MARC (Machine Readable Catalog) Format and Life Cycle Tracking at the National Archives: A Study

摘要

The National Archives conducted an eighteen month study of life cycle tracking of records, the Machine Readable Catalog/Archival and Manuscript Control format (MARC/AMC), and the Research Libraries Information Network (RLIN). Life cycle tracking is the ability for the National Archives to capture and exchange information about Federal records from their creation to their destruction or use in an archives. The report proposes that the National Archives adopt the concept of life cycle tracking. This will require some changes in current procedures and the standardization of fields and vocabularies. The MARC/AMC is a data exchange format recently adopted by the Society of American Archivists for information interchange. The study found the format contained fields adequate for the description of Federal records. The format, however, does not supply adequate fields for administrative control nor does it support needed data structures. The Research Libraries Information Network is an information sharing service of the Research Libraries Group. The report found RLIN to be a medium for the exchange of information but did not find RLIN to be suitable as the primary automation tool for the National Archives and Records Administration.