How MARC Has Changed: The History of the Format and Its Forthcoming Relationship to RDA

Automation in libraries dates back to the 1950s, with early efforts gradually leading to the Library of Congress exploring the idea for its own library. This led to the MARC pilot project in 1965. Sixteen libraries participated in the distribution of early MARC I records. The success of the project resulted in MARC II, with the Library of Congress becoming the distributor of machine readable cataloging records. Use of Machine-Readable Cataloging (MARC) exploded in the 1970s, helped by the growth of cataloging services such as Ohio College Library Center (OCLC) and Research Libraries Information Network (RLIN). Changes to MARC became the responsibility of the Library of Congress and the American Library Association's MARBI. LC-MARC became USMARC in the 1980s, which became MARC 21 in the late 1990s. Resource Description Access (RDA), the replacement for the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, 2nd ed., 2002 revision will produce many changes to MARC 21, but some elements of MARC 21 already address RDA under different names. The language of General Materials Designators and Special Materials Designators in RDA will be more flexible to the changing formats of media, allowing room for future terms. Among the tags MARC 21 will add to accommodate RDA are 336, 337, and 338 for content, media, and carrier type respectively. The MARC 21 Format for Authority Data will also make changes to address RDA, with tags for a name's associated places, addresses, fields of activity, affiliation, occupation, gender, and family information.