Introduction to Foreign MARC Sources
This section contains a list of MARC formats and their associated codes. The purpose of this list is to provide codes for the identification of the source format for machine-readable data when records are converted, particularly when data elements are not recognized and must be moved to generic fields (e.g., USMARC 886) in the target format. It is also used to identify variant implementations of a format. The source code assigned to a format is based on its title (e.g., unimarc, based on the title: UNIMARC Manual). Source codes consist of a maximum of eight lowercase alphabetic characters. Entries in the list are arranged in alphabetical order by the code and consist of the source code followed by the bibliographic citation for the source work.
When used, the source code may be followed by the edition and/or date of publication of the source work. The code, edition, and/or date are separated by a slash (/). Omission of the year and/or edition will imply that the assigning institution used the most recent edition of the source work available.
A special non-specific source code has been assigned for use in field 886. The code local, meaning "locally defined", should be used whenever a data element from a local (unpublished) format cannot be mapped to a standard USMARC field other than field 886.
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