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MarcEdit

An introduction to the MARC record editing software MarcEdit

Native Tools and Principles for RDA in MarcEdit

Since MarcEdit works with RDA using a separate RDA Helper application, the RDA-related functionality is in its own section. Below is a chart showing how different RDA MARC fields are generated in MarcEdit. It will be followed by a step-by-step guide to enacting each of these mappings, but for reference and comparison all the MARC fields used to create different RDA-based fields in the MARC record can be found in this table. Terry Reese, the developer of MarcEdit, has written an article outlining the guiding principles of using MarcEdit to bridge the gap between AACR2 and RDA. 

 

Citation: 

Using MarcEdit to Bridge the Distance between AACR2 and RDA." Journal of library metadata 14.3/4 (2014):281-297. Web.

Table of RDA Mappings in MarcEdit

                   

Adding RDA Fields

This workflow will outline how to access the RDA Helper screen as well describe the structure of the fields to which this tool applies and the abbreviations covered by abbreviation expansion.

  1. Open the .mrk file by selecting it in the folder, which should open the file in MarcEditor, or open MarcEditor from the MarcEdit home screen and select the file in File->Open.
  2. Select Tools > RDA Helper from the menu bar, as below:

                    

3. The following dialog box should appear:

                   

4. This presents a list of options for RDA fields that could be added to records. Rather than re-state how the various fields on the left side of the dialog box are populated from material present in the record, please refer to the above Table of RDA Mapping in MarcEdit to find how MarcEdit will perform the creation of RDA fields. This dialog box also presents options for expanding abbreviations, which I will outline below.

5. By default, MarcEdit has the functionality to expand abbreviations within various fields. To see the list of abbreviations it will expand by default, click “Edit List.” To see the fields MarcEdit will evaluate and perform the Expand Abbreviations function
upon, click “Edit Fields.” Examples of each screen can be found below.

                 

               

When editing, be careful to follow the formatting of the examples. When you have finished editing either, select File > Save to add the new abbreviations/fields.