MARC 21 Concise Holdings: Introduction

This is an ARCHIVED VERSION of the 2001 electronic edition of the MARC 21 Concise Formats. Please see
www.loc.gov/marc/concise/ for the most up-to-date version of the electronic MARC 21 Concise Formats.

The MARC 21 Format for Holdings Data is designed to be a carrier for holdings information for three types of bibliographic items that are identified by a code in Leader position /06 (Type of record):

Single-part item - item which is complete in a single physical part, for example, a single map, a score, a one-volume book, a computer file (Leader/06, code x)

Multipart item - item which is complete, or intended to be complete, in a finite number of separate physical parts, for example, a set of maps, a musical score and parts, a ten-volume encyclopedia, a multimedia kit, a manuscript collection (Leader/06, code v)

Serial item - item which is issued in successive parts at regular or irregular intervals and is intended to be continued indefinitely, for example, a journal, a serial update service to a looseleaf publication (Leader/06, code y)

In contrast with data elements that are applicable to a universal bibliographic description of these types of items, holdings information may include:

Holdings Data Fields

Four sets of holdings data fields are defined for recording information about the items actually held by an organization:

Within each set, separate fields are defined for three categories of material:

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Separate and Embedded Holdings Information

Field 852 (Location) is defined to contain information in as much detail as is needed to locate an item. It may include such information as a unique shelving designation, copy number, and the address for the current physical location of the item.

Single location field - When holdings are reported for a single location of an item, the information may be embedded in the related MARC bibliographic record or it may be contained in a single separate holdings record. A single 852 location field and any associated holdings fields are used.

Multiple location fields - When holdings are reported for multiple copies of an item and the location or call number data elements vary, multiple 852 location fields are required. The MARC 21 Format for Holdings Data does not provide a technique for linking an 852 field to associated holdings information fields. To assure that these fields are implicitly linked, the following record configurations of the holdings information must be applied:

Multiple 852 fields without associated fields:
When multiple 852 location fields have no associated fields, they may all be embedded in the related MARC bibliographic record, may all be contained in a single separate holdings record, or may be contained in multiple separate holdings records.

Multiple 852 fields with associated fields:
When one or more 852 fields have fields such as 007, 841, 842, 844, 853-855, 86X, or 87X associated with them, each 852 and its associated fields must be communicated in a single unambiguous holdings information cluster. An 852 holdings cluster may be embedded in the related MARC bibliographic record or it may be contained in a single separate holdings record. When the cluster is embedded, no other unassociated 852 location fields or clusters may reside in the bibliographic record; they must reside in separate holdings records.

Multiple 852 fields with equally applicable associated fields:
In special cases, when associated holdings fields may be equally applicable to several 852 fields, all of the 852 fields and the associated fields may be considered a single holdings information cluster. The holdings cluster may either be embedded in the related MARC bibliographic record or contained in a single separate holdings record.

Item information - A holdings record may contain information for particular physical items at one or more locations. The relationship between field 852, the associated holdings data fields 853-868, and the item information field 876-878 is included in the section Item Information--General Information.

Separate holdings records

A separate holdings record is linked to the related MARC bibliographic record by field 004 (Control Number for Related Bibliographic Record).

The following fields may appear in a separate MARC holdings record:

Holdings fields:

Bibliographic Format fields:

Of these fields, the following are required in a separate MARC holdings record: Leader, Directory, 001, 004, and 852. For interchange purposes, the related MARC bibliographic record is distributed to exchange partners prior to the distribution of a separate holdings record.

Embedded holdings information

Holdings information may be added to an existing MARC bibliographic record rather than being in a separate linked holdings record.

Embedded holdings information may include the following Holdings Format fields: Of these fields, only field 852 is required in a holdings statement that is embedded in the related MARC bibliographic record.
In general, the guidelines in this document describe separate holdings records. Specific instructions for embedding holdings fields in the related MARC bibliographic record are given in the Input Conventions of the field descriptions. (The first example in Appendix B of the MARC 21 Format for Holdings Data illustrates holdings information reported as a separate holdings record and as a holdings cluster embedded in the related bibliographic record).

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Compression and Expansion

Compression or expansion (itemization) of detailed enumeration and chronology data may be done by computer algorithm if no break exists within the levels of enumeration or chronology. A fuller description of this capability is given in the 853-878 Holdings Data--General Information section. The data elements that are required to be present for the compression or expansion of the contents of the enumeration and chronology fields for basic bibliographic units and supplementary material are described in the Input Conventions area of the 853-855 Captions and Pattern---General Information section. The content of an enumeration and chronology field for indexes may not be automatically compressed or expanded because of the potential for an ambiguous holdings statement.

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Typographical Conventions

Throughout this document, the following typographical conventions are used:

0 - The graphic 0 represents the digit zero in tags, fixed-position character position citations, and indicator positions. This character is distinct from an uppercase letter O used in examples or text.

# - The graphic symbol # is used for a blank (hex 20) in coded fields and in other special situations where the existence of the character blank might be ambiguous.

$ - The graphic symbol $ is used for the delimiter (hex 1F) portion of a subfield code. Within the text, subfield codes are referred to as subfield $a, for example.

/ - Specific character positions of fixed-length data elements, such as those in the Leader, Directory, and field 008, are expressed using a slash and the number of the character position, e.g., Leader/06.

1 - The graphic 1 represents the digit one (hex 31) and the lowercase roman-alphabet letter l (eye) (hex 6C) in examples or text.

| - The graphic | represents a fill character (hex 7C).

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Organization of the Electronic Version of the Concise Format

This electronic concise format is organized into parts that generally mirror the tabbed sections of the full printed format documentation. Each part is divided into chapters that usually cover a single field and all the data elements possible within it (that is, character positions for fixed-length fields and indicators and subfield codes for variable length fields). The Leader and the Directory are described in the first main part, followed by parts containing the variable control fields and variable data fields arranged in numerical field tag order.

Obsolete and deleted content designators are not listed. They are found the full printed version of the format and in the electronic MARC field lists.

Information for Translators and Other Users
Items highlighted in red indicate changes made after the 2000 edition of the MARC 21 Concise Formats was published and are included in the 2001 printed edition of the MARC 21 Concise Formats.

Items highlighted in green indicate changes made to the online format only. These changes will be corrected in the 2002 printed edition of the MARC 21 Concise Formats (Available late 2002).

For information about ordering the full MARC 21 Format for Holdings Data, please see: Print | CD-ROM

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