The Universal Standard Bibliographic Code (USBC): its use for cleaning, merging and controlling large databases

The history of the Universal Standard Bibliographic Code (USBC) is traced from its original concept as a machine generated control number to its present status as a means of merging catalogues, eliminating duplication and providing quality control in machine‐based bibliographic databases. Details are given of the early research work, the feasibility study that was carried out in connection with the United Kingdom Library Database System (UKLDS), the DOCMATCH Project and the work on expert systems. A resumé is given of the present work and proposed areas for research.