1. Introduction

This is a Java library for processing bibliographic data in the following formats:

  • ISO 2709/Z39.2

  • MARC (USMARC, MARC 21, MARC XML)

  • MarcXchange (ISO 25577:2013)

  • UNIMARC

  • MAB (MAB2, MAB XML)

  • dialects of MARC (Aleph Sequential, Pica, SISIS format)

The motivation of this library is to transport bibliographic data into XML or JSON based formats, with the focus on european/german application environment.

The most known and widespread bibliographic data format is MARC, which stands for "machine readable cataloging" and was developed by the Library of Congress 1968. Inspired by the success of MARC, several other formats, mostly based on MARC, were developed in the 1970s, some very similar, some with significant differences. Most notable is the UNIMARC format, developed by IFLA.

MARC does not offer the features of XML or JSON, it is not a document format or a format for the Web. MARC is stream-based "structured data", composed of fields in sequential order, and was targeted to write records on magnetic tape. Today, magnetic tape data distribution service is history. Also, file distribution via FTP, common in the 1990s, does not fit well into a highly linked and sophisticated information infrastructure like the Semantic Web.

2. Javadoc

The Javadoc can be found here.

3. Gradle test report

The Gradle test report can be found here.