In Marc records, which component identifies the type of data in a field and is represented by a numeric tag?

In Marc records, which component identifies the type of data in a field and is represented by a numeric tag?

• A. Leader
• B. Subfields
• C. Field Tag
• D. Indicators

Answer: (C)

In MARC records, every data field starts with a three-digit numeric tag that identifies the kind of data that field contains. This tag acts as the field’s label, telling you exactly what type of information is encoded there (for example, 245 for the title, 100 for the main author entry). The tag makes it possible to recognize and process the data consistently across records and systems. The Leader sits at the very beginning of the record and describes the record as a whole (length, status, etc.), not the content of a specific field. Subfields are the individual data elements within a field, indicated by a delimiter and subfield codes. Indicators are the two numeric values that follow the tag in some fields and modify how the field’s data should be interpreted. So the numeric field tag is the element that identifies the data type in that field.

In MARC records, every data field starts with a three-digit numeric tag that identifies the kind of data that field contains. This tag acts as the field’s label, telling you exactly what type of information is encoded there (for example, 245 for the title, 100 for the main author entry). The tag makes it possible to recognize and process the data consistently across records and systems. The Leader sits at the very beginning of the record and describes the record as a whole (length, status, etc.), not the content of a specific field. Subfields are the individual data elements within a field, indicated by a delimiter and subfield codes. Indicators are the two numeric values that follow the tag in some fields and modify how the field’s data should be interpreted. So the numeric field tag is the element that identifies the data type in that field.