MARC records - not so scary!

The first time I looked at the MARC tab in the cataloguing database, I was really worried about completing the assignment that requires me to create MARC records.  I have never worked with any sort of encoding system for computers.  Any website or blog that I have created is user-friendly and allows me to just type what I want and it "magically" transforms into something readable on the internet.

Machine-Readable Cataloging is tricky, in fact it is very time consuming to look at the information on the title pages of the book, then cross-reference it with the fields and what subsections are needed.  Phew!  I was very worried when I did the readings.  I actually did all the readings, read the posts in the discussion forums, re-read some of the sections and then went to bed.  I didn't even try to create my own MARC record until the next day.  It was much easier to understand when I was actively doing it.  Here is the first MARC record that I tried to create based on Imagine a Day (a fabulous book, by the way).

020     ##       $a 0689852I93

100     1#       $a Thompson, Sarah L.

240     10       $a Imagine a Day.

$l English.

$f 2005

245     ##       $c Gonslaves, Robert.

250     ##       $a 1^st ed.

260     ##       $a New York :

                        $bByron Preiss Visual Publications Inc.,

                        $c 2005.

300     ##       $a 34 p. :

                        $b Ill.;

                        $c 30 cm.

520     ##       $a Whimsical thoughts bring colorful and happy images to the reader.

Then I looked at the Library of Congress catalogue, and here is a link for what the actual MARC record should look like:

0

LOC - MARC record for Imagine a Day

Not perfect, but not too shabby for a first try!