The Development of the MARC Format

Use of machine-readable cataloging data requires a commitment to the standardization of data elements and record formats. Early machine-readable formats were initiated by several research libraries to serve the needs of particular university systems. In developing MARC, the Library of Congress drew on the experiences of these libraries in establishing a standard acceptable to the research library community for the interchange of bibliographic data. This article discusses early machine-readable formats influencing MARC, the origins of the MARC Pilot Project, and design factors influencing the evolution of the format through MARC II. Reseach was based on primary sources documenting the early history of MARC, including unpublished documents in the Library of Congress Archives.