CATALOGING OF SPECIAL MATERIALS IN

THE MARC FORMAT

Prepared by

Randall K. Barry
(Internet: RBAR@LOC.GOV)

Library of Congress
Network Development and MARC Standards Office

Special Materials in MARC 1

 PARTIALITY OF LIBRARIANSHIP:

For more than five millennia, the written word has had
a special place in our culture
The written representation of the spoken word has
been more important than any other human invention
Although all types of materials are collected, the
collection and organization of books has dominated the
library profession

Special Materials in MARC •2

 CHANGED DURING THE 20TH CENTURY:

During the last 100 years the number of available

means of communication has greatly increased;
Recording of sound and images (still and moving) has
changed the nature of the resources our libraries and
media centers control;
These new media join other important non-print
media, most notably cartographic material (maps) and
manuscripts.

Special Materials in MARC •3

 REACHING CRITICAL MASS:

Only recently has the full effect of the number of non-

print media available been recognized;
Popular demand for recordings of all types has created
an active market for these media;
The control of these media has become a significant
part of the work of most libraries;
For many libraries, the control of special materials still
does not fit well into the existing library services
infrastructure.

Special Materials in MARC •4

 WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES TO PROPER
CONTROL OF SPECIAL MATERIALS?

The manipulation of the physical items themselves;

Specialized bibliographic description;
The differenciation in access between bibliographic
items with different physical characteristics;
The unique data that these materials introduce in the
catalogs for traditional materials.

Special Materials in MARC •5

 OVERVIEW OF SPECIAL MATERIALS:

1) Maps and other cartographic materials

2) Manuscript materials (letters, diaries)
3) Printed music (scores)
4) Recorded sound (music and spoken word)
5) Films (slides) and video recordings (projectable
images)
6) Graphic materials (photographs, posters, etc.)
7) Computer data and programs ("software")
8) 3-dimensional artifacts (models, statues, etc.)

Special Materials in MARC •6

 MAPS AND CARTOGRAPHIC MATERIALS:

Definition: Graphic material all or part of the earth or

another celestial body or the physical location of
objects, including maps, atlases, globes, plans, remote
sensing images taken from a distance (AACR2 chapter
3)
Special aspects: Scale, projection;
Special MARC fields: 007, 034 (Coded Cartographic
Mathematical Data), 043 (Geographic Area Code), 255
(Cartographic Mathematical Data) 507 (Scale Note)

Special Materials in MARC •7

 EXAMPLE CARTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL:

LDR 01456nem[][]2200244[]a[]4500
007 aj[]canza [a=map; j=map; c=color; a=paper]
008 730923s1973[][][][]ag[][][]bi[]a[][][][][][][][][]spa[]d [bi=Gauss]
050 00 aG5352.P4 1973 b.S2
052 [][] a5352 bP4
100 1[] aSaulnier, Léon.
245 10 aPatagonia : bzona de influencia de Bahía Blanca / cLéon
Saulnier, técnico ; Antonio Alberto Buragín, cartógrafo.
255 [][] aScale 1:2,000,000 ; bGauss projection.
260 [][] a[Bahía Blanca] : bCasa Muniz.., c1973.
300 [][] a1 map : bcol. ; c107 x 74 cm.
651 []7 aPatagonia (Argentina y Chile) vMaps. 2lcsh
700 1[] aAlberto Bugarín, Antonio.
710 2[] aCasa Muniz Adelino Gutiérrez y Cía.

Special Materials in MARC •8

 MANUSCRIPT MATERIAL:

Definition: Material made by hand or manually typed.

Normalmente only one copy of the bibliographic item
or collection exists (AACR2 chapter 4)
Special aspects: Size, form organization, source, actions
taken (conservation)
Special MARC fields: 300 (Physical Desc.), 340
(Medium), 351 (Organization), 561 (Custodial History
and Ownership), 583 (Actions Note)

Special Materials in MARC •9

 EXAMPLE OF MANUSCRIPT MATERIAL:

LDR 02433npc[][]2200425[]a[]4500
007 tu [t=text]
008 940724k19251994xx[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]mul[]d
041 0[] adutengfregeritaporrusspa
100 1[] aLetts de Espil, Courtney.
245 10 a[Correspondence, 1925-1994] g(mainly 1930-1949).
300 [][] a12 fboxes.
351 [][] aOrganized in 12 series
541 [][] cGift from aCourtney Letts de Espil.
545 0[] aAuthor, married Felipe A. Espil; born 1899; died 1995.
546 [][] aMaterials in various languages.
555 0[] aGuide available on the Internet.
600 17 aPerón, Juan Domingo, d1895-1974. 2lcsh
651 []7 aArgentina xForeign relations zE.U. 2lcsh
856 4[] 3Guía uhttp://www.loc.gov/mss/msspub/letts.txt

