Mining MARC's Hidden Treasures: Initial Investigations Into How Notes of the Past Might Shape Our Future

Abstract

Finding, interpreting, and manipulating the rich trove of data already present in MARC bibliographic records to produce systematized forms is an invaluable step in moving MARC toward a post-MARC, Linked Data future. Name access points, especially those fields in a controlled form, are the obvious place to find relationship information, but bibliographic notes and statements of responsibility are relatively overlooked sources of that information, waiting to be parsed and used. The Online Computer Library Center has been investigating means by which to find names and their associated role phrases, to match those names to authorized forms, and to match role terms and phrases to controlled vocabularies.