AACR2, MARC21 and WINISIS: A Compatibility Study

Abstract

MAchine Readable Catalogues (MARCs) are designed keeping in view functions like, printing bibliographies, card catalogues, data exchange, resource sharing using database management system (DBMS). These functions are directly or indirectly influenced by the choice of cataloguing code used. There are various cataloguing codes, MARC formats, and DBMS softwares like AACR2R, MARC21 and WINISIS respectively, used together for effective functioning of information systems. While trying to bring various MARCs under MARC21 umbrella for standardization / internationalisation, some problems were overlooked. MARC21 design, inherits rules of AACR2 card cataloguing & ISBD punctuations which often resulted in data redundancy. The very machine philosophy and principles of DBMS is rather undermined. This book is an attempt to identify such problems and resolve the same by offering an alternate approach. It deals with issues of compatibility of AACR2R, MARC21 and WINISIS. This book, it is hoped, will help in efficiently designing and developing bibliographic databases in WINISIS using AACR2R, following the bibliographic tag codes of MARC21.