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Concise Formats - 2008 Archive >> Bibliographic >> 6XX

Subject Access Fields (6XX)

This is an ARCHIVED VERSION of the 2008 electronic edition of the MARC 21 Concise Formats.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.

6XX fields (with the exception of field 653 that is used for uncontrolled index terms) contain subject headings or access terms that provide additional access to a bibliographic record through a heading or term that is constructed according to established subject cataloging or thesaurus-building principles and guidelines. The standard list or authority file used is identified by the value in the second indicator position or by the MARC source code contained in subfield $2 that is often used in conjunction with value 7.

The arabic number that precedes a subject access field in some displays is not carried in the MARC record. It may be generated based on the field tag. The dash ( -- ) that precedes a general subject subdivision is not carried in the MARC record; it may be generated based on the presence of subfields, $v, $x, $y, and $z.

A name portion containing open-ended date ends with a space when it is followed by other data in the same subfield; it does not end with a space when it is followed by another subfield.