An Introduction to MARC 21 Cataloging

by Stephen Zenn, for LIS 650-04, Fall 2004, LIU Westchester Graduate Campus
Professor Thomas Krichel

Contents

I. Introduction
II. Commonly Used Fields
III. Indicators and Subfields
IV. The Header Field
V. Frequently Asked Questions

III. Indicators and Subfields

Below are the most basic indicators and subfields for the fields covered in Part II, wherever applicable. Note that this is not a complete list; for the full listings, please refer to the LC Marc 21 Concise Format for Bibliographic Data.

Field Names

  1. 1xx - Main Entry Fields
  2. 2xx - Title/Publication Fields
  3. 300 - Physical Discriptions
  4. 4xx - Series Fields
  5. 5xx - Note Fields
  6. 6xx - Subject Fields
  7. 7xx - Added Entry Fields

1. Main Entry Fields(100, 110, 130)

100 - Main Entry: Personal Name
Indicators
Indicator 1 - Personal name element
0 - Forename: the entry is made with the first name, either a proper name, initials, or other letters, with the last name following (if applicable).
1 - Surname: the entry is made last name, first name, or used whenever the author is known by a single name.
3 - Family name: the entry is made under a collective family/lineage name or similar type of name, and can be
entered in direct or inverted order.
Indicator 2 - Undefined

Subfields
$a - Personal name: whatever name is being used, formatted as identified with Indicator 1.
$b - Numeration: any Roman numerals that might be associated with the name; not very common.
$c - Titles and other words associated with the name, such as "Sir", "Lord", etc.
$d - Dates: birth-death dates or periods when the author was in noteriety.
$f - Date of any works mentioned with the author.
$n - Number or part of a work mentioned with the author.
$p - Name of any part/section of a work mentioned with the author.
$t - Title of a work mentioned with the author.

110 - Main Entry: Corporate Name
Indicators
Indicator 1 - Corporate name element
0 - Inverted name: any corporation that begins with a proper personal name in inverted order.
1 - Jurisdiction name: the name of a large jurisdiction (like a state or country), or a jurisdiction name under which a corporate name or title is entered.
2 - Name of the corporation in direct, unaltered order.
Indicator 2 - Undefined

Subfields
$a - Corporate/jurisdiction name: the name of the corporation/jurisdiction, formatted as identified with Indicator 1.
$b - Subordinate unit: any sub-units, divisions, etc. that might be associated or responsible for the work.
$c - Location of any meeting that was held to produce the work's contents.
$d - Date of any meeting held to produce the work's contents.
$f - Date of publication.
$n - Number of a part or section of a work mentioned with the author.
$p - Name of any part or section of a work mentioned with the author.
$t - Title of a work mentioned with the author.

130 - Main Entry: Uniform Title
Indicators
Indicator 1 - Nonfilling characters: how many characters due to "common articles" such as "the" or "an" before the first valid word the program ignores.
Indicator 2 - Undefined

Subfields
$a - Uniform title: the accepted collective title use to describe various versions of a single work.
$d - Date of treaty signing: given when an important treaty (like the Magna Carta) is used as a uniform title.
$f - Date of a work mentioned with the title.
$n - Number of a part or section of a work mentioned with the title.
$p - Name of a part or section of a work mentioned with the title.
$s - Version of the title work.
$t - Title of a work mentioned with the uniform title.

2. Title/Publication Fields (245, 246, 250, 260)

245 - Title Statement
Indicators
Indicator 1 - Title added entry: determines whether or not to create a separate added entry for the title from this field.
0 - No added entry, either because it is not desired or the title is traced differently.
1 - Added entry created.
Indicator 2 - Nonfilling characters: how many characters due to "common articles" such as "the" or "an" before the first valid word the program ignores.

Subfields
$a - Title as shown on the title page.
$b - Subtitles or any other parts of a title that can be mentioned separately.
$c - Author/statement of responsibility as shown on the title page.
$f - Date range that the work was created during.
$n - Number of a part or section of the work.
$p - Name of a part or section of the work.

