Beyond MARC: Library of Congress Bibliographic Framework Plan for the Digital Age

The Working Group of the Future of Bibliographic Control at the Library of Congress has released its initial plan for its Bibliographic Framework Transition Initiative for dissemination, sharing, and feedback.

Although the MARC-based infrastructure is extensive, and MARC has been adapted to changing technologies, a major effort to create a comparable exchange vehicle that is grounded in the current and expected future shape of data interchange is needed.  To assure a new environment will allow reuse of valuable data and remain supportive of the current one, in addition to advancing it, the following requirements provide a basis for this work.  Discussion with colleagues in the community has informed these requirements for beginning the transition to a "new bibliographic framework".  Bibliographic framework is intended to indicate an environment rather than a "format".

Text of the plan and background information here. [JH]