Field Tag Formulas

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Field Tag Formulas

Record tags are first divided by hundreds:

0XX - Control information, numbers, codes

1XX - Main entry

2XX - Titles, edition, statement of purpose, and publication information

3XX - Physical description

4XX - Series statement

5XX - Notes

6XX - Subject added entries

7XX - Added entries other than subject or series

8XX - Series added entries

9XX - Locally-defined uses

Now, all tags that fall within a specific division are related. For example, tags 600,610,650,and 651 are all included in the 6XX division, the 600s. The 200s include tags 245,250,256,and 260.

Of the tags listed above, the 1XX, 4XX, 6XX, 7XX, and 8XX tags deserve special mention here. These fields are under authority control and house most access points. An access point is a heading (name, title, or subject) chosen by a cataloger to allow for the retrieval of a record (7).

The grouping of variable fields depend upon the first character of the tag. This identifies the function of the data within that record. The following groups are offered for illustration. They were taken from The MARC 21 Formats: Background and Principles.

Bibliographic format group:

0XX - Control information, numbers, codes

1XX - Main entry

2XX - Titles, edition, imprint

3XX - Physical description

4XX - Series statement

5XX - Notes

6XX - Subject access fields

7XX - Name, added entries

8XX - Series added entries

9XX - Reserved for local uses

Authority format group:

0XX - Control information, numbers, codes

1XX - Heading

2XX - See references

3XX - See references

4XX - See form tracings

5XX - See also from tracings

6XX - Reference notes, treatment, notes

7XX - Heading linking entries

8XX - Not defined

9XX - Reserved for local uses

Classification format group:

0XX - Control information, numbers, codes

1XX - Classification numbers and terms

2XX - See references

3XX - See also references

4XX - Invalid number tracings

5XX - Valid number tracings

6XX - Notes

7XX - Index terms and number building fields

8XX - Miscellaneous

9XX - Reserved for local uses

Community information format group:

0XX - Control information, numbers, codes

1XX - Primary names

2XX - Titles, addresses

3XX - Physical information

4XX - Series information

5XX - Notes

6XX - Subject access fields

7XX - Added entries other than subject

8XX - Miscellaneous

9XX - Reserved for local uses

Holdings format group:

0XX - Control information, numbers, codes

1XX-4XX - Not defined

5XX - Notes

6XX -7XX - Not defined

8XX - Holdings and location data, notes

9XX - Reserved for local uses

As I stated earlier, certain fields are under authority control. In these incidents, a cataloger will adhere to a prescribed list of appropriate name and subject headings. This is necessary if an established order is to be achieved. Names are usually taken form the Library of Congress Name Authority file; topics from Library of Congress Subject Headings or the Sears List of Subject Headings. It is important to note that data elements may exist within fields under authority control, which are themselves free from this control. This information on authority control is given here for the purpose of introducing the concept of "parallel content."

Parallel tag usage is given in the same fields requiring authority control (listed above). Parallel content is as follows:

X00 - Personal names

X10 - Corporate names

X11 - Meeting names

X30 - Uniform titles

X40 - Bibliographic titles

X50 - Topical terms

X51 - Geographic names (2)

When you consider the first grouping on this page (fields by hundreds), and combine this listing individually with the parallel content above, it is easy to see that if a subject for a book is, say, goldfish (a topical term - X50), the tag will be 650, etc. This is just an example; it is meant to give the reader an elementary idea of what first constitutes the designation of particular tags within particular fields.


	Playing With MARC \| home A Brief History \| The Machine-Readable Cataloging Record \| Content Designators \| Field Tag Formulas \| The Necessity of Standards \| Bibliography Field Tag Formulas Record tags are first divided by hundreds: 0XX - Control information, numbers, codes 1XX - Main entry 2XX - Titles, edition, statement of purpose, and publication information 3XX - Physical description 4XX - Series statement 5XX - Notes 6XX - Subject added entries 7XX - Added entries other than subject or series 8XX - Series added entries 9XX - Locally-defined uses Now, all tags that fall within a specific division are related. For example, tags 600,610,650,and 651 are all included in the 6XX division, the 600s. The 200s include tags 245,250,256,and 260. Of the tags listed above, the 1XX, 4XX, 6XX, 7XX, and 8XX tags deserve special mention here. These fields are under authority control and house most access points. An access point is a heading (name, title, or subject) chosen by a cataloger to allow for the retrieval of a record (7). The grouping of variable fields depend upon the first character of the tag. This identifies the function of the data within that record. The following groups are offered for illustration. They were taken from The MARC 21 Formats: Background and Principles. Bibliographic format group: 0XX - Control information, numbers, codes 1XX - Main entry 2XX - Titles, edition, imprint 3XX - Physical description 4XX - Series statement 5XX - Notes 6XX - Subject access fields 7XX - Name, added entries 8XX - Series added entries 9XX - Reserved for local uses Authority format group: 0XX - Control information, numbers, codes 1XX - Heading 2XX - See references 3XX - See references 4XX - See form tracings 5XX - See also from tracings 6XX - Reference notes, treatment, notes 7XX - Heading linking entries 8XX - Not defined 9XX - Reserved for local uses Classification format group: 0XX - Control information, numbers, codes 1XX - Classification numbers and terms 2XX - See references 3XX - See also references 4XX - Invalid number tracings 5XX - Valid number tracings 6XX - Notes 7XX - Index terms and number building fields 8XX - Miscellaneous 9XX - Reserved for local uses Community information format group: 0XX - Control information, numbers, codes 1XX - Primary names 2XX - Titles, addresses 3XX - Physical information 4XX - Series information 5XX - Notes 6XX - Subject access fields 7XX - Added entries other than subject 8XX - Miscellaneous 9XX - Reserved for local uses Holdings format group: 0XX - Control information, numbers, codes 1XX-4XX - Not defined 5XX - Notes 6XX -7XX - Not defined 8XX - Holdings and location data, notes 9XX - Reserved for local uses As I stated earlier, certain fields are under authority control. In these incidents, a cataloger will adhere to a prescribed list of appropriate name and subject headings. This is necessary if an established order is to be achieved. Names are usually taken form the Library of Congress Name Authority file; topics from Library of Congress Subject Headings or the Sears List of Subject Headings. It is important to note that data elements may exist within fields under authority control, which are themselves free from this control. This information on authority control is given here for the purpose of introducing the concept of "parallel content." Parallel tag usage is given in the same fields requiring authority control (listed above). Parallel content is as follows: X00 - Personal names X10 - Corporate names X11 - Meeting names X30 - Uniform titles X40 - Bibliographic titles X50 - Topical terms X51 - Geographic names (2) When you consider the first grouping on this page (fields by hundreds), and combine this listing individually with the parallel content above, it is easy to see that if a subject for a book is, say, goldfish (a topical term - X50), the tag will be 650, etc. This is just an example; it is meant to give the reader an elementary idea of what first constitutes the designation of particular tags within particular fields.