Edit the 008 Field in a MARC Record

When you create a new bibliographic or authority record, the Leader and the 008 fixed field automatically appear. The data in the 008 fixed field is the current date. You can add data to the field by typing in the Data column or by using the dialog box.

To edit the values in the 008 fixed field:

  1. Open the Bibliographic Record or Authority Record workform.

Tip:
Click the Help button in any of these dialog boxes to get help with the MARC codes.

  1. Double-click the 008 tag.

A dialog box appears.

Note:
The dialog box that appears depends on what type of record you specified in the Leader.

  1. Choose the appropriate options in the dialog box to change the data in the 008 fixed field.
  2. Click OK.

The 008 field Fixed-length Data Elements - General Information This field contains 40 character positions (00-39) that provide coded information about the record as a whole and about special bibliographic aspects of the item being cataloged. These coded data elements are potentially useful for retrieval and data management purposes.   The data elements are positionally defined. Character positions that are not defined contain a blank (#). All defined character positions must contain a defined code; for some field 008 positions, this may be the fill character (|). The fill character may be used (in certain character positions) when a cataloging organization makes no attempt to code the character position. The fill character is not allowed in field 008 positions 00-05 (Date entered on file). Its use is discouraged in positions 07-10 (Date 1), 15-17 (Place of publication, production, or execution), and the 008 position defined for Form of item (either position 23 or 29 depending upon the 008 configuration).   Character positions 00-17 and 35-39 are defined the same across all types of material, with special consideration for position 06. The definition of character positions 18-34 was done independently for each type of material, although certain data elements are defined the same in the specifications for more than one type of material. When similar data elements are defined for inclusion in field 008 for different types of material, they occupy the same field 008 character positions. is updated.