Elements of a MARC Record
A MARC record is composed of three elements: the record structure, the content designation, and the data content of the record.
¨ Record structure refers to the way various elements in a record are identified. For example, different types of information are recorded in fields which are identified by three numeric characters called tags . Record structure is an implementation of the international standard Format for Information Exchange (ISO 2709) and its American counterpart, Bibliographic Information Interchange (ANSI/NISO Z39.2) and is described by the various MARC formats. Record structure is fully described in MARC 21 Specifications for Record Structure, Character Sets, and Exchange Media.
Structural components: A MARC record consists of three main components: the Leader
, the Directory
, and the Variable Fields
. See Components of a MARC Record
.
¨ Content designation refers to the codes and conventions established explicitly to identify and further characterize the data elements within a record and to support the manipulation of that data. Content designation is defined by each of the MARC formats.
¨ Content of the data elements that comprise a MARC record is usually defined by standards outside the formats, such as the International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD ), Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), or other cataloging rules, subject thesauri, and classification schedules used by the organization that creates a record. The content of certain coded data elements is defined in each of the MARC formats, e.g., the Leader, field 008.
See also:
To return:
A General Introduction to the MARC Format
