The internal processing format for bibliographic data at the royal library of Belgium
Paula Goossens, Jaklien M. Bourgois‐Derison, Andre B. Hubert · Journal of the American Society for Information Science · 1976
Abstract To cope with the information explosion, libraries and documentation centers have implemented computerassisted bibliographic systems. Many institutions create bibliographic data in machine‐readable form, with virtually as many data formats in existence as particular systems. To build our own integrated library system, we have developed an internal processing format having a high degree of flexibility to better accommodate bibliographic descriptions originating in other institutions. This format is largely based on MARC II and is optimized for internal processing, bibliographic data communication on a national or international basis, and search and retrieval. This format provides the core of a system able to accommodate generalized software, varying hardware and expansion without modification of the general design philosophy.