Library of Congress >> MARC >> Bibliographic >> Introduction

Introduction


MARC 21 Bibliographic - Concise
2007

MARC 21 Format for Bibliographic Data is designed to be a carrier for bibliographic information about printed and manuscript textual materials, computer files, maps, music, continuing resources, visual materials, and mixed materials. Bibliographic data commonly includes titles, names, subjects, notes, publication data, and information about the physical description of an item. The bibliographic format contains data elements for the following types of material:

Kinds of Bibliographic Records

MARC bibliographic records are distinguished from all other types of MARC records by specific codes in Leader/06 (Type of record) which identifies the following bibliographic record types.

Language material Nonmusical sound recording
Manuscript language material Musical sound recording
Computer file Projected medium
Cartographic material Two-dimensional nonprojectable graphic
Manuscript cartographic material Three-dimensional artifact or natural objects
Notated music Kit
Manuscript music Mixed material

Fill Character

A fill character (ASCII 7C hex), represented in this document as a vertical bar (|), may be used in bibliographic records in fields 006, 007, and 008, and subfield $7 of field 533 (Reproduction note) and the linking entry fields (760-787). A fill character may not be used in the leader, or in tags, indicators, or subfield codes. The use of the fill character in records contributed to a national database may also be dependent upon the national level requirements specified for each data element. The presence of a fill character in a bibliographic record indicates that the format specifies a code to be used but the creator of the record has decided not to attempt to supply a code.

Typographical Conventions

Throughout this document, the following typographical conventions are used:


Library of Congress >> MARC >> Bibliographic > > Introduction
(02/07/2008)
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