Physical
Description:
MARC tag 300
Definition
The physical description of the item, which consists of the extent of the
item and its dimensions. Use field 300 also for other physical details of
the item and information concerning accompanying material.
From OCLC bibliographic formats and standards, MARC tag 300
MARC tag 300
Commonly used subfields:

•
•
•
Extent ($a)
Other physical details ($b)
Dimensions ($c)
Accompanying material ($e)
Source of information

Entire resource
ISBD punctuation



Colon before subfield b
Semi-colon before subfield c
Plus sign before subfield e
Extent (subfield a)--Books

Record the number of pages (printed on both sides) or leaves (printed
on only one side)
Record the last numbered page or leaf in each sequence – xii, 27 p.
 If there are many sequences – 1 v. (various pagings)
 If an unnumbered sequence makes up a large part of the whole, include in
brackets – 125, [40] p.
 For a set of volumes – 26 v.
 If the book is large print – 355 p. (large print)
 If the book is braille – 100 leaves of braille
 If a book contains plates, record the number of leaves or pages of plates at
the end of the sequence of numbering – 150 p., [16] leaves of plates




Plate: a leaf or page that does not form part of the preliminary or main sequence
of numbering
AACR—abbreviate “pages”, “volume”, etc. as instructed in Appendix B
RDA—spell out “pages”, “volume”, etc.
Extent (subfield a)—Books (cont.)
If pages are not numbered:

AACR
Supply number in brackets or
 Enter phrase “1 v. (unpaged)”


RDA
Enter phrase “[number] unnumbered pages”—do not put in brackets
or
 Enter phrase “1 volume (unpaged)”

Other physical details (subfield b)-Books










Disregard illustrated title page and minor illustrations
Disregard tables containing only words and/or numbers
If illustrations are one or more of these types, use: coats of arms,
facsimiles, forms, genealogical tables, maps, music, plans, portraits,
samples—enter in alphabetical order after ill.
Optionally, can use general term ill. for illustrations without specifying type
If all illustrations are color – “col. ill.”
If some illustrations are color – “ill. (some col.)”
For graphic novels – “chiefly ill.” or “chiefly col. ill.”
If the book is not illustrated, subfield b will not be present
AACR—abbreviate types of illustrations as instructed in Appendix B
RDA—spell out “illustrations”, “color”, “portraits”, etc.
Dimensions (subfield c)--Books






Give height in centimeters
Always round up
If width is greater than height, give both height and width –
18 x 30 cm.
If width is less than half the height, give both height and
width – 24 x 11 cm.
AACR—period follows cm—considered an abbreviation
RDA—cm considered a symbol, not an abbreviation
 Period
after cm only if 300 is followed by 490
Related fixed fields

Illustrations (Ills in OCLC)
 Code
as appropriate when plates or other illustrations are present
Enter up to four codes in alphabetical order
 If fewer than four codes apply, left-justify and leave the remaining spaces
blank
 If more than four codes apply, enter the first four codes

 If

there are no plates or illustrations, leave blank
Form of Item (Form in OCLC)
 Code
as appropriate if item is large print or braille
Examples—Books
AACR
300 $axxi, 254 p. :$bill. (some col.) ;$c18 cm.
300 $a550 p. (large print) ;$c25 cm.
300 $a150 leaves :$bill., ports. ;$c18 x 24 cm.
300 $a[15] leaves, [8] leaves of plates ;$c28 cm.
300 $a1 v. (unpaged) :$bchiefly col. ill. ;$c25 cm.
300 $a1 v. (various pagings) ;$c30 x 14 cm.
300 $a3 v. :$bill., coats of arms, geneal. tables ;$c19 cm.
Extent (subfield a)—Books—Examples
RDA
300 $axxi, 254 pages :$billustrations (some color) ;$c18 cm
300 $a550 pages (large print) ;$c25 cm. (490 is present)
300 $a150 leaves :$billustrations, portraits ;$c18 x 24 cm
300 $a15 unnumbered leaves, 8 unnumbered leaves of plates
;$c28 cm. (490 is present)
300 $a1 volume (various pagings) ;$c30 x 14 cm. (490 is present)
300 $a1 volume (unpaged) :$bchiefly color illustrations ;$c25 cm
300 $a3 volumes :$billustrations, coats of arms, genealogical
tables ;$c19 cm
Extent (subfield a)—Sound recordings

