FRBR Display Tool

The Network Development and MARC Standards Office (NDMSO) at the Library of Congress contracted for a Functional Analysis of the MARC 21 Bibliographic and Holdings Formats, which is based on the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records model. This study has become a useful tool to analyze MARC data using the work, expression, manifestation, and item FRBR entities. Based on this study, the FRBR Display Tool was developed to transform bibliographic data found in MARC 21 record files into meaningful displays by grouping them into the work, expression, and manifestation FRBR entities. Based on XML technologies, the tool may be altered to meet the needs of individual institutions. The FRBR Display Tool illustrates how the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records may be used to provide useful and practical benefits to libraries and other institutions by providing enhanced displays of bibliographic records in their online catalogs. It also shows how the theoretical portion of the FRBR model can be used practically to allow librarians to evaluate the consistency of their local bibliographic data so that they may further help library users access information in their online catalogs.