Action for Libraries

              ACTION FOR LIBRARIES
AUGUST,1987
Volume XIII, No.8
ISSN: 0363-0250
MARC Format Integration
by Gretchen Redfield
MARBI (Committee on Representation in Machine~
Readable Form of Bibliographic Information) is a committee
comprised of representatives from 3 divisions within ALA
that works with the Library of Congress and the major
utilities on setting the standards for machine~readable
bibliographic records through the MARC format. At the
summer ALA meetings in San Francisco this group reviewed
Discussion Paper No. 16 on 'Format Integration
Considerations'. The proposed changes to an integrated C MARC format would undoubtedly have a very significant
---) impact on the thousands of libraries that use machine~
readable cataloging records.
l
An integrated format would contain data elements that
could be used to describe any type of material. There would
be a need to address the inconsistencies that have occurred
by using various fields, subfields, and indicators across the
current formats. Certain elements in the existing formats
would be eliminated. The major concerns center around
seriality, or providing a means to describe the serial~related
aspects of any item, and the archival and manuscript control
for all forms of materials.
The idea of integrating the various MARC formats has
been discussed at various intervals in the past, particularly as
an outgrowth of the MARC format review conducted by the
Library of Congress in 1980-81, and the development of the
USMARC statement of underlying principles in 1982-83.
MARBI looked at the question as a result of Discussion
Paper No.7, "Integration of USMARC Bibliographic
Formats," by John Attig. This was followed by several
proposals from the Research Library Group to LC. LC had
already begun a systematic review of the USMARC
bibliographic formats in September, 1983. LC determined
that MARC format integration might result in a number of
important enhancements. It would allow for a more flexible
format that could accommodate forms of materials having
characteristics of more than one mediaj simplify the formatj
decrease the number and kinds of changes needed in the
5211j YEAR OF SERVICE TO LIBRARIES
Editor: Joyce Coyne
Assistant Editor: Mary Flowers
future since y of the USMARC fields could be used
when eve ey are considered appropriate; allow for less
ex· software since many fields could be dealt with in the
same way regardless of the type of material; and reduce the
coding of the same element in different ways.
The possible negative impact of integration was also
considered. It was not an easy task to determine the costs and
benefits of integration on the library community. LC
requested input from selected institutions in the fall of 1985
and spring of 1986. The responses indicated that integration
was necessary, even though it would be expensive.
The original Discussion Paper will be incorporated into a
formal integration proposal that will be presented to MARBI
at ALA Midwinter. If it is adopted in some form by MARBl,
it will remain to be seen how it is implemented by the various
utilities, such as OCLC, RLG, and WLN.
BCR Micro Show on September 1
The momentum is building for the BCR Micro Show on
Sept. 1. Some of the vendors who will be represented are:
Data Trek, Inc.:
Providers of a fully integrated library automation
system that runs on IBM~PCs or compatibles and can'
be local area networked.
WordPerfect Corp.:
Publishers of the best selling wordprocessing package
WordPerfect, the spreadsheet PlanPerfect (a.k.a.
MathPlan), and Library (a powerful menuing system).
Total Business Systems:
Will demo Desktop Publishing with a microcomputer.
T.B.S. will show a document scanner and a laser printer
in addition to Ventura Desktop Publishing software.
Epson North America:
Will demo its printer and microcomputer products
AND will be showing several new (not yet announced)
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