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FAQ
Downloading NLM Bibliographic Records in MARC 21 Format

Question: How do I download NLM bibliographic records in MARC 21 format from LocatorPlus?
Answer:
  1. Search for and mark the records you want in LocatorPlus at http://locatorplus.gov. When selecting from multiple pages, click "Retain Marked Records" at the bottom of each page of results before going to the next page.

  2. Under "Options for Print, Save, or E-mail" at the bottom of the page, indicate the appropriate choice for downloading the marked records under "Apply to Records:"

    • All on this page
    • Selected on this page
    • Selected on all pages

  3. Under "Options for Print, Save, or E-mail" at the bottom of the page, change the download format in the drop-down menu. 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 additional 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.

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

  5. Click "File/Save As" in the Menu Bar of your 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.

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

Related Questions:
Cataloging and Bibliographic Questions
LocatorPlus Questions

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http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/lpmarc.html

Last reviewed: 25 July 2008
Last updated: 25 July 2008
First published: 01 January 1998
Metadata| Permanence level: Permanence Not Guaranteed