Review of Content Standardmarc 21 Code List for Countriesaugust, 2005

Review of Content StandardMARC 21 Code List for CountriesAugust, 2005

This review is intended to assess the potential utility of content standards for use and potentially for inclusion in an ISO 11179-based metadata registry. The review is directed primarily toward the utility of the standard itself, rather than to matching the standard with specific agency programs. The review covers issues such as the subject area, currency, quality, authority, and acceptance of the standards. These are factors that need to be taken into account no matter what the programmatic application of the standard may be.

1. Summary

MARC in General

MARC is the acronym for MAchine-Readable Cataloging. It defines a data format that emerged from a Library of Congress-led initiative that began thirty years ago. It provides the mechanism by which computers exchange, use, and interpret bibliographic information, and its data elements make up the foundation of most library catalogs used today. MARC became USMARC in the 1980s and MARC 21 in the late 1990s.

"Machine-readable" means that a computer can read and interpret the data in the cataloging record. A "Cataloging record" means a bibliographic record, or the information traditionally shown on a catalog card. The record includes (not necessarily in this order): 1) a description of the item, 2) main entry and added entries, 3) subject headings, and 4) the classification or call number. (MARC records often contain much additional information.)

1) Description: Catalogers use Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd ed., 2002 revision, to compose the bibliographic description of a library item. This description includes the title, statement of responsibility, edition, material specific details, publication information, physical description, series, notes, and standard numbers.

2) Main entry and added entries: AACR2 also contains rules for determining "access points" to the record (usually referred to as the "main entry" and "other added entries"), and the form these access points should take. Access points are the retrieval points in the library catalog where patrons should be able to look up the item.

3) Subject headings (subject added entries): Catalogers use the Sears List of Subject Headings (Sears), the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), or some other list of standard subject headings to select the subjects under which the item will be listed. Use of an approved list is important for consistency, to ensure that all items on a particular subject are found under the same heading and therefore in the same place in the catalog.

4) Call number: Catalogers use a Dewey Decimal or Library of Congress classification schedule to select the call number for an item. The purpose of the call number is to place items on the same subject together on the same shelf in the library. Most items are sub-arranged alphabetically by author. The second part of the call number usually represents the author's name, facilitating this subarrangement.

A set of Code Lists is associated with the set of formats.

Code List for Countries

This standard consists of a list of places and their associated two- or three-character lowercase alphabetic codes. The list includes individual codes for presently existing national entities, states of the United States, provinces and territories of Canada, divisions of the United Kingdom, and internationally recognized dependencies. The purpose of this list is to allow the designation of the place associated with an item by codes in the MARC record for that item. The list contains 362 discrete codes, of which 45 are discontinued codes no longer valid for use.

2. Identification of Standard

2.1. Title

MARC (Machine Readable Cataloging Record) 21 Code List for Countries

2.2. Acronym

MARC 21 Code List for Countries

2.3. Web page(s), Identifier, or Contact Information:

2.3.1 Web page(s)

MARC general:

http://www.loc.gov/marc

Code List for Countries:

http://www.loc.gov/marc/countries/cou_home.html

2.3.2 Identifier

ISBN 0-8444-1083-7

2.3.3 Contact Information

2.4 Authority

2.4.1 Creator

The Network Development and MARC Standards Office at the Library of Congress and the Standards and the Support Office at the Library and Archives Canada maintain the MARC 21 formats. Input for development is provided by MARC 21 users from around the world, including libraries, library networks and utilities, and library system vendors.

2.4.2. Acceptance as authoritative

Widely used and accepted as authoritative worldwide, especially in the U.S. and Canada.

2.5 Publisher

The Network Development and MARC Standards Office plans and develops library and information network standards at the Library of Congress. It is the maintenance agency for several national standards, including the MARC 21 formats.

The Standards division at the Library and Archives Canada maintains and supports the MARC 21 formats and other library standards.

