The IFLA Core Programme for Universal Bibliographic Control and International MARC (UBCIM): Recent Developments and Current State

Abstract

The UBCIM Programme seeks to coordinate activities aimed at the development of systems and standards of bibliographic control at the national level and to facilitate the international exchange of bibliographic data. One of its first accomplishments, the International Standard Bibliographic Description, was completed with the publication in 1992 of the revised ISBG(G). Guidelines for subject authority and reference entries were issued in 1993. Seminars and workshops on UBC and UNIMARC are being organized in various parts of the world. In 1992 project UNIBASE was launched, with the aim of producing a sample database of UNIMARC records using CDI/ISIS software, in support of the educational objectives of the UBCIM Programme; it includes a variety of facilities for searching, displaying and printing, but not for editing and updating records. Some Eastern European libraries that are starting to automate are considering UNIMARC as their internal format. A substantial part of UBCIM's activities is represented by its publications programme, which includes a quarterly journal. Lithuanian, Romanian and Russian versions of the UNIMARC manual were issued in 1993, and requests for translation into other languages have been received.