Fixed-length Fields in Bibliographic Records

The following table describes the fixed-length fields found in bibliographic records. Both the short label and default long label (if one exists) are shown.

Bibliographic Record Fields
Field Number Field Label Description Code is Data in Field Entered by Limits Examples
029 BIB LVL
or Bib Level 		Bibliographic level, based on MARC 21 Leader/07 values or UNIMARC Leader/07 values. alphanumeric organization Maximum code length: 1 character

Maximum number of codes: 32 for each field

Maximum length of code definitions: 25 characters
CODE DEFINITION
a monographic component part
b serial component part
c collection
d subunit
i integrating resource
m monograph/item
s serial
030 MAT TYPE
or Material Type 		Material type, such as book, serial, map, etc., based on MARC 21 Leader/06 values, or UNIMARC Leader/07 values. alphanumeric organization

Maximum code length:

1 character (Sierra 3.4 and earlier)

3 characters (Sierra 4.0 and later)

Maximum number of codes:

32 (Sierra 3.4 and earlier)

500 (Sierra 4.0 and later)

Maximum length of code definitions: 25 characters

CODE DEFINITION
a language material
c notated music
d manuscript notated music
e cartographic material
f manuscript cartographic material
g projected medium
i spoken record
j sound record
k two-dimensional nonprojectable graphic
m computer file
o kit
p mixed material
r three-dimensional artifact or naturally occurring object
t manuscript language material
031 BCODE3
or Bib Code 3 		Your organization determines the name and purpose of this field, its codes, and the codes' definitions—with the exception of the code 'c', which is used by the system to suppress the display of the order record in the public catalog.

BCODE3 can also be used to mark items for later deletion.

Order record information is automatically suppressed when BCODE3 is set to 'n', '1', '2', or '3'. 		alphanumeric organization Maximum code length: 1 character

Maximum number of codes: 32 for each field

Maximum length of code definitions: 25 characters
CODE DEFINITION
n SUPPRESS
d DELETE
c SUPPRESS ORD
(suppresses display of order record information in the OPAC—do not use this value for any other purpose)
028 CAT DATE
or Cat. Date 		Cataloging date. month-day-year (mm-dd-yy or mm-dd-yyyy) or day-month-year (dd-mm-yy or dd-mm-yyyy) organization Single entry in valid date format 04-12-99 or 12-04-2001
027 COPIES
or Copies 		The number of copies.

NOTE: The COPIES field is intended for use by organizations that do not have item records (organizations using only Acquisitions or Serials, for example). If your organization uses the COPIES field and item records, use of the field is determined by cataloging policy. 		numeric system (checkin record) Maximum number of copies:

1,000 for bibliographic records

255 for checkin records

1,000 for order records 		2
089 COUNTRY
or Country 		Country of publication. COUNTRY is based on the MARC 21 Code List of Countries, or ISO 3166/MA standard for UNIMARC systems. lowercase alphabetic or numeric The system uses MARC country codes, which you can augment. Maximum of 500 country codes.

Maximum code length: 3 characters
CODE DEFINITION
fr France
cau U.S. (California)
024 LANG
or Language 		Language of the material. LANG is based on the MARC 21 Code List for Languages (also used by UNIMARC format). alphabetic The system uses MARC language codes, which you can augment. Maximum of 800 language codes.

Maximum code length: 3 characters
CODE DEFINITION
eng English
026 LOCATION
or Location 		Shelving location or branch.

For multiple locations, see the variable-length field LOCATIONS.

The same set of codes is used for the LOCATION field recorded in the bibliographic, item, order, and checkin records.

NOTE: If you are using the system for cataloging, use of LOCATION codes is determined by cataloging policy.

Your organization defines the codes, which are stored in one file for use in bibliographic, order, item, checkin, patron, and course records. (In patron records the codes are used in the HOME LIBR field.) 		lowercase alphabetic or numeric organization Maximum number of codes: 10,000

Maximum code length: 5 characters

Maximum length of code definitions: 25 characters

Maximum 100 LOCATION fields in one order record.
CODE DEFINITION
main Main Library
107 MARCTYPE
or MARC Type 		Identifies whether the record is in MARC 21, UNIMARC, UKMARC, or Chinese MARC format.

Used at organizations with bibliographic records in formats other than MARC 21. 		lowercase alphabetic organization Maximum code length: 1 character
CODE DEFINITION
<blank> MARC 21
c Chinese MARC
r KorMARC
u UNIMARC
k UKMARC (obsolete)
025 SKIP
or Skip 		Number of characters that should be skipped prior to sorting on the TITLE field (including the space).

If specified in the default template, SKIP may be prompted for when new orders are entered. This enables a title to be entered with the first article in place, while ensuring that the article will be ignored during indexing.

For records transmitted from a bibliographic utility, the system uses the value in the second indicator position of the 245 field. 		numeric

The system automatically supplies the SKIP code for English language articles (a, an, the).

You must supply the SKIP code for foreign language articles.

See Initial Articles: Coordinating Cataloging Practices with User Searches for more information.

Maximum code length: 1 character
CODE DEFINITION
2 Skips a one-character article and the following space (such as a)
3 Skips a two-character article and the following space (such as an)
4 Skips a three-character article and the following space (such as the)