Arabic Library Standards

Bibliotheca Alexandrina launches the online version of MARC 21 Format for Holdings Data in Arabic

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina launches the online versions of MARC 21 Format for Holdings Data in Arabic. MARC 21 Format for Holdings Data communicates holdings information for single-part items, multipart items and serial items.

The Arabic online version is accessible from the Arabic Library Standards website (www.bibalex.org/ALS). It is a free version that provides Arab cataloguers with a selection of the core MARC 21 Format for Holdings Data fields, and adopts a tailored field description structure. The Arabic online version covers until Update 19, featuring the complete Format Summary of the format.

The online version of MARC 21 Format for Holdings Data in Arabic introduces the release of the full print edition of the mentioned format, that will be in one volume. Intended to be available for acquisition, the print edition is a complete Arabization of the original MARC 21 Format for Holdings Data as published by the Library of Congress.

MARC 21 Format for Holdings Data in Arabic accommodates emerging cataloguing rules, known as Resource Description and Access (RDA), manifested in fields 337 and 338. It eases the binding and linking of the different issues of a serial item, as well as their retrieval through the same place, in both their electronic or print formats; a great advantage supporting automated library processing.

It is worth mentioning that MARC 21, with its five formats, is a standard by which bibliographic, authority, holdings and classification data, and community information is documented in a machine-readable form, and one of the most important systems in data creation and sharing between libraries. It is also the most widely supported encoding standard by integrated library systems, meeting the needs of both libraries and patrons, equally.

For further details about the Arabic edition of MARC 21 Formats, please visit:
https://www.bibalex.org/als/en/page/marc21-overview.