Special Materials in MARC •10

 PRINTED MUSIC (SCORES):

Definition: Representation of a musical work for

instruments or voices with notation that may contain
indication of key, duration, timbre, and pitch (AACR2
chapter 5);
Special aspects: Musical presentation, duration,
instructional notes;
Special MARC fields: 007, 047 (Form of Musical
Composition), 254 (Musical Presentation Statement)

Special Materials in MARC •11

 EXAMPLE OF PRINTED MUSIC:

LDR 00933nem[][]2200180[]a[]4500
007 qu [q=notated music]
008 940519m19731977ag[]hyd[][][][][][][][][][][][][][]spa[]d
047 [][] ahy acc [hy=hymns; cc=christian chants]
050 00 aM2198 b.C7779 1973
245 00 aCorazón y voz / ccompilado por Juan N. McGuckin.
254 [][] aScore and set of 4 parts.
260 [][] aBuenos Aires : bJunta Bautista de Publicaiones, cc1973-
c1977.
300 [][] a7 v. of music ; c23 cm.
500 [][] aFor 1 to 4 voices.
650 []7 aSacred vocal music zArgentina. 2lcsh
700 1[] aMcGuckin, Juan N.

Special Materials in MARC •12

 RECORDED SOUND (MUSIC/SPOKEN WORD):

Definition: Audio material that can reproduce music or

other recorded sound (spoken word, noises, etc.
(AACR2 chapter 6)
Special aspects: Physical description, supplementary
material (librettos), standard numbers, performers
Special MARC fields: 007, 300 b (Physical details), e
(Supplementary material), 028 (Publisher Number),
511 (Performer or Artist Note)

Special Materials in MARC •13

 EXAMPLE OF AUDIO MATERIAL:

LDR 01102njm[][]2200255[]a[]4500
007 sduzsnznnmlneu [s=sound; d=disk]
008 940727s1992[][][][]ag[]ppn[][][]d[][][][][][][][][]spa[]d
028 [][] a7-80734-2 bEMI
100 1[] aSosa, Patricia. 4prf
245 10 aLuz de mi vida h[sound recording].
260 [][] aBuenos Aires, Argentina : bEMI, cp1992.
300 [][] a1 sound disc : bdigital ; c4 3/4 in.
505 0[] aEl mar mas grande que hay -- Endúlzame los oídos -- Señal de
amor... -- Luz de mi vida.
511 0[] aPatricia Sosa, vocals ; with instrumental accompaniment.
650 []7 aPopular music zArgentina y1991-2000. 2lcsh

Special Materials in MARC •14

 FILMS AND VIDEO RECORDINGS:

Definition: Projectable graphic material that contains

still or moving images with or without sound tracks
(AACR2, chapter 7)
Special aspects: Physical description, format of
recording, duration
Special MARC fields: 007, 300 a (VHS format), 511
(Performer or Artist Note), 033/518 (Date/Hour and
Place of an Event), 538 (System Details)

Special Materials in MARC •15

 EXAMPLE OF A FILM :

LDR 01004ngm[][]2200306[]a[]4500
007 mrucaaad [r=reel; c=color; a=sound; d=16mm]
008 810520s1979[][][][]ag[]022[]d[][][][][][][][][][]mlspa[]d
041 0[] aspaeng
100 1[] aPrelorán, Jorge.
245 10 aChucalezna h[film] / cJorge Preloran.
260 [][] aNew York, NY : bPhoenix Films, c1979.
300 [][] a1 reel (22 min.) : bsd., col. ; c16 mm.
521 2[] aFor high school and university students.
546 [][] aIn Spanish with English subtitles.
650 []7 aEducation zArgentina zChucalezna. 2lcsh
651 []7 aChucalezna (Argentina) xRural conditions. 2lcsh
710 2[] aPhoenix Films.

Special Materials in MARC •16

 EXAMPLE OF A VIDEO RECORDING:

LDR 00855ngm[][]2200211[]a[]4500
007 vfucbahou
008 730923s1973[][][][]ag[]064[][][][][][][][][][][][]vlspa[]d
041 0[] aspaeng
245 04 aLas Madres de la Plaza de Mayo h[videorecording]
/ cdirectores, Susana Múñoz, Lourdes Portillo.
260 [][] a[Nueva York?] : bXochitl Films, c[1990?]
300 [][] a1 videocassette (VHS) (64 min.) : bsd., col. ; c1/2 in.
546 [][] aIn Spanish and English.
610 20 aMadres de Plaza de Mayo (Asociación)
650 []7 aMissing persons zArgentina. 2lcsh
655 []7 aVideo. 2mim
700 1[] aMúñoz, Susana, eproduction.
700 1[] aPortillo, Lourdes, eproduction.

