The Importance of MARC Authority Records

Standardized bibliographic data input, utilizing MARC formats, insures the integrity of the online public catalog in storage and retrieval of information. When we talk about MARC, we hope to convey its importance to those who create and maintain MARC data in the online public catalog. Without good, accurate MARC records, patrons cannot find the great resources in the library. An accurate MARC record includes not only the correct application of tags, indicators and subfields in the MARC21 Bibliographic Format, but also the standardized choice of access points in the record: the names, subject headings, and uniform titles that will appear in the browse indexes of the online catalog—the access points that are represented by MARC authority records. Authority records are not seen by an OPAC’s users, but the structure they create is visible in the form of cross references that direct users from one form of heading to another. This tutorial is a first step toward training library personnel in the particulars of MARC authority tags, indicators, fields, and subfields, why each part is significant in the creation of the authority record, and the interaction of authority and bibliographic records.

The MARC Authority training tutorial provides a means to study and practice the creation of authority records incorporating MARC coding. These standards are utilized by automated library systems that support authority control.

This tutorial is made possible with permission from the Library of Congress, and Follett Software Company who developed part of the content of Understanding MARC Authority Records: Machine-Readable Cataloging.

The intended audience is library science students, as well as library cataloging personnel. The tutorial provides support for cataloging courses that cover authority control, taught either through distance learning opportunities or via the Internet. In addition, the tutorial is suitable for practicing librarians who wish to update their knowledge of authority work in the electronic environment, or to use as a tool for training personnel.

These interactive, self-directed, hands-on skills exercises and training will:

1. supplement classroom and textbook presentation of MARC authority concepts.
2. assist in training in a student practicum in the technical services area of librarianship to match bibliographic records with corresponding authority records and to edit authority records in a library’s local file
3. support librarians and library staff in learning MARC authority concepts, in conjunction with Understanding MARC Bibliographic: Machine-Readable Cataloging