246 - Varying form of title
Indicators
Indicator 1 - Title added entry: determines whether or not to create a separate added entry for the title from this field.
_ - Undefined.
0 - Note made, but no added entry.
1 - Note made and added entry created.
2 - No note made and no added entry
3 - Note made and added entry created
Indicator 2 - Type of title: determines what kind of title or where it is found.
0 - Portion of a title: a part of the full title used as a reference.
1 - Parallel title: the subtitle or additional part of the title used in 245's $b.
2 - Distinctive title: a title added especially for other issues that might be referred to in lieu of the title.
3 - Other title: any additional title that can't be described by the other indicators in Indicator 2.
4 - Cover title: the version of the title seen on the front cover.
5 - Added title, title page: a foreign language version of the title not used as the access point.
6 - Caption title: any version of the title that might be included in a text's first page.
7 - Running title: any version of the title that might be printed in each page of a text's top or bottom margin.
8 - Spine title: the version of the title seen on a book's spine.

Subfields
$a - Variant title as described by Indicator 2.
$b - Remainder of variant title.
$n - Number of a part or section of the work indicated in the variant title.
$p - Name of a part or section of the work indicated in the variant title.

250 - Edition Statement
Indicators
Both inicators are undefined.

Subfields
$a - Edition statement, usually unaltered from the work.
$b - Remainder of an edition statement, usually a personal or corporate statement/parallel statement.

260 - Publication, Distribution, Etc.
Indicators
Indicator 1 - Sequence of publishers: how many publishers the work went through to get to the most current edition.
_ - Undefined or earliest possible publisher.
2 - Intervening publisher.
3 - Current or latest publisher.
Indicator 2 - Undefined

Subfields
$a - Place of publication: the major city, or, if not a major city, the city and state/country it is located in. If no place of publication is given, use the term "[s.l.]" ("sine loco", without location). In the case of multiple publishers, add as many places as given with each set of "location : publisher"
$b - Name of publisher: the publisher's name, as concise as possible (using as few words as one can). If no publisher is given, use the term "[s.n.]" ("sine nomine", without name). In the case of multiple publishers, use as many publishes as given with each set of "location : publisher".
$c - Date of publication/distribution: the given date of publication, usually preceded with copyright information (put "c" right before the date [no space inbetween] if this is given). With multiple dates (like with reprints or reissues), use the first date followed by the most recent one in brackets and the reason for its printing.

3. 300 - Physical Description

Indicators
Both indicators are undefined.

Subfields
$a - Extent: the number of pages, duration in minutes, etc. of the work. Include any "inserted" pages, like plates of artwork or fold-out maps, in this area.
$b - Other physical characteristics: distinct physical characteristics like types of illustrations (precede any specific types of illustration with the overall note "ill.", mentioning how much coloration is available), coloration of a motion picture (or lack thereof), etc.
$c - Dimensions of the work/object, in centimeters.

4. 4xx - Series Fields (440, 490)

440 - Series Statement/Added Entry: Title
Indicators
Indicator 1 - Undefined
Indicator 2 - Nonfilling characters: how many characters due to "common articles" such as "the" or "an" before the first valid word the program ignores.

Subfields
$a - Title of series as stated exactly in the work.
$n - Number of a part or section of the series.
$p - Name of a part of section of the series.

490 - Series Statement
Indicators
Indicator 1 - Designates whether or not the series is properly traced or traced differently.
0 - Series not traced.
1 - Series traced differently.
Indicator 2 - Undefined

Subfields
$a - Series statement, as stated exactly in the work.

5. 5xx - Note Fields (500, 504)

500 - General Notes
Indicators Both indicators undefined.

Subfields
$a - General note: whatever notations one desires to make.

504 - Bibliography, Etc. Note
Indicators
Both indicators undefined.

Subfields
$a - Bibliography, etc. note (should be made as "Includes bibliographical references [give page numbers in parentheses] and . . .")

