Difference between revisions of "MARC Records"
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===The anatomy of MARC records=== | ===The anatomy of MARC records=== | ||
[[File:KohaMARCrecordimport.png|thumb|right|MARC record imported into Koha ILS]] | |||
MARC records have three main elements: a '''field''' that contains information about the item (such as "William Shakespeare"), a '''tag''' that tells the computer what the field represents (such as "100" for author), and a set of '''indicators''' that provide further information about the field. For example, tag <code>005</code> in the image to the right tells the computer that the following number string (20160615082311.0, or 2016/06/15 08:23:11) is the last time this item was last checked out or moved. Koha helpfully labels this field for us so we don't have to memorize the tags. | MARC records have three main elements: a '''field''' that contains information about the item (such as "William Shakespeare"), a '''tag''' that tells the computer what the field represents (such as "100" for author), and a set of '''indicators''' that provide further information about the field. For example, tag <code>005</code> in the image to the right tells the computer that the following number string (20160615082311.0, or 2016/06/15 08:23:11) is the last time this item was last checked out or moved. Koha helpfully labels this field for us so we don't have to memorize the tags. | ||
Some fields in the records also contain '''subfields''' that contain additional information. Like the fields and their tags above, each subfield has a '''subfield code''' that tells the computer what kind of information follows. The subfields are indicated by a '''delimiter''', usually a <code>$</code>, which is not shown on the Koha page, but can be seen in the gallery images above. Tag <code>040</code> indicates that the following fields contain the catalogers of the item. Subfield code <code>a</code> indicates that the subfield contains the original cataloging agency. Subfield code <code>b</code> indicates the cataloging language, etc. You can see how helpful Koha is in providing labels. See [https://www.loc.gov/marc/umb/um01to06.html Understanding MARC Bibliographic] for more information. | Some fields in the records also contain '''subfields''' that contain additional information. Like the fields and their tags above, each subfield has a '''subfield code''' that tells the computer what kind of information follows. The subfields are indicated by a '''delimiter''', usually a <code>$</code>, which is not shown on the Koha page, but can be seen in the gallery images above. Tag <code>040</code> indicates that the following fields contain the catalogers of the item. Subfield code <code>a</code> indicates that the subfield contains the original cataloging agency. Subfield code <code>b</code> indicates the cataloging language, etc. You can see how helpful Koha is in providing labels. See [https://www.loc.gov/marc/umb/um01to06.html Understanding MARC Bibliographic] for more information. | ||
Revision as of 17:42, 7 August 2016
MARC stands for MAchine-Readable Cataloging and serves as the language of library catalog records.
The anatomy of MARC records
MARC records have three main elements: a field that contains information about the item (such as "William Shakespeare"), a tag that tells the computer what the field represents (such as "100" for author), and a set of indicators that provide further information about the field. For example, tag 005 in the image to the right tells the computer that the following number string (20160615082311.0, or 2016/06/15 08:23:11) is the last time this item was last checked out or moved. Koha helpfully labels this field for us so we don't have to memorize the tags.
Some fields in the records also contain subfields that contain additional information. Like the fields and their tags above, each subfield has a subfield code that tells the computer what kind of information follows. The subfields are indicated by a delimiter, usually a $, which is not shown on the Koha page, but can be seen in the gallery images above. Tag 040 indicates that the following fields contain the catalogers of the item. Subfield code a indicates that the subfield contains the original cataloging agency. Subfield code b indicates the cataloging language, etc. You can see how helpful Koha is in providing labels. See Understanding MARC Bibliographic for more information.