Searching SIRSI Unicorn: Searching by MARC Fields

Definition

• Every record in the catalog can be searched by specific MARC (MAchine Readable Cataloging) fields.
• MARC establishes standard fields for all the types of information one would want to enter in a catalog record describing some item (book, periodical, map, brochure, video, CD, CD-ROM, software).
• MARC field searching is useful if you want to search for the contents of a particular field such as author {MARC field 100}, title {245}, publisher or date of publication {MARC field 260}, physical description {300}, playing time {306}, series {440} bibliographic notes {504}, Subject--Topical Term {650}, Internet/WWW address {856}, etc.
• A list of the most frequently used MARC fields are at the bottom of this Web page.

Online Lists of MARC fields

• USMARC Concise Format for Bibliographic Data
  • http://lcweb.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/ecbdhome.html
• USMARC Format for Bibliographic Data: Field List
  • http://lcweb.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/ecbdlist.html
• Commonly used MARC fields
  • This is also at the bottom of this Web page.

Usage

• Use almost any search, but the most general search, Search Everything is best because you can enter any MARC field.
  • Enter the search term(s) in the Entry Field
  • Then enter the number of the specific MARC field to be searched using curly braces { } immediately after each search term.
  • Examples:

    king{100} and dragon{245}	Produces 1 record, "The Eyes of the Dragon."
    king {100} and gorgon{245}	Takes you to the keyword index, centered on the first "king" heading.

  • A successful search will produce a record or a series of records with the selected terms in the designated MARC fields should be brought up.
  • If the one or more terms are not found in the specified MARC fields, the keyword index will be displayed, beginning with whatever is the closest term alphabetically.

Common MARC fields

FIELD	DESCRIPTION / CONTENTS
010	LCCN: Library of Congress Control Number
020	ISBN: International Standard Book Number
050	Library of Congress Call Number
082	Dewey Decimal Classification Number
100	Personal Name - Main Entry (In other words, Author)
245	Title Statement (A subfield includes the Author)
256	Computer File characteristics
260	Publication data, including distribution, date, etc.
300	Physical Description
440	Series Note
500	General Note
504	Bibliography Note
520	Contents Notes
516	Type of Computer File or Data Note
538	System Requirements and Mode of Access notes
600	Subject Added Entry - Personal Name
610	Subject Added Entry - Corporate Name
650	Subject Added Entry - Topical Term (here is where most Subject Headings go)
700	Added Entry - Personal Name [Often another author or editor.]
710	Added Entry - Corporate [organizational] Name [Often a corporate author.]
856	Online information

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