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The developing use of the 856 tag in the MARC format, otherwise known as the Electronic Location and Access tag, is beginning now to come into full use for a variety of applications within the MARC bibliographic record. While many basic MARC records only utilize the subfield u, which houses the URL, or Uniform Resource Locator, the MARC standard actually defines a much wider range of indicators and subfields, all of which are defined in MARC documentation.

URIM and THUMMIN

Utilizing the 856 tag within the structure of Dynix software requires two or three system changes. First, the definition of the 856 tag and its subfields in URIM, allowing the cataloger to add, edit, and delete various components of the 856 tag within the MARC record. The second change needed to activate the 856 tag is adding it to THUMMIN, allowing it to display, and thus, allowing it to launch in various graphical interfaces such as PAC for Windows and WebPAC. If a character-based interface is used, the various indicators and subfields will still display, but the tag will not appear as a hot-link and be able to launch successfully to the site recorded in the subfield u.

In the display of the 856 tag, one issue came up in early testing which immediately caught our attention in the ordering of the URIM setup. The subfield u, with the URL, comes (if one follows the general alphabetic sequence of the subfields) before at least one critical subfield, z, which is a public note. In particularly the character-based display, if the u displays on page 1 and the z requires you to go to page 2, or displaying below the u on a graphical window which is not immediately seen, critical information as to the software needed, login or other details of the site go unread before the launch occurs, often resulting in errors or having to go back to the MARC record to see what the rest of it said about the availability of the site. A critical example of this is the reference to needing Adobe Acrobat, or needing Postscript, or whatever, which generally resides in the subfield z as a public note.

For this reason, Pittsburg State University set up two entries in URIM, one isolating just the 856 subfield u (we called this one, oddly enough, URL) and the other being ELECTLOC (for the Electronic Location and Access tag), which identified all 856 subfields *except* the u. This allowed us to configure the subfields, v, w, x, z, 2, and 3 with the a-t subfields all in one text block. In full display screen setup (UFDS), we then configure a display tag called URL ACCESS as a multi-valued display of the bib field ELECTLOC and the bib field URL. This is a similar display effect that many libraries use for publisher in UFDS, where the display tag PUBLISHER is used to display bibfields PUBLISHER, PUBLISHER-PLACE and DATE-OF-PUBLICATION all in the same line. The added benefit to displaying the u subfield separate from subfields a-through-t-plus-v- through-3 is that the URL begins at the far left of the display, aiding in readability of it without being buried within a large paragraph of text and notes. The text paragraph comes first; the URL comes last, giving the patron ample opportunity to view all related directions, logins, and related comments before launching the URL.

Indexing

The third recommended system change is that of indexing, thus, requires intervention on behalf of Dynix to add it to the appropriate index maps. The third step is not needed for successful display or launching of the URL, but sites that have indexed it as well have found many added benefits, including:

1) in a list index, such as title, an alphabetical listing of just the 856 subfield u allows for very quick identification of irregularities in the spacing, punctuation, and spelling of various domain names. By browsing through a title list or other alphabetic listing of the URLs, one can also easily identify similarly located sites which may have domain name changes or may come back as invalid or bounced sites. If a certain server is disabled or no longer in service, the title list search allows for quick retrieval of other documents/images located on the same server for a quicker global response.

2) in a keyword index, such as title, or a mega-keyword, or one of its own just for 856, the keyword index provides a way to identify domains without the correct order of files, i.e., by breaking up the component files and path of the domain into keywords, one can enter a search such as "census gov" and retrieve the majority of the US census sites with data online in one search. An added benefit of the keyword index is that more than just the 856 subfield u can be indexed; in fact, if it is a substantial index, I would recommend indexing all subfields within the 856, which then gives you the ability to further modify your search to something like "census adobe", which would identify for you which U.S. census files require an adobe acrobat reader installed on the workstation before one launches the session. And of course, a very obvious benefit is to go into keyword and simply type "http" or "gopher" or "telnet" and immediately retrieve records which the URL in them for demonstration purposes!

Scope of Material

The most obvious uses of the 856 tag within a MARC format are already widely in use by libraries. Primary uses are for data files (such as raw data from the census), full-text documents and reports housed on the Web, images and photos, sound clips, WAV files of moving video, etc. While the 856 tag was initially touted as a rather glitzy way to hear the call of a cheetah or a clip of music, in a similar fashion to multi-media versions of Encarta or other encyclopedias, the 856 tag has now grown to a much more respectable means of linking data, image, full-text, and even voice synthesized information. Libraries regularly add their online holdings from EBSCO Host, First Search, and other online periodical databases, allowing the patron to find the title of the journal, then launch to the service, which indexes the articles. Patron authentication schemes are needed for this aspect, but the possibilities are growing for better interaction between the periodical indexes and online catalog in this respect.

Other applications continue to be developed. Art, museum, and photograph collections can be now more visually accessible at the MARC record level. Sites with archival and special collection material can begin to scan correspondence and other manuscript level material in and again have a direct link to the MARC description. Annual reports of corporations can now show the URL of the corporate home page, employment, and other corporate information from within the context of the MARC record. Reserve Book Room material can now link to faculty and student homepages and documents in electronic format. Some details in patron authentication and format of records still needs to be worked out, but generally the sky is the limit in our creativity as to how to use the 856 more effectively.

Future Design

A few future needs have already begun to be anticipated. One, as mentioned above, is to allow patron authentication, hopefully well in advance of the search and URL launch, in order for the patron to retrieve licensed database material, full-text online, fee-based services, faculty reserve material.

A second wish is to find a means of URL-"sniffing", that is, a URL-checker for the MARC records which will in background or off-line, validate and verify the active status of the URLs within the MARC records. This software is currently available for webpage analysis, but is a bit more complex in trying to examine and report off-line various (and sometimes thousands) of URLs embedded within MARC records.

Third, the future may lie in what, for lack of a better term, I would define as a backward- launching URL, one that could be attached to a bibliography on the web and be tagged and coded back to the BIB or HOLDINGS level to verify availability of the item within the catalog and its location. While a backward-launching URL is not within the scope of the 856 tag as currently defined, I have no doubt that at some point the URL process will provide us a means of this entry process.

Finally, due to the considerable chaotic results of voice recognition systems with the graphical and web interface designs, it would be interesting to see how the 856 might be used in conjunction with various voice recognition programs for the visually impaired, perhaps to be able to speak the MARC record and associated holdings and locations.

I would encourage libraries to index the 856 tag as thoroughly and completely as they can, using all parts of the subfields, and to experiment and test various collections which may have previously been difficult to catalog, categorize, or incorporate into the online catalog. It is a tremendous resource to link common bibliographic information to images, sounds, text, and data around the world, and an even more potentially exciting vehicle for incorporation special collections, pamphlets, reserve, and other collections that often have not had easy access within the online catalog environment. We have only skimmed the surface of applications which can be used within the definitions of the MARC 856 tag.

Send comments to: suzyq@pittstate.edu

Susan M. Johns-Smith
Axe Library
Pittsburg State University
1605 South Joplin Street
Pittsburg, KS 66762
Phone: 620-235-4115

This page last updated Monday, 28-Oct-2002 15:58:26 CST