Introduction
The standard for the representation and exchange of bibliographic, authority, and holdings data in machine readable form in the United States are the three USMARC communication formats: USMARC Format for Bibliographic Data; USMARC Format for Authority Data; USMARC Format for Holdings Data.
A USMARC record is composed of three elements: the record structure, the content designation, and the data content of the record. The record structure is an implementation of the American National Standard for Bibliographic Information Interchange (ANSI Z39.2). The content designation -- 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 -- is defined by each of the USMARC formats. The content of the data elements that comprise a USMARC record is usually defined by standards outside the formats, such as the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, the Library of Congress Subject Headings, or other rules and codes used by the organization that creates a record. The content of certain coded data elements is defined in the USMARC formats (for example, the Leader , field 007 , field 008 ).
The USMARC Format for Holdings Data Including Guidelines for Content Designation defines the codes and conventions (tags, indicators, subfield codes, and coded values) that identify the data elements in USMARC holdings reports for serial and nonserial items. The content of most of the data elements and their display may be determined by the applicable ANSI standard for holdings statements: Serial Holdings Statements (ANSI.Z39.44) or Holdings Statements for Non-Serial Items (ANSI/NISO Z39.57). Other USMARC Holdings content designators allow the potential of using the format to interface with such automated control systems as union catalog, serials check-in, and interlibrary loan systems. A comparison of the data elements in the ANSI standards and content designators defined in the USMARC Format for Holdings Data is in Appendix A.
The USMARC Format for Holdings Data is intended for the use of personnel involved in the creation and maintenance of USMARC holdings information, as well as those involved in the design and maintenance of systems for the communication and processing of USMARC holdings information. A glossary of terms used the Z39 holdings statement standards and in USMARC Holdings is in Appendix C.
Components of a Separate USMARC Holdings Record
Field and Subfield Repeatability
Standards and Other Documents Related to this Format
See also:
USMARC Holdings Formats: Contents
