to be on the catalog card into a computer database. Pieces of the catalog card are pulled apart and a grouped into categories called fields. Fields are grouped according to the type of information about the work.

• 001-099 - Fixed information and call numbers
• 100s - Author information
• 200s - Title and publisher information
• 300s - Physical description
• 400s - Series
• 500s - Notes
• 600s - Subjects
• 700s - Other authors & performers, serial title changes
• 800s - Series by another name 

A MARC record is subdivided into tags, indicators and subfields. This allows for greater flexibility in retrieving and sorting specific information for each item.

MARC tag - is also known as the field tag. It is the 3 digit number assigned to the type of data in the field. Each field has a number - 010, 245, 300, 310, etc. Tags are followed by 2 spaces. 

Indicators - these are the 2 spaces between the field number and the beginning of the data in the field. Fields 001-099 do not use indicators. The remaining fields use one, both or no indicators. Each position has its own values and meaning. Even though the indicators below look like the number 14, they actually are first indicator 1, and second indicator 4. 

245 - - 14-- The color purple / $c Alice Walker. 

Ex. The 245 tag indicates this is the title. The first indicator 1 means that there should be a separate entry made for this title. The second indicator 4 is called a filing indicator. Here, it tells the computer to skip 4 spaces before filing, or alphabetizing. The computer will ignore the first 4 spaces of the title (The-) and file the title under 'C'. 

Subfields. Subfields are marked by delimiter symbols. This is often a dollar sign [$]. In Horizon, it is a double dagger symbol. Each subfield is assigned a letter. Subfield 'a' is implied as the first field and is not normally used. 

Ex. 

245 - - 14-- The color purple $h [book on tape] / $c Alice Walker.

$a is for the main title. In many system, the $a isn’t written, because it’s assumed to be there. 

$h is for the GMD [General Material Designator, or format] 

$c is for the statement of responsibility - i.e. who wrote or produced the item. 

Other terms: 

Access points-Access points are any important field in the bibliographic record. These are the traditional cards that would be found in the card catalog and consist of Title, Author, Subject Headings, and Added Entries.

Added entries -We often use the term 'added entry' to indicate parallel information. Added entries are the 1XX, 4XX, 6XX, 7XX and 8XX fields, which are used for performers and series titles that are not part of the main title. 

If you use the chart below in combination with the "tags divided by 100's" then you can figure out that Personal names are in the x00 field. 

• X00 - Personal names 
• X10 - Corporate names 
• X11 - Meeting names 
• X30 - Uniform titles 
• X40 - Bibliographic titles 
• X50 - Topical terms 
• X51 - Geographic names 

 The name of a person who is a main author is in a 100 field. 

The name of a person who is a coauthor or illustrator is in a 700. (They get credit for their contribution, but not top billing, as the author does in a 100) 

The name of a person who is a subject is in a 600. 

See below for examples of several kinds of access points. 

Ex: 

Authority Control - The 1xx, 4xx, 6xx, 7xx and 8xx fields are under 'authority control'. This means that there is one established form of a name or a subject heading to be used in the catalog. This way there is only one consistent form of George Washington’s name, or William Shakespeare’s, or the subject ADD (Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder). If authority control is not used, there could be a number of different entries for the same author. This creates confusion for the patron. 

Names, Series, Topics (subject headings) and Place names (geographic locations) are under authority control. Authority records are created by the Library of Congress. They are available in the Horizon database, and also in the OCLC Authority File.

CIP - Cataloging in Publication Library of Congress uses this program to catalog books prior to publication. The information in the CIP record should be the same information appearing on the verso of the title page. The information is based on the LC authority record at the time of publication. However, often changes occur during publication of the book, which causes discrepancies between the CIP information and what’s on the title page. The SEO Catalog Librarian can correct these records. 

008 field - This field contains the Fixed Field Codes, or more properly, FixedLength Data Elements. There are 40 characters in this field. Not all are used for each record. These characters contain important information in a compressed or abbreviated form. This field contains the codes for things like large print books, the language of the book, and whether a work is adult or juvenile in content. 

This field appears on Horizon as a string of characters. 

007 field - This is another Fixed code field. This field is used to describe the physical characteristics of audiovisual materials. The most important codes are in positions 1 and 2. These are listed below: 

All records for
audiovisual items should have a 007 field. If the record for a non-print item
lacks an 007 field, inform the SEO catalog librarian.

Resources: 

For more information on MARC and cataloging, see: 

Basic Cataloging Training
http://slo.minds.tv/ 

Understanding MARC
http://www.loc.gov/marc/umb/