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IFLA UNIMARC Core Activity

Publications

UNIMARC formats and related documentation

UNIMARC Bibliographic

The UNIMARC Bibliographic format was first created and proposed by IFLA in 1977, with the title UNIMARC: Universal MARC format. A second version was published in 1980 followed, in 1983, by the UNIMARC Handbook. Finally, in 1987, the UNIMARC Manual was published. The second edition, entitled UNIMARC Manual: bibliographic format was published in 1994 in a loose-leaf binder to facilitate updates. Five updates were issued in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2005. The third and current edition was published in 2008, in book format.

UNIMARC manual: bibliographic format / IFLA UNIMARC Core Activity; ed. By Alan Hopkinson. 3rd ed. - München: Saur, 2008. (IFLA Series in Bibliographic Control, 36). ISBN 978-3-598-24284-7, 760 p.

Available from K.G. Saur.

Available online: UNIMARC Concise Bibliographic Format (as of 2008)

Special Update:
Field 010 updated for the implementation of ISBN13 (July 2007)

UNIMARC Authorities

The UNIMARC Authorities Format was designed to allow the creation of authority and reference records for the management of controlled access points in a bibliographic database. It was first published in 1991 under the title UNIMARC/ Authorities: Universal Format for Authorities . The current edition, UNIMARC Manual: Authorities Format was published in 2001, incorporating relevant information from other IFLA working groups and from UNIMARC users.

UNIMARC manual: authorities format / IFLA UBCIM. - 2nd ed. Revised and enlarged ed. - München: Saur, 2001. - (UBCIM publications. New series; vol. 22).

Available in print from Saur Verlag.   Also available online.

The third edition of the UNIMARC manual: authorities format is under development and it is expected to be available in mid 2009.

UNIMARC Holdings

In late 1999, PUC appointed a working group to develop a UNIMARC specification for holdings information pertaining to a bibliographic item. The work was carried out during the period of 2000-2003 and a final draft was posted for world wide review in 2003. The present version is the result of received comments, accepted at the PUC meeting of 2004, with some changes introduced at the PUC meetings that took place in 2005 and 2006. It was first published in December 2006, and was subject to corrections in 2007.

UNIMARC manual: holdings format/ IFLA Working Group on the UNIMARC Holdings Format. IFLA, 2007.
See just the 2007 corrections at: UNIMARC Holdings List of Changes 2007.pdf

UNIMARC Classification

The UNIMARC Classification Format is still in progress and is aimed at the management and authority control of classification data. It was prepared by a working group appointed by the Permanent UNIMARC Committee, in 1997, as a follow-up of a document produced by another IFLA group, about the Requirements for a Classification Format, in 1996. The present version was posted for world wide review in 2000. The draft concise version of the UNIMARC Classification Format is available online:

UNIMARC classification format [invitation for world wide review, 2000]

Concise UNIMARC classification format (2000.10.13)

UNIMARC Guidelines

Since 1999 the PUC has developed a series of guidelines for the application of UNIMARC with particular bibliographic materials or cataloguing policies. Seven guidelines were already published and are available online:

Guidelines no 1.
Guidelines for Using UNIMARC for Component Parts (May 1999)

Guidelines no 2.
Guidelines for Using UNIMARC for Microforms (May 1999)

Guidelines no 3.
Guidelines for Using UNIMARC for Older Monographic Publications (Antiquarian) (April 1998)

Guidelines no 4.
UNIMARC Minimal Level Record (Feb. 1999)

Guidelines no 5.
Multi-level Description: Encoding Options for UNIMARC (Feb. 1999)

Guidelines no 6.
Electronic Resources (Aug. 2000)

Guidelines no 7.
Music (July 2005)

Guidelines no 8.
Serials and Other Continuing Resources (October 2006)

Ongoing developments regarding UNIMARC Guidelines include revision of the Guidelines for Using UNIMARC for Microforms and preparation of the new UNIMARC Guidelines for Manuscripts, expected to be published in 2009.

Other UNIMARC Related Resources

RECOMMENDATIONS

Mandatory Data Elements for Internationally Shared Resource Authority Records/ Report of the IFLA UBCIM Working Group on Minimal Level Authority Records and ISADN, 1999.

MAPPINGS

User controlled Generic MARC converter. A generic toolkit for ISO2709 compatible MARC formats to enable libraries to create rules based systems to convert records between national MARC formats through UNIMARC. It was completed in 1997, funded by the EU's Telematics Applications Programme (DGXIII-E). Downloads available here.

Mapping Dublin Core to UNIMARC / Michael Day. UKOLN, 1997

Mappatura Dublin Core/UNIMARC / Preparata dall'Istituto centrale per il catalogo unico delle biblioteche italiane, 2000.

UNIMARC to MARC 21 Conversion Specifications. Version 3.0 (August 2001) / Prepared for the Network Development and MARC Standards Office Library of Congress.

EAD (Encoded Archival Description) Tag Library. Version 2002 / Society of American Archivists, traduit de l'anglais par le groupe AFNOR CG46/CN357/GE3. 2004. [includes correspondence table for data elements between EAD and UNIMARC].

UNIMARC/Dublin Core Mapping / a pproved by the Permanent UNIMARC Committee, 2004-03-05. - Version 1.0.

UNIMARC & XML

BiblioML: XML for UNIMARC Bibliographic Records/ Robin Cover. Cover Pages. Technology Reports , 2000.   See downloads at BiblioML.

The UNIMARC and MARC21 manual in XML: automating validation, explanation and help systems for bibliographic records / Developed by BookMARC for the IFLA UNIMARC Core Activity, 2004.

UNIMARC Bibliography

(under construction)