6. 6xx - Subject Fields (600, 610, 630, 650)

600 - Subject Added Entry: Personal Name
Indicators
Indicator 1 - Personal name element
0 - Forename: the entry is made with the first name, either a proper name, initials, or other letters, with the last name following (if applicable).
1 - Surname: the entry is made last name, first name, or used whenever the author is known by a single name.
3 - Family name: the entry is made under a collective family/lineage name or similar type of name, and can be entered in direct or inverted order.
Indicator 2 - Subject heading authority file: the official source where the subject heading came from.
0 - Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): this is the most widely used source for subject headings that is used within the United States.
1 - Library of Congress subject headings for children's literature: an LC subject headings source dedicated to children's literature subjects.
2 - National Library of Medicine Subject Headings.
3 - National Agricultural Library Subject Headings.
4 - Source unknown.
5 - National Library of Canada Subject Headings.

Subfields
$a - Personal name as formatted according to the indicator in Indicator 1.
$b - Numeration: any Roman numerals that might be associated with the name; not very common.
$c - Titles and other words associated with the name, such as "Sir", "Lord", etc.
$d - Dates: birth-death dates or periods when the author was in noteriety.
$f - Date of any works mentioned with the author.
$n - Number or part of a work mentioned with the author.
$p - Name of any part/section of a work mentioned with the author.
$t - Title of a work mentioned with the author.
$x - General subdivision: any general subject headings used to further describe the author.
$y - Chronological subdivision: any dates/century used to further describe the author.
$z - Geographic subdivision: any geographical region/country/state used to further describe the author.

610 - Subject Added Entry: Corporate Name
Indicators
Indicator 1 - Corporate name element
0 - Inverted name: any corporation that begins with a proper personal name in inverted order.
1 - Jurisdiction name: the name of a large jurisdiction (like a state or country), or a jurisdiction name under which a corporate name or title is entered.
2 - Name of the corporation in direct, unaltered order.
Indicator 2 - Subject heading authority file: the official source where the subject heading came from.
0 - Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): this is the most widely used source for subject headings that is used within the United States.
1 - Library of Congress subject headings for children's literature: an LC subject headings source dedicated to children's literature subjects.
2 - National Library of Medicine Subject Headings.
3 - National Agricultural Library Subject Headings.
4 - Source unknown.
5 - National Library of Canada Subject Headings.

Subfields
$a - Corporate/jurisdiction name: the name of the corporation/jurisdiction, formatted as identified with Indicator 1.
$b - Subordinate unit: any sub-units, divisions, etc. that might be associated or responsible for the work.
$c - Location of any meeting that was held to produce the work's contents.
$d - Date of any meeting held to produce the work's contents.
$f - Date of publication.
$n - Number of a part or section of a work mentioned with the author.
$p - Name of any part or section of a work mentioned with the author.
$t - Title of a work mentioned with the author.
$x - General subdivision: any general subject headings used to further describe the author.
$y - Chronological subdivision: any dates/century used to further describe the author.
$z - Geographic subdivision: any geographical region/country/state used to further describe the author.

630 - Subject Added Entry: Uniform Title
Indicators
Indicator 1 - Nonfilling characters: how many characters due to "common articles" such as "the" or "an" before the first valid word the program ignores.
Indicator 2 - Subject heading authority file: the official source where the subject heading came from.
0 - Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): this is the most widely used source for subject headings that is used within the United States.
1 - Library of Congress subject headings for children's literature: an LC subject headings source dedicated to children's literature subjects.
2 - National Library of Medicine Subject Headings.
3 - National Agricultural Library Subject Headings.
4 - Source unknown.
5 - National Library of Canada Subject Headings.

Subfields
$a - Uniform title: the accepted collective title use to describe various versions of a single work.
$d - Date of treaty signing: given when an important treaty (like the Magna Carta) is used as a uniform title.
$f - Date of a work mentioned with the title.
$n - Number of a part or section of a work mentioned with the title.
$p - Name of a part or section of a work mentioned with the title.
$s - Version of the title work.
$t - Title of a work mentioned with the uniform title.
$x - General subdivision: any general subject headings used to further describe the title.
$y - Chronological subdivision: any dates/century used to further describe the title.
$z - Geographic subdivision: any geographical region/country/state used to further describe the title.

