What does the acronym MARC mean?
MARC stands for MAchine-Readable Cataloging. It is a set of standards for encoding bibliographic data in a machine-readable format. The MARC format was developed in the 1960s by the Library of Congress to create a consistent and efficient way of representing bibliographic data in computer systems.
The MARC format is used to create catalog records for library materials, and it defines a specific format for encoding information such as the title, author, publication date, and call number of a book, as well as any other relevant details. The format also includes codes to indicate the type of material (e.g. book, map, etc.) and the specific fields used to describe it.
MARC records are used by libraries to create their catalogs, and they are also used to share bibliographic data between libraries. The MARC format has been widely adopted by libraries worldwide, and it is the most widely used format for bibliographic data in libraries.
There are two main types of MARC formats: MARC 21 and MARCXML. MARC 21 is used mainly in North America, while MARCXML is used mainly outside of North America, specifically in Europe and Asia.
In summary, MARC is an acronym that stands for MAchine-Readable Cataloging. It is a set of standards that define a specific format for encoding bibliographic data in a machine-readable format, it was developed by the Library of Congress in the 1960s to create a consistent and efficient way of representing bibliographic data in computer systems, it is widely used by libraries worldwide and it has two main formats MARC 21 and MARCXML.