April 29, 1997
Press contact: Guy Lamolinara (202) 707-9217
Public contact: Sally McCallum (202) 707-6237
Library of Congress, British Library and National Library of Canada Achieve Major Milestones in Format Harmonization
The Library of Congress (LC), the British Library
(BL) and the National Library of Canada (NLC) have
reached a major milestone in the harmonization of their
machine-readable cataloging (MARC) formats. The result will
be more sharing of cataloging information and a reduction in
the costs of cataloging materials.
Agreement has been attained on full harmonization of
USMARC and CAN/MARC. In addition, significant progress has
been made in the alignment of this harmonized format with
UKMARC.
The benefits of a harmonized format include easier and
more efficient record exchange between the users and
producers of MARC records, elimination of the need for
conversion programs and potential reductions in the expense
of format maintenance and documentation. Whereas full
harmonization of USMARC and CAN/MARC has been accomplished,
the three libraries recognize that UKMARC must retain
certain features of particular value to the UKMARC user
community, and therefore full harmonization is not
achievable in the short term. Partial alignment is being
pursued immediately with full harmonization as a long term
goal.
Meetings of representatives of the three national
libraries were held in Washington on Dec. 2, 1996, and
Feb. 18, 1997. It was agreed that over the next few months,
the Library of Congress and the National Library of Canada
will formulate mechanisms for the coordination and approval
of future format development as well as determine a schedule
for implementation. To facilitate the continuation of the
harmonization process with UKMARC, a MARC Harmonization
Coordinating Committee was also established. The committee
is interested in the following:
- Coordinating new developments in the UKMARC
and harmonized USMARC and CAN/MARC formats;
- Seeking further opportunities for harmonization
of the two formats;
- Ensuring that future development of the formats
takes into consideration other international
standards;
- Exploring the impact of changing technology on
MARC formats.
In addition, a technical panel will meet regularly to
discuss issues relating to the formats.
Winston Tabb, Associate Librarian for Library Services at
LC, said: "The MARC Harmonization Coordinating Committee
will promote future opportunities for format convergence
and ensure that future developments will continue to bring
the formats closer together. The complete harmonization
of USMARC and CAN/MARC into a single format is a signal
achievement that will facilitate record exchange throughout
the U.S. and Canadian bibliographic communities and beyond."
Said Ingrid Parent, Director General, Acquisitions and
Bibliographic Services at the National Library of Canada:
"Although there are many benefits of format harmonization,
perhaps the most significant is the potential for reducing
the cost of cataloging. The elimination of format
differences across national boundaries will increase the
pool of catalog records available to libraries for copy
cataloging and resource-sharing activities."
Stuart Ede, Director of Acquisitions, Processing and
Cataloguing at the British Library, welcomed the progress
made, saying: "It was always going to be difficult, given
the philosophical differences between UKMARC and the North
American formats, to achieve full harmonization in the short
term. What we have achieved is a balanced outcome: on the
one hand, coordinating development across the Atlantic; on
the other hand, preserving the underlying compatibility of
UKMARC with other national and international formats, which
will facilitate cooperation with European partners as well."
For further information, contact Sally McCallum, chief,
Network Development and MARC Standards Office, Library
of Congress, LM639, Washington, DC 20540-4102 (phone:
202-707-6237; fax: 202-707-0115).
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PR 97-80
4/29/97
ISSN 0731-3527