Record the number and type of physical units (discs, tapes, etc.) and
playing time
AACR
 Use the term “sound disc(s)” or “sound cassette(s)”
 Give the total duration in parenthesis after the units if stated on the item
or readily ascertainable. Use abbreviations “hr.”, “min.”, “sec.” Use
abbreviation “ca.” if time is approximate
 RDA
 Use the term “audio discs” or “audiocassettes”
 Give the total duration if stated on the item or readily ascertainable. Use
abbreviations as above for units of time. Use “approximately” instead of
“ca.”
 Both
 If the resource has more than one unit, can give the playing time of each
unit, followed by “each”

Other physical details (subfield b)—
Sound recordings

Give the following details, as appropriate, in this order:
 Type
of recording (analog or digital)
 Playing speed

AACR
• Do not give playing speed if it is standard for the type of item
• Use abbreviations ips, mps, rpm
• Do give playing speed for analog discs, i.e., LP albums, (33 1/3 rpm)

RDA
• Record playing speed if considered important for identification or selection
• Use the same abbreviations as AACR
 Groove
characteristic (for analog discs)
 Track configuration (for sound track films)
Other physical details (subfield b)—
Sound recordings—cont.
 Number
of tracks (give only if the number of tracks is not standard for
the type of item)
 Sound channels
 AACR
• Use these terms: mono., stereo., quad., surround
 RDA
• Use these terms: mono, stereo, quadrophonic, surround

Recording and reproduction characteristics (i.e. Dolby processed,
NAB standard)
Dimensions (subfield c)—Sound recordings

AACR--Give the diameter of a disc or the width of a tape in inches
Compact disc - 4 ¾ in.
 LP album - 12 in.
 Cassette tape - ¼ in.
 Exception: give the width of an analog tape only if it is not the
standard size. Otherwise, omit subfield c


RDA—Instruction is to give dimensions in cm or mm, but allows
alternative of using measurements preferred by cataloging agency
We are following LC practice for alternative, and using inches
 Use the abbreviation “in.”
 May see two periods at the end of the 300 field, if 490 is present

Related field--007

Some information in the 007 is coded from data in the 300—
make sure they agree!
Sound recordings—Examples
AACR
300 $a1 sound disc (46 min., 56 sec.) :$bdigital ;$c4 ¾ in.
300 $a5 sound discs (ca. 30 min. each) :$bdigital, stereo. ;
$c4 ¾ in.
300 $a 1 sound cassette : $b analog
RDA
300 $a1 audio disc (46 min., 56 sec.) :$bdigital ;$c4 ¾ in.
300 $a5 audio discs (approximately 30 min. each) :$bdigital,
stereo ; $c4 ¾ in..
(490 is present)
300 $a 1 audio cassette : $b analog ;$c¼ in.
Extent (subfield a)—Videorecordings

Record the number and type of physical units (discs, tapes, etc.) and
playing time

AACR
Use the term “videodisc(s)” or “videocassettes(s)”
 Give the duration of the feature presentation in parenthesis after the units, if
stated on the item or readily ascertainable. Do not include duration of special
features. Use abbreviations “hr.”, “min.”, “sec.” Use abbreviation “ca.” if time is
approximate


RDA
Use the term “videodisc(s)” or “videocassette(s)”
 Give the duration of the feature presentation if stated on the item or readily
ascertainable. Use abbreviations as above for units of time. Use
“approximately” instead of “ca.”


Both

If the resource has more than one unit, can give the playing time of each unit,
followed by “each”
Other physical details (Subfield b)—
Videorecordings

Record sound and color characteristics
 AACR—abbreviate
as instructed in Appendix B
Sound – sd.
 Silent – si.
 Color – col.
 Black and white – b&w

 RDA—do
not abbreviate
Dimensions (subfield c)—Videorecordings

AACR--Give the diameter of a disc or the width of a tape in
inches
 Standard
diameter of a DVD or Blu-ray disc is 4 ¾ in.
 Standard width a videocassette tape is ½ in.
 Use the abbreviation “in.”