2.6 Language(s)

The MARC Standards Office encourages independent translation efforts. Various MARC publications and standards have been translated into other languages. There is a list at:

http://www.loc.gov/marc/translations.html

As these are listed in the language of the translation, it’s hard to tell which standards have been translated into each language. The Code List for Countries appears to have been translated into French and possibly Swedish.

3. Content description

3.1 Subject area of content and area of application

The list was originally compiled in 1967/68 in collaboration with a number of agencies and the Library of Congress MARC Pilot Project participants.

The list published here includes all valid and obsolete codes as of May 2003. This revised edition includes 1 newly assigned code. Appendix A lists all changes since the 2000 edition.

3.2 Kind of content

The country codes are two- or three-character lowercase alphabetic strings. National entities are generally assigned a two-character code (exceptions are noted below). When possible, the first letter of the code is the same as the first letter of the place name in most cases. When there were insufficient available codes beginning with the first letter of the place name to accommodate all of the place names that begin with that letter of the alphabet, a code with x as the first letter was assigned, e.g. Marshall Islands (xe).

Three-character codes are assigned to states of the United States, provinces and territories of Canada and divisions of the United Kingdom. In this case, the first two characters represent the constituent part, and the third character represents the country, e.g. nyu for New York. Three-character codes are also used for the United States (xxu), Canada (xxc), and the United Kingdom (xxk) when the state, province or territory, or division is not known, but the country is known, or when it is not desired to code at the lower level. In this case, the first two characters (xx) represent "unknown or undetermined," and the third character represents the country.

Codes are assigned according to present geographic boundaries. A place that has historically been located in more than one political jurisdiction is coded for the jurisdiction in which it is presently located.

When a place is given in the bibliographic record with a question mark, a corresponding country code is assigned without regard to the uncertainty. If the place is completely unknown, or undetermined, the code xx is used (see section "Special Codes for Special Situations" below).

Special Codes for Special Situations

In addition to codes for individual places, codes are also provided for two special situations.

No place, unknown, or undetermined [xx]. This code is used if the place associated with the item is completely unknown, or undetermined.

Various places [vp]. This code is used if various places are associated with different pieces making up the item.

Discontinued Practice

Prior to 1971, when the place associated with the item was in question, this condition was indicated by the addition of the letter q in the third character position of the code or by the use of the next higher letter if the third character position was already used. This practice was discontinued in June 1971. For example, with imprint [Paris?], before 1971 code frq was used instead of fr; and with imprint [Chicago?], code ilv was used instead of ilu. When using the country codes to retrieve records, this practice should be specially noted as not all records encoded before 1971 may have been changed.

ARRANGEMENT OF THE LIST

The country code list is made up of three parts: Part I: Name Sequence, Part II: Code Sequence, and Part III: Regional Sequence. A description of these parts follows.

Part I: Name Sequence

In this part, the places are listed alphabetically by the name. An entry for a place represented by a code gives the name followed by the code in brackets, both in boldface. Any variant names of the place or names of places assigned to use that code are listed on successive lines, with the first such name preceded by the symbol UF (used for). For example:

American Samoa [as]

Eastern Samoa

Samoa, American

These UF names may represent alternate names of the place, older names of the place, names representing component or subjurisdictional parts of the place, or names of places formerly assigned a separate code. The UF names from each entry also appear in their alphabetic position in the list as references, but not in boldface. These references do not give the code; the entry under the name referred to must be consulted to determine the code. For example:

Eastern Samoa

USE

American Samoa

Samoa, American

USE

American Samoa

Entries may also include a note in italics explaining a change in the use of codes. For example:

Mayotte [ot]

[Coded [cq] (Comoros) before July 1987]

Manra Atoll

[Coded [gn] (Gilbert and Ellice Islands) before Oct. 1978]

USE

Kiribati

Portuguese Timor

[Coded [pt] (Portuguese Timor) before Jan. 1978]

