MARC 21 Database Model

The marc database in ABCD is a full implementation of the MARC 21 Format for Bibliographic Data. It is the recommended model for general libraries that require Z39.50 interoperability.

Database Definition

• Internal Name: marc
• Standard: Library of Congress MARC 21
• Encoding: UTF-8 (Recommended)

1. Worksheets (FMT)

The ABCD implementation breaks down the complex MARC standard into manageable worksheets tailored for specific material types.

Worksheet	Name	Use Case	Key Fields
books	Monographs	Books, Theses, Single items.	100 (Author), 245 (Title), 020 (ISBN)
serials	Serials	Journals, Magazines, Periodicals.	022 (ISSN), 362 (Date/Vol), 310 (Freq)
m_video	Visual Material	DVDs, Streaming, Projectors.	508 (Credits), 520 (Summary)
m_audio	Sound Recording	CD, Vinyl, Podcasts.	511 (Performer), 028 (Publisher No.)
cartos	Maps	Maps, Globes, Atlases.	255 (Scale), 034 (Coords)

2. Indexing Rules (FST)

The default Field Selection Table (marc.fst) ensures that records are retrievable by standard search criteria.

Index	Prefix	Technique	Fields Indexed
Keyword	(None)	Word (4)	All text fields (Title, Notes, Abstracts)
Title	TI_	Phrase (0) & Word (4)	245, 246, 740
Author	AU_	Phrase (0)	100, 110, 111, 700, 710
Subject	SU_	Phrase (0)	600, 610, 650, 651, 653
Control No.	CN_	Full Field	001, 002 (and MFN)
ISBN/ISSN	IS_	Full Field	020, 022
Year	PY_	Full Field	260^c

3. Display Formats (PFT)

ABCD includes several Print Format Tables to visualize MARC data.

• marc.pft (ISBD): The default view. Renders the record like a traditional catalog card (Title / Author. - Place : Publisher, Year).
• marc_tag.pft (Technical): Displays the raw data with Tag numbers and subfield codes (e.g., 245 ^aTitle^bSubtitle). Useful for catalogers.
• xmlexport.pft (Interoperability): Transforms the ISIS record into valid MARCXML, used for OAI-PMH harvesting.

4. OPAC Configuration

To expose the MARC database in the Public OPAC, verify the opac/marc.xml configuration.

Key Settings:

• Highlights: Usually configured to highlight words in Titles (245) and Authors (100).
• Facets:
  • Type of Material: Uses the Leader (3000) or specific fields.
  • Authors: Extracted from 100/700.
  • Subjects: Extracted from 650.
  • Year: Extracted from 260^c.