Understanding MARC Bibliographic (Week 4)

This reading was very heavy on definitions of the MARC 21 code--all of which is new to me. I had some trouble completely understanding and remember the number for tags and what the indicator was used for from tag to tag. That was the biggest challenge. However, I will list the top ten points that I gathered from the reading in hopes that I will be able to look back on this as a quick notes instead of always having to refer to the Library of Congress's Understanding MARC Bibliographic. But, if you're going to jump into using the MARC 21 system--as I am about to--it does give you a heads up on the basics of MARC 21 and what it looks like written.

And the most important points that I think will help me when working with MARC 21:

1. TAGS: Tags are 3-digit numbers that are followed by the names of the fields they represent. Some are repeatable and some are not.
2. INDICATORS: Indicators explain in fields where they are used. They are one-digit numbers. They follow the tag and there are two character positions, one for Indicator 1 and Indicator 2. It is possible that one will be undefined for that specific tag, in which case, it will be marked with the character #.
3. SUBFIELD CODES: all the data in each field (starting with 010) is divided into subfields. These subfields are preceded by a delimiter code combination. The delimiter shown in the LOC exercise is the character $. EVERY FIELD HAS A SUBFIELD "a" (shown "$a"). The subfields are usually represented by a letter, rarely by a number.
4. Examples of most frequently used tags in a MARC 21 record: 010 Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN), 020 International Standard Book Number (ISBN), 100 personal name entry or Author, 245 title information, 250 edition, 260 publication information, 300 physical description, 440 series statement/added entry, 520 annotation or summary note, 650 topical subject heading, 700 personal name added entry (joint author, editor or illustrator)
5. Tags divided into hundreds are quick ways to tell what the entry is about: 0xx control information, numbers, codes; 1xx main entry; 2xx titles, editions, imprint; 3xx physical description; 4xx series statements as shown in the book; 5xx notes; 6xx subject added entries; 7xx added entires other than subject or series; 8xx series added entries
6. Access points are headings where a user or librarian can search in an online catalog for a record. Most access points are found in: main entries, series statements, subject headings, added entries that aren't subject or series and series entries.
7. Authority Control means to follow the recognized or established form. The best authority is the Library of Congress Name Authority File.
8. Parallel Content is found in fields that require authority control and in fields that use parallel tag construction, such as the 6xx field, the subject heading field. The parallel content is as follows: x00 personal names; x10 corporate names; x11 meeting names; x30 uniform titles; x40 bibliographic titles; x50 topical forms; x51 geographic names.
9. Leaders are the first 24 characters of a record. They are important and have assigned meaning, but they are only meant for the computer to use.
10. MARC records are now available for distribution through file transfer (FTP). This is what is important about using MARC 21 in libraries and not developing an in-house system. Using MARC 21 allows for information sharing between libraries and ensuring that the "tagged" records are correct and full of strong information that follow all rules and guidelines.

Much of the rest of the read was full of what each tag means and what the two indicator characters mean for each tag. And also what each subfield means for each tag. It was a lot of good information, but best to be read over and understood while doing. As I have learned, sometimes doing is the best way of learning. Now that I have some background information, I can continue on. I have the ability to read a MARC record and now I am going to learn to write a coherent record.