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FAQ: NLM LocatorPlus -- Authority Records -- Downloading NLM Authority Records


Question: How do I download NLM authority records in MARC 21 format?
Answer:
  1. Retrieve the authority record of interest.

  2. Change the download format in the drop-down menu under "Options for Print, Save, or E-mail" at the bottom of the page. The default setting is "Full Record with holdings". MARC 21 options are:

    • MARC-8 (non-Unicode) -- provides a MARC-formatted record utilizing the ASCII character set plus special characters not available in ASCII.
    • UTF-8 MARC (Unicode) -- provides a MARC-formatted record according to the Universal Coded Character Set (UCS or ISO/IEC 10646) and its industry subset Unicode that have been approved for the standard interchange of MARC records. This standard permits the display of non-Roman characters.

  3. Click on the "Print/Save" icon to the right of the drop-down box. The MARC record will appear as a single line of numbers and letters on your screen.

  4. Click on 'File/Save As' in the Menu Bar of the browser. Name the file and specify the local directory where you wish to save the records. If using Internet Explorer 5.50 or higher, change the "Save as Type" to "Text File" before saving.

  5. Use the MARC record import functionality of your local integrated library system to load the authority record into your local database.


Related Questions:
Authority Records Questions
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http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/lpauthoritydownload.html

Last reviewed: 25 July 2008
Last updated: 25 July 2008
First published: 01 January 1999
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