USE

Indonesia

In this part, the places and their codes are listed alphabetically by the code. Only the code and the name of the place are given in this part. Tracings or references for variant forms of the place names are not included. For example:

aru

Arkansas

American Samoa

Discontinued codes are also listed in this part in their alphabetical sequence. They are identified by a hyphen preceding the code. For example:

-ac

Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Part III: Regional Sequence

In this part, the places and their codes are arranged in 12 groups by region. The groups are:

Africa
Asia
Atlantic Ocean
Australasia
Central America
Europe
Indian Ocean
North America
Pacific Ocean
South America
West Indies
Other

The groups and the allocation of places to the groups are based on the arrangement in the MARC Code List for Geographic Areas. Within each group, the places are arranged alphabetically by name. States of the United States, provinces and territories of Canada, and divisions of the United Kingdom are arranged alphabetically under the name of the parent jurisdiction. Places with discontinued codes are not included in this part.

3.3 Audience(s)

Catalogers and librarians who use these codes for catalog entries of publications.

3.4 Related Standards

MARC Code List for Languages
MARC Code List for Geographic Areas
MARC Code Lists for Relators, Sources, Description Conventions
MARC Code List for Organizations

3.5 Standards Dependencies

MARC 21 Formats and Fields in Which Codes Are Used

Bibliographic records

008/15-17 - Fixed-Length Data Elements / Place of publication, production, or execution
044 - Country of Producer Code
535$g - Location of Originals/Duplicates Note / Repository location code
775$f - Other Edition Entry / Country code
851$g - Location / Repository location code

Holdings records

852$n - Country code

3.6 Content Quality

Catalogers around the world have come to depend on the quality and expertise of the LC's MARC documentation.

4. Currency of Content

4.1 Date

2003-08-12

4.2 Versions, Updates

The Library of Congress is the maintenance agency for this list. Questions and requests for information should be sent to the Cataloging Policy and Support Office, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540-4305. Internet: . Notices announcing additions or changes to code values are issued 90 days prior to the date they should be used in records. For announcements, see MARC News and Announcements at: www.loc.gov/marc/. At the end of the 90 days, the new codes are incorporated into the web version of this list available at: www.loc.gov/marc/countries/.

4.3 Currency

Updates are issued as necessary.

5. Acceptance

Machine-Readable Cataloging (MARC) has been the standard in library automation for over 25 years. It forms the backbone of today's automated library systems, networks, and bibliographical utilities around the world. The MARC products developed at the Library of Congress set the standard for MARC cataloging documentation.

6. Content details

6.1 Size statistics(estimated)

The list contains 362 discrete codes. The HTML version has three lists:

 Name Sequence

 Code Sequence - alternative ASCII version

 Regional Sequence

6.2 Format / Schemas(s)

In addition to text and HTML, the Network Development and MARC Standards Office has developed a framework for working with MARC data in a XML environment. This framework is intended to be flexible and extensible, allowing users to work with MARC data in ways that meet their specific needs. The framework contains many components such as schemas, stylesheets, and software tools developed and maintained by the Library of Congress. Conversion utilities between MARC (ISO 2709) and MARCXML are also available. See www.loc.gov/marc/marcxml.html.

The Network Development and MARC Standards Office also developed a MARC to SGML and SGML to MARC conversion program.

MARC 21 has been mapped to the following metadata standards:

MODS

Dublin Core

MARC Character Sets to UCS/Unicode

Digital Geospatial Metadata

The following metadata standards have been mapped to MARC 21:

MODS

Dublin Core

UNIMARC to MARC 21

ONIX

Digital Geospatial Metadata to MARC

6.3 Media / Download

Available for download at:

http://www.loc.gov/marc/countries/cou_home.html

Text version available (46 pages):

Price:
North America $20
outside North America $22

Also available in Cataloger's Desktop on CD-ROM. The most widely used cataloging documentation resources in an integrated, online system. Includes the current version of the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2).

6.4 Licensing Issues

Using excerpts from MARC documentation is permissible as long as credit is given.

6.5 Documentation

Extensive documentation on MARC standards is available at:

http://www.loc.gov/marc