US MARC

Introduction

This is the first draft of this document. Please send any comments to dana@acm.org

Description

The US MARC format is maintained by the United States Library of Congress. It is the premier cataloging system used by libraries, and quite extensively documented (the primary reference describing the fields is 2 inches thick). It has a field and subfield for almost anything one could think of, but is terribly difficult for humans to easily read (it is expected that the data will be translated to readable form before presentation to the user). In addition, it looks like there is no easy way to store citations -- that is, a journal article.

References

LoC USMARC Gopher
USMARC Format for Bibliographic Data, Including Guidelines for Content Designation, 1994 Edition, Prepared by Network Development and MARC Standards Office, Cataloging Distribution Service, Library of Congress, Washington D.C., USA.
MARC for library use : understanding the USMARC formats, by Walt Crawford. Knowledge Industry Publications, 1984.
MARC for library use : understanding integrated USMARC, 2nd ed., by Walt Crawford. G.K. Hall, 1989.
MARC manual: understanding and using MARC records, by Deborah J. Byrne. Libraries Unlimited, Englewood, CO.

Software Support

Almost all professional software and most library services can output MARC data. It is the standard used to transmit data in the professional library world (at least in the USA). Very few of the citation software packages support it, as it was not designed for citations, but the cataloging of entire library contents of amazingly varied material. Most packages used on the Internet are designed for scientific research needs, which means recent journals, technical reports, and books.

bp does not currently support MARC, but will support the reading and field splitting of MARC records. Eventually it will support basic conversion, but probably never in its full splendor.

Examples

The examples are quite long, so they are kept on a separate page.

Format Description

Eventually I will enter some information here, but not a full description. You should look at the Library of Congress gopher USMARC Documentation or one of the printed documents (most libraries will have a copy) for more detailed information.

[Back to Formats]

7 February 1995

Dana Jacobsen
dana@acm.org