650 Subject Added Entry: Topical Term
Indicators
Indicator 1 - Level of subject: how high the subject is the focus of the work.
_ - No information provided.
0 - No level specified.
1 - Primary: the work is all about the subject specified, or the subject is its most prominent focus.
2 - Secondary: the subject specified is not as prominent as the primary subject, but still emphasized.
Indicator 2 - Subject heading authority file: the official source where the subject heading came from.
0 - Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): this is the most widely used source for subject headings that is used within the United States.
1 - Library of Congress subject headings for children's literature: an LC subject headings source dedicated to children's literature subjects.
2 - National Library of Medicine Subject Headings.
3 - National Agricultural Library Subject Headings.
4 - Source unknown.
5 - National Library of Canada Subject Headings.

Subfields
$a - Subject topic or geographic name (when a geographical area is the focus).
$b - Subject following a geographic name.
$c - Location of an event that is connected to the subject.
. $d - Timeframe in which an event connected to the subject occured.
$x - General subdivision: any general subject headings used to further describe the subject.
$y - Chronological subdivision: any dates/century used to further describe the subject.
$z - Geographic subdivision: any geographical region/country/state used to further describe the subject.

7. Added Entry Fields (Dedicated - 700, 710, 730)

700 - Added Entry: Personal Name
Indicators
Indicator 1 - Personal name element
0 - Forename: the entry is made with the first name, either a proper name, initials, or other letters, with the last name following (if applicable).
1 - Surname: the entry is made last name, first name, or used whenever the author is known by a single name.
3 - Family name: the entry is made under a collective family/lineage name or similar type of name, and can be
entered in direct or inverted order.
Indicator 2 - Type of added entry: what kind of information is given by the added entry.
_ - No information provided.
2 - Analytical entry: "the item represented by the added entry is contained in the item described by the bibliographic record". - LC Marc 21 Concise Format for Bibliographic Data

Subfields
$a - Personal name: whatever name is being used, formatted as identified with Indicator 1.
$b - Numeration: any Roman numerals that might be associated with the name; not very common.
$c - Titles and other words associated with the name, such as "Sir", "Lord", etc.
$d - Dates: birth-death dates or periods when the author was in noteriety.
$f - Date of any works mentioned with the author.
$n - Number or part of a work mentioned with the author.
$p - Name of any part/section of a work mentioned with the author.
$t - Title of a work mentioned with the author.

710 - Added Entry: Corporate Name
Indicator 2
Indicator 1 - Corporate name element
0 - Inverted name: any corporation that begins with a proper personal name in inverted order.
1 - Jurisdiction name: the name of a large jurisdiction (like a state or country), or a jurisdiction name under which a corporate name or title is entered.
2 - Name of the corporation in direct, unaltered order.
Indicator 2 - Type of added entry: what kind of information is given by the added entry.
_ - No information provided.
2 - Analytical entry: "the item represented by the added entry is contained in the item described by the bibliographic record". - LC Marc 21 Concise Format for Bibliographic Data

Subfields
$a - Corporate/jurisdiction name: the name of the corporation/jurisdiction, formatted as identified with Indicator 1.
$b - Subordinate unit: any sub-units, divisions, etc. that might be associated or responsible for the work.
$c - Location of any meeting that was held to produce the work's contents.
$d - Date of any meeting held to produce the work's contents.
$f - Date of publication.
$n - Number of a part or section of a work mentioned with the author.
$p - Name of any part or section of a work mentioned with the author.
$t - Title of a work mentioned with the author.

730 - Added Entry: Uniform Title
Indicators
Indicator 1 - Nonfilling characters: how many characters due to "common articles" such as "the" or "an" before the first valid word the program ignores.
Indicator 2 - Type of added entry: what kind of information is given by the added entry.
_ - No information provided.
2 - Analytical entry: "the item represented by the added entry is contained in the item described by the bibliographic record". - LC Marc 21 Concise Format for Bibliographic Data

$a - Uniform title: the accepted collective title use to describe various versions of a single work.
$d - Date of treaty signing: given when an important treaty (like the Magna Carta) is used as a uniform title.
$f - Date of a work mentioned with the title.
$n - Number of a part or section of a work mentioned with the title.
$p - Name of a part or section of a work mentioned with the title.
$s - Version of the title work.
$t - Title of a work mentioned with the uniform title.

Valid XHTML 1.0!