Organization of the Classification Format Document

In addition to the information in Organization of the MARC Format Documents, the following applies specifically to the Classification Format.

General Information sections:

A X53 General Information section is provided for Classification Numbers. This general information section provides instructions for the content designators that are common to classification numbers whether they are used in a 153 classification number field or in a 453 or 553 tracing field. The description for each of the classification number fields refers back to the X53 general information section.

A Tracing and Reference Fields - General Information section describes the use of the various reference note fields and tracings in constructing displays of cross references from these fields. It also provides instructions for applying subfields $i, $t and $w in the 453 and 553 tracing fields. The description for each of the reference note fields contains the detailed instructions for the content designators for the field. The user is referred to the Tracing and Reference Fields General Information section only for cross reference display descriptions. The 453 and 553 descriptions refer to both the X53 and the Tracings and References General Information sections for content designator instructions.

Components of the detailed descriptions:

In some cases, policy decisions will need to be made concerning the application of MARC content designation. In addition, further editing, particularly of the LCC schedules, may be necessary to encode the data beyond what was done in this document. (Guidelines for applying content designators)

The scheme-specific conventions area describes inputting practice applicable only to specific classification schemes, as identified by the classification scheme code in field 084 (Classification Scheme and Edition). Examples include the equivalents of scheme-specific terminology in MARC, display constants, and input conventions only applicable to specific schemes.