Leader

Field definition and scope:

The Leader is the first field of a separate holdings record. It is fixed in length at 24 character positions (00-23). The Leader consists of data elements that contain numbers or coded values that define the parameters for the processing of the record in an automated system.

Character positions 20-23 comprise the Entry map for the Directory. They contain four one-character numbers that specify the structure of the entries in the Directory. More detailed information about the structure of the Leader is contained in MARC 21 Specifications for Record Structure, Character Sets, and Exchange Media.

The Leader is NOT repeatable.

Guidelines for applying content designators:

The Leader has no indicators or subfield codes. The data elements are positionally defined.

The table below includes all 24 character positions of the Leader in holdings records. Positions are conventionally numbered zero (0) through 23. For information on a specific character position and its codes, select:

Position	Description	Repeatability
00-23	Leader	NR
Data elements:
00-04	Record length	NR
05	Record status	NR
06	Type of record	NR
07-08	Undefined	NR
09	Character coding scheme	NR
10	Indicator count	NR
11	Subfield code length	NR
12-16	Base address of data	NR
17	Encoding level	NR
18	Item information in record	NR
19	Undefined	NR
20-23	Entry map	NR

Input conventions:

System-generated elements

Capitalization

Content designator history:

/06 Type of record

/18 Item information in record