Directory (NR)
MARC 21 Authority - Concise
2008
This is an ARCHIVED VERSION of the
2008 electronic edition of the MARC 21 Concise
Formats. Please see loc.gov/marc/concise/
for the most up-to-date version of the electronic MARC 21
Concise Formats.
Fixed field that comprises the first 24 character positions
(00-23) of each record and provides information for the
processing of the record.
Character Positions
00-02 - Tag
Three ASCII numeric or alphabetic characters (upper case or
lower case, but not both) that identify an associated
variable field.
03-06 - Field length
Four ASCII numeric characters that specify the length of
the variable field, including indicators, subfield codes,
data, and the field terminator associated with the field. A
Field length number of less than four digits is right
justified and unused positions contain zeros.
07-11 - Starting character position
Five ASCII numeric characters that specify the starting
character position of the variable field relative to the
Base address of data (Leader/12-16) of the record. A
Starting character position number of less than five digits
is right justified and unused positions contain zeros.