Character position definition and scope:

A one-character alphabetic code indicates whether a change in any field in a record is being considered.  Code b alerts users to a potential change in the record and that it may not be advisable to use the number in field 153 (Classification Number) in bibliographic or authority records.

The organization investigating the modification may be identified by the National Union Catalog (NUC) symbol contained in the last subfield $d of field 040 (Record Source).  Code b is used for a record being changed after initial completion, and does not indicate completeness of the record.  Leader/17 (Encoding level), code o (Incomplete classification record), indicates whether a record is incomplete because it does not yet contain all the fields to make it a complete record.

Guidelines for applying content designators:

Code:

Description:

a

Record can be used

b

Record is being updated

Related MARC field or document:

040  Record Source

For information on other 008 character positions, see:

008  Fixed-Length Data Elements

See also:

Variable Control Fields