RDA—Give the diameter of a disc in inches (per LC policy
statement), and the width of a tape in millimeters
 Standard
width of a videocassette is 13 mm
 Use the abbreviation “in.” for discs
Related fixed fields--Videorecordings

Running time (Time in OCLC)
Code the running time of the feature presentation
 Use a three-digit number to represent minutes
 Convert seconds to the next higher minute
 Right-justify numbers consisting of fewer than three digits and each unused
position contains a zero
 Enter leading zeros
 Enter three zeros if the actual length exceeds three digits
 Use the total running time if two or more motion pictures or videorecordings
are present
 Enter three hyphens if the length is unknown


Type of visual material (Tmat in OCLC)

Code based on term in 300 subfield a
Related field--007

Some information in the 007 is coded from data in the 300—
make sure they agree!
Videorecordings—Examples
AACR
300 $a1 videodisc (149 min.) :$bsd., col. ;$c4 ¾ in.
300 $a5 videodiscs (ca. 891 min.) :$bsd., col. with b&w sequences
;$c4 ¾ in.
300 $a1 videocassette :$bsi., b&w ;$c ½ in.
RDA
300 $a1 videodisc (149 min.) :$bsound, color ;$c4 ¾ in.
300 $a5 videodiscs (approximately 891 min.) :$bsound, color with
black and white sequences ;$c4 ¾ in.. (490 is present)
300 $a1 videocassette :$bsilent, black and white ;$c13 mm
Extent (subfield a)—Kits and Realia

Kits—two options
 List
all of the items (i.e., 4 posters, 1 chart, 2 news sheets, 1
teacher’s guide)
or
 Use a generic term (i.e. 1 kit, or, various pieces)


Give information on the specific contents of the kit in a 500 note
Realia
 Give
the type of item and the number
Use AACR gmd terms if appropriate (i.e,. 1 game)
 If there is no gmd term, give a concise description (i.e., 3 quilts)
 Include the number of pieces if appropriate (i.e., 1 jigsaw puzzle (500
pieces))

Other physical details (subfield b)—
Kits and Realia

Kits
 Subfield
b will not generally be present, unless all of the pieces
are of the same material (i.e., plastic)

Realia
 If
appropriate, give the material of the object(s) (i.e., cotton)

If material can’t be given concisely, either omit it, or give it in a note
 Give
the color(s) of the object(s), or use “col.” for multicolored
objects

RDA: do not abbreviate
Dimensions (subfield c)—Kits and
Realia

Kits
 Give


the dimensions of the container in centimeters
Give as height x width x depth
Realia
 Give

the dimensions of the object, if easily obtained
Give as height x width x depth
 Give
the dimensions of the container, either instead of or in
addition to the dimensions of the object

Give as height x width x depth
 Give
dimensions in centimeters
Examples – Kits and Realia
AACR
300 $a4 posters, 1 chart, 2 news sheets, 1 teacher’s guide ;$cin
container 37 x 23 x 10 cm.
300 $a28 various pieces ;$cin container 34 x 34 x 34 cm.
300 $a1 bowl :$bporcelain, blue and white ;$c25 x 20 x 18 cm.
in case 30 x 30 x 30 cm.
RDA—Done as in AACR, except for abbreviations
300 $a1 kit (40 pieces) :$bplastic ;$cin box 36 x 30 x 30 cm
300 $a1 jigsaw puzzle (500 pieces) :$bcolor ;$cin box 17 x 34 x
6 cm
Accompanying Material (subfield e)—All
formats

Give details as you would describe the item in an individual
record
 300
_ _ $a450 p. :$bcol. ill. ;$c28 cm. +$e1 sound disc (32 min. : digital,
stereo. ; 4 ¾ in.)
 300 _ _ $a450 pages :$bcolor illustrations ;$c28 cm +$e1 audio disc (32
min. : digital, stereo ; 4 ¾ in.)
 300 _ _ $a50 p. :$bill., maps, ports. ; $c30 cm. +$e1 teacher’s guide (10
p. : ill. ; 18 cm.)
 300 _ _ $a50 pages :$billustrations, maps, portraits ; $c30 cm +$e1
teacher’s guide (10 pages : illustrations ; 18 cm)

Include related fields 006 and 007 as appropriate
Reminder
SHARE cataloging standard on records for the same item with and
without accompanying material:
An item with substantive accompanying material should be cataloged on
a separate record from the same item that does not include the
accompanying material. Records will not be merged in this instance.
This is in accordance with OCLC’s policy on accompanying material.
For more information-
MARC Coding
 OCLC bibliographic formats and standards
Through Connexion
or,
 On OCLC website: www.oclc.org/bibformats/en.html

 MARC21


format for bibliographic data
On Library of Congress website: www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic
Cataloging rules
 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd ed. (AACR2) – print only
 Resource Description and Access (RDA)
Print
 Online: www.rdatoolkit.org (subscription required)
