BNB MARC Users in the UK; a Survey

Since January 1971, the British National Bibliography has been producing MARC tapes as a by‐product of the process of computer type‐setting the printed BNB Weekly List. (In this paper, the tapes are referred to as ‘BNB MARC’.) Experimental tapes have been available since 1968. In July and August 1971, Aslib Research and Development Department carried out a survey of BNB MARC users, limited to those libraries in the British Isles using the tapes for a regular service or experimenting with them as a part of the original MARC network (listed in Appendix II). The report is limited to the use in mid‐1971 of MARC tapes provided by BNB, but Appendix III includes brief notes on some work begun after August 1971. No system is described in depth; those interested in greater detail are referred to the selected references at the end. Most of the systems, especially operational ones, are reported there, making description here unnecessary.