After MARC – what then?

Abstract

The article discusses the future of the MARC formats and outlines how future cataloguing practice and bibliographic records might look. Background and basic functionality of the MARC formats are outlined, and it is pointed out that MARC is manifest in several different formats. This is illustrated through a comparison between the MARC21 format and the Danish MARC format “danMARC2”. It is argued that present cataloguing codes and MARC formats are based primarily on the Paris principles and that “functional requirements for bibliographic records” (FRBR) would serve as a more solid and user‐oriented platform for future development of cataloguing codes and formats. Furthermore, it is argued that MARC is a library‐specific format, which results in neither exchange with library external sectors nor inclusion of other texts being facilitated. XML could serve as the technical platform for a model for future registrations, consisting of some core data and different supplements of data necessary for different sectors and purposes.

Citation

Andresen, L. (2004), "After MARC – what then?", Library Hi Tech, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 40-51. https://doi.org/10.1108/07378830410524486