1. Cataloging Tips and Tricks
Or, How I Learned to Love MARC
11/20/2018
(C) 2004, Tom Kaun

2. What is a MARC Record? What does MARC mean?
Why is a MARC record necessary?
MARC terms and their definitions
Where do MARC records originate?
MARC data issues
11/20/2018
(C) 2004, Tom Kaun

3. MARC 21 Reference Materials
A summary of commonly used MARC 21 fields
A list of other fields often seen in MARC records
The leader
Field 008 for books
A sample record in various formats
AV records: From cards to MARC 21
11/20/2018
(C) 2004, Tom Kaun

4. What Does MARC Mean?
A MARC record is a Machine-Readable Cataloging record
Machine-readable means a record which can be interpreted by a computer
A cataloging record is a bibliographic record which includes a description of the item, entries (such as title and author) by which the record can be searched, subject headings, and the call number
The rules which govern the development of the cataloging record are set forth in Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, 2nd ed., 2002 revision
11/20/2018
(C) 2004, Tom Kaun

5. Why Is a MARC Record Necessary?
A computer must be able read and interpret a bibliographic record correctly
For that to happen there need to be data “signposts” which refer to the various parts of the record in a standard way
Although anyone who is able to use a database program could devise suitable bibliographic records, standards enable records to be shared from system to system
MARC 21 is the standard, first developed by the Library of Congress as LC MARC in the 1960s, which is used by most library computer programs
11/20/2018
(C) 2004, Tom Kaun

6. 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
Here’s were I will go to the Follett cataloging screen and show fields, tags, indicators, etc.
11/20/2018
(C) 2004, Tom Kaun

7. Some General MARC Rules
Tags are divided by hundreds
0XX Control information and codes
1XX Main entry
2XX Titles, edition, imprint
3XX Physical description, etc.
4XX Series statements
5XX Notes
6XX Subject added entries
7XX Added entries other that subjects or series
8XX Series added entries
9XX Locally-defined uses, e.g. barcode numbers
11/20/2018
(C) 2004, Tom Kaun

8. 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)
Show catalog record with hyperlinked access points
11/20/2018
(C) 2004, Tom Kaun

9. 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, ” or “Clemens, Samuel, ”?
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.
Show Sears List of Subject Headings and LCSH
11/20/2018
(C) 2004, Tom Kaun

10. 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
Here is where I will go to the online cataloging program and demonstrate how to make an authority record
11/20/2018
(C) 2004, Tom Kaun

11. 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
X40 Bibliographic titles
X50 Topical terms
X51 Geographic names
11/20/2018
(C) 2004, Tom Kaun

12. A Special Case: The 655 Field
The 655 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
11/20/2018
(C) 2004, Tom Kaun

13. Leader 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.
11/20/2018
(C) 2004, Tom Kaun

14. 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.
11/20/2018
(C) 2004, Tom Kaun

15. Where Do MARC Records Originate?
MARC records may be obtained from many sources
Most library automation services and online catalogs provide access to MARC records
Examples:
Follett -- Alliance Plus
Sagebrush – MARC Source
Surpass Software -- Copycat
OCLC – Z39.50 Cataloging
Library of Congress – Online Catalog
Marcive – MarciveWeb SELECT
Your local public library -- MariNET
11/20/2018
(C) 2004, Tom Kaun

16. MARC Data Issues Data questions What is the quality of the MARC data?
Which MARC 21 fields are present?
Is the data based on Library of Congress MARC records?
Is anything added to the record (enhanced records)
Software questions
How does your automation system interpret the records?
Does it retain all the data and the MARC 21 content designators?
11/20/2018
(C) 2004, Tom Kaun

17. References
Access to many online resources discussed in this presentation, as well as the presentation itself, are available online:
The chief source of information for this presentation is Understanding MARC Bibliographic, 7th ed. by Betty Furrie, available online: Also available in print from the Library of Congress and Follett Library Software.
11/20/2018
(C) 2004, Tom Kaun