Special Materials in MARC •17

 GRAPHIC MATERIALS:

Definition: Non-projectable material that captures an

image (a photograph, poster, etc.), or a shape (a bust)
(AACR2 chapter 8)
Special aspects: The title, imprint, source, date of
creation, physical description
Special MARC fields: 007, 243 (Collective Uniform
Title), 245 (Title Statement), 260 (Publication,
Distribution, Etc. (Imprint)), 507 (Scale Note)

Special Materials in MARC •18

 EXAMPLE OF GRAPHIC MATERIAL:

LDRCA 00926nkm[][]2200277[]a[]4500
007 kh[]co[] [h=photos; c=color; o=paper]
008 950417s1958[][][][]xx[]nnn[][][][][][][][][][][][]in[][][][]d
245 03 a[El Nuevo presidente de Argentina, Arturo Frondizi, con el vice
presidente Richard Nixon, en Buenos Aires] h[photograph].
260 [][] c1958.
300 [][] a1 photo : bcol. ; c13x18 cm.
600 14 aFrondizi, Arturo, d1908-
600 14 aNixon, Richard M. q(Richard Milhous), d1913-
xTravel zArgentina.
650 []7 aState visits zArgentina zUnited States y1950-
1960. 2lctgm
655 []7 aGroup portraits y1950-1960. 2gmgpc
655 []7 aPortrait photographs y1950-1960. 2gmgpc

Special Materials in MARC •19

 COMPUTER DATA AND PROGRAMS:

Definition: Electronic materials including data files,

"fonts", character sets (AACR2 chapter 9);
Special aspects: File characteristics, supplementary
material (user guide), system requirements;
Special MARC fields: 007, 256 (File Characteristics),
351 (Organization of Material), 538 (System Details),
753 (System Details Access)

Special Materials in MARC •20

 EXAMPLE OF ELECTRONIC MATERIAL:

LDRCA 01352nmm[][]2200277[]a[]4500
007 co[]cga
008 950310s1995[][][][]ag[][][][][][][][][]i[][][][][][][][]spa[]d
245 04 a¡Un siglo de tango! h[CD-ROM] / cdirección general,
Alejandro Estayno ; coordinación, Christian Roig.
246 33 aEnciclopedia interactiva de tango en CD-ROM
250 [][] a[Versión] Microsoft Windows compatible.
256 [][] aComputer data and software.
260 [][] aTandil, Buenos Aires : bSierra 3, cc1995.
300 [][] a1 optical laser disc : bsd., col. ; c12cm + e1 manual
538 [][] aIBM-compatible, 386DX or better; 4MB RAM; hard drive wit
h 4MB free space; Windows 3.1 or higher; CD-ROM drive; sound card.
650 []7 aTango (Dance) zArgentina xHistory.
700 1[] aEstayno, Alejandro.

Special Materials in MARC •21

 THREE DIMENSIONAL ARTIFACTS:

Definition: Three dimensional artefacts or naturally

occurring objects, includings models, dioramas, games,
sculptures, machines, clothes. (AACR2 chapter 10);
Special aspects: The title, size, source (origin), material
(wood, stone, marble, plastic, glass)
Special MARC fields: 007, 243 (Collective Uniform
Title), 245 (Title Statement), 260 (Publisher,
Distributor, etc. (Imprint)), 300 b (Material)

Special Materials in MARC •22

EXAMPLE OF A THREE DIMENSIONAL ARTIFACT:

LDR 00925nrm[][]2200198[]a[]4500
007 zz
008 730923s1973[][][][]ag[][][]bi[]a[][][][][][][][][]spa[]d []
245 00 aGateway model no. Solo 2500 h[computer equipment].
246 33 aGateway Solo 2500
260 [][] a[Sioux Falls, S.D., U.S.A.] : bGateway 2000, c[1998]
300 [][] a1 computer ; c32x24 cm. + eusers manual
505 0[] aLaptop with color active matrix screen and stereo speakers --
Procesor Pentium MMX 200MHz -- Memory RAM 128MB -- Adaptor
50/60 Hrz, 110/220-- Hard disc 2GB -- Gateway 2000 Telepath 3CXM356
modem -- Windows 98operating system -- MS Office 97 with MS Access.
650 []7 aPersonal computer vEquipment.
753 [][] aGateway 2000 Solo 2500 cWindows 98

Special Materials in MARC •23

 OTHER POSSIBILITIES:

Bibliographic materiales can involve a variety of

characteristics;
These examples are relatively simple; there is also the
possibility of combinations of material (for example: a -
book with a sound recording or CD-ROM);
The importance of field 007 increases with the control
and access for special materials; it has become the most
important carrier of information about the physical
characteristics of these materials.

Special Materials in MARC •24