When to add 006 and 007 fields

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All MARC records must have an 008 field (the "fixed field") to be a valid MARC record. Some bibliographic formats also need an 007 field to further describe the item's physical aspects (such as whether a sound recording is a CD or a cassette).

When an item includes accompanying material of a different format or which would have different values in the 007 or 008 field if it were cataloged on its own, then additional 006 and 007 fields are necessary if the accompanying material is sufficiently important.

(The 008 field is not repeatable, so an 006 field is used instead when one would want to add another 008 field.)

If a record includes the proper 006 and 007 fields, as necessary, then the OPAC will be able to display the proper format icons for the accompanying material. To identify the correct type of materials for Polaris, see TOMS and MARC coding.

Judging importance

The cataloger must judge how important the accompanying material is. Every item is different, so concrete rules for making this judgement are impossible. The possible decisions are:

Important accompanying material
The accompanying material is important to the usage of the set. It will usually be mentioned in a 300 ‡e subfield, though in some cases it may be only be mentioned in a note field.
Somewhat-important accompanying material
The accompanying material is only somewhat important to the usage of the set or may be of a little interest to patrons. It will usually be mentioned in a note field, but not ‡e of a 300 field.
Unimportant accompanying material
The accompanying material is entirely inconsequential to the usage of the set. It will usually not be mentioned at all.

Once that decision has been made:

  • Accompanying material that is important needs to be described by a fixed field. If the existing fixed field also covers the accompanying material (for example, in the case of an audio CD with accompanying cassette), then the existing 008 is sufficient. If an existing 006 field also covers the accompanying material, then the existing 006 is sufficient. If the existing fixed field or an existing 006 does not cover the accompanying material, then the accompanying material needs its own fixed field added. Because there can be only one 008 field in a MARC record, this is coded as an 006 field.
  • Accompanying material that is important and would need an 007 if it were cataloged on a record all by itself also needs to be described by an 007. If an existing 007 does not already cover the accompanying material, then the accompanying material needs its own 007 in addition to any that may already be there.
  • In addition, an 006 field for "serial" is required when cataloging non-print serials, and both an 006 and an 007 field for "electronic resource" are required when cataloging an electronic resource that has a primary format other than computer file (such as e-books and e-audiobooks).
  • Accompanying material that is somewhat important usually will not need an 006 or 007 field, though there are rare exceptions.
  • Accompanying material that is unimportant never needs an 006 or 007 field.

See Multiple TOMs - Order of Preference for information on the Polaris order of preference.

Examples of important accompanying material

Examples of accompanying material that is usually important enough to need an 006 field and, if applicable, an 007 field : (For detailed instructions on what values to use in 006 and 007 fields, see Bibliographic Formats and Standards.)

  • A book with accompanying CD-ROM that contains helpful computer programs. NOTE: The Polaris type of material (TOM) will appear as electronic resource.
008: BKS
006: COM
007: COM (CD-ROM)
  • A CD-ROM game that comes with a copy of the World Almanac.
008: COM
007: COM (CD-ROM)
006: BKS
  • A music CD that comes with a DVD (whether on the back side of the same disc or on a separate disc)
008: REC
007: REC (CD)
006: VIS
007: VIS (DVD)
  • A book that comes with an audio CD.
008: BKS
006: REC
007: REC (CD)
  • A language kit on 8 audio CDs, with accompanying book and CD-ROM
008: REC
007: REC (CD)
006: BKS
006: COM
007: COM (CD-ROM)
  • A kit that is a DVD with accompanying book, an audio CD, a CD-ROM game, and a map.
008: VIS
006: BKS
006: REC
007: REC (CD)
006: COM
007: COM (CD-ROM)
006: MAP
007: MAP
  • A netLibrary e-book
008: BKS
006: COM
007: COM (remote resource)
  • A DVD that comes with a second DVD of "bonus materials"
008: VIS
007: VIS (DVD)
No 006 or additional 007 is needed because the existing 008 and 007 also describe the accompanying material

Examples of somewhat-important accompanying material

Examples of accompanying material that is usually important enough to mention (perhaps along with an "Accompanying material may vary" note), but is usually not important enough to add 006 and 007 fields:

  • A CD-ROM that comes with a booklet of usage instructions.
  • A book that comes with a CD-ROM that contains only promotional material of little to no lasting value.

Examples of unimportant accompanying material

Examples of accompanying material that is usually not important enough to mention at all:

  • The "cover" insert for an audio CD, when it consists of nothing but the cover art.