Overview of editing MARC tag tables for Voyager

Best Practices for Editing and Saving Files

All tag tables are ASCII (plain text) files and must be edited in a text editor such as Windows Notepad or WordPad, or third party text editors such as Notepad++. Do not use Microsoft Word or other word processing applications, as the resulting document format may make the file unusable. Save tag tables as text files with the .cfg extension. Do not save in a proprietary document file format.

Keep a separate backup of files you edit manually. When Voyager clients are reinstalled, any files in the C:\Voyager\Catalog\TagTable folders will be overwritten. By creating a backup folder, such as on a network drive or on portable media (e.g., a usb drive), you will preserve your work and be able to apply your files to the workstation again.

If the Cataloging client is open while you edit tag tables, you will need to close and restart the client in order for the saved changes to take effect.

Basic Tag Table Structure (Example: \OCLC Folder)

The OCLC folder contains three (3) groups of tag tables -- one each for:

• authority records (file names starting with A)
• bibliographic records (file names starting with B)
• MFHDs or holdings records (file names starting with H).

All tag table files end in the extension: .cfg

Each group of tables consists of one file for each range of MARC tags (e.g., 1XX, 2XX, etc.), along with one tag table for the fixed fields in that group. 

Examples:

• Amarc1xx.cfg is the tag table for authority fields that begin with "1."
• Bmarcfix.cfg is the tag table for bibliographic fixed fields.
• Hmarc8xx.cfg is the tag table for MFHD fields that begin with "8."

In the variable field tag tables, each field has three stanzas (or sections) that follow a unique stanza name in square brackets:

• the stanza name [tag number] precedes the subfield stanza
• the stanza name [tag number Ind1] defines the first indicator values
• the stanza name [tag number Ind2] defines the second indicator values

Each stanza in the variable field tag tables follows a similar pattern:

• A sequence number (starting with 0) is paired with a valid MARC subfield by an equals sign (=).
• On the same line as the subfield-sequence pair is a numeric code for whether the subfield is repeatable (0 = non-repeatable; 1 = repeatable).
• Also on the same line is a one-letter code for whether the subfield is applicable (A), mandatory (M), or optional (O).
• After the subfield sequence list is a list of the subfields and their definitions.

Example:

[245]           stanza name
0=a 0M          subfield a is non-repeatable and mandatory
1=b 0A
2=c 0A
3=f 0A
4=g 0A
5=h 0O          subfield h is non-repeatable and optional
6=k 1A
7=n 1A
8=p 1A          subfield p is repeatable and applicable
9=s 0A
10=6 0A
Subfa=Title
Subfb=Remainder of title
Subfc=Statement of responsibility, etc.
Subff=Inclusive dates
Subfg=Bulk dates
Subfh=Medium
Subfk=Form
Subfn=Number of part/section of a work
Subfp=Name of part/section of a work
Subfs=Version
Subf6=Linkage

[245Ind1]       stanza for indicator 1
0=0
1=1
Value0=No added entry
Value1=Added entry

[245Ind2]       stanza for indicator 2
0=0
1=1
2=2
3=3
4=4
5=5
6=6
7=7
8=8
9=9
Value0=No nonfiling characters
Value1=Number of nonfiling characters present
Value2=Number of nonfiling characters present
Value3=Number of nonfiling characters present
Value4=Number of nonfiling characters present
Value5=Number of nonfiling characters present
Value6=Number of nonfiling characters present
Value7=Number of nonfiling characters present
Value8=Number of nonfiling characters present
Value9=Number of nonfiling characters present

Fixed field tag tables use a different set of stanzas in a hierarchical fashion:

• Code type or tab stanzas
• Grid template stanzas
• Drop-down menu selection stanzas

Before you edit fixed field tag tables, Support strongly recommends that you thoroughly read and understand the information in Appendix A of the Voyager Cataloging User’s Guide.

Master.cfg

The OCLC folder contains one additional tag table file that Voyager consults to validate records: Master.cfg. If you add a new variable field to an Amarc#xx, a Bmarc#xx, or an Hmarc#xx tag table file, you must also add and define the new field to the Master.cfg file in the appropriate stanza (Authority, Bibliographic, or Holdings). You must add the field number to the numerical list in the first half of the stanza; then you will define the field name in the second half of the stanza.

Each stanza in the Master.cfg tag tables follows a similar pattern:

• The first half of each stanza is an ordered list of valid MARC fields.
• A sequence number (starting with 0) is paired with a valid MARC field by an equals sign (=).
• On the same line as the subfield-sequence pair is a numeric code for whether the subfield is repeatable (0 = non-repeatable; 1 = repeatable).
• After the field sequence list is a list of the fields and their definitions.

Example:

[Bibliographic Fields]
0=000 0     the final zero indicates that field 000 is not repeatable
1=001 0
2=003 0
3=005 0
…
121=383 1   the final one indicates that field 383 is repeatable
122=384 1
…
Field000=Leader
Field001=Control Number
Field003=Control Number Identifier
Field005=Date And Time Of Latest Transaction
…
Field383=Numeric Designation of Musical Work
Field384=Key

Document Your Changes

At the top of the file, you will find several comment lines, which are preceded by the # symbol. This # symbol indicates that the Cataloging client should ignore these lines of text. The comment lines serve as a useful reference and documentation of the changes made for future editors. Support recommends that you include a short description of the change you made, the date of the change, and your initials.

Example: