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9.8. Appendix H: Indicators

Last Updated 04/03/2025

What are Indicators?

Indicators are the single-digit numbers that appear after the 3-digit MARC tags (e.g. =245).  Beginning with the =010 field, you will find two character positions in every field following the tag.  The first character position is for Indicator 1, and the second character position is for Indicator 2.  Note, however, that indicators are not necessarily defined in all fields.  It is also possible that a 2nd indicator will be used, while the 1st indicator remains undefined (or vice versa).  When an indicator is undefined, the character position will be represented by the character \ in the Flat Text Editor.

Indicators mean different things depending on the field in which they appear.  For example, a first indicator of 1 in the =100 author field does not mean the same thing as a first indicator of 1 in the =245 title field.  It is important to use the correct indicators when cataloging, because the indicators help identify the information in the field.

For example, a first indicator of 1 in the =100 author field means that the surname of the author is listed first in the subfield $a, like below (you will also notice that the second indicator is undefined for the =100 field):

=100 1\$aCrichton, Michael,$d1942-2008,$eauthor.

You can learn more about the specific indicators for each field at the following links, but this page will also cover some common ones that you should pay attention to when cataloging.

Library of Congress MARC 21 Format for Bibliographic Data

OCLC BibFormats Bibliographic Formats and Standards

The Knowledge Book page on Evaluating Bibliographic Records also includes links for each MARC field that will take you to explanations for their respective indicators in case you do not see one listed below.

=082 Field

Indicator 1 in the =082 field indicates the type of edition from which the Dewey Decimal Classification number is taken.

• 0 = Full edition
• 1 = Abridged edition
• 7 = Other edition specified in subfield $2

Indicator 2 indicates the source of the Dewey Decimal Classification number.

• 0 = Assigned by the Library of Congress (LoC)
• 4 = Assigned by an agency, organization, or individual other than LoC

You can read more about the =082 field's second indicator in the Knowledge Book here.

=100 Field

Indicator 1 in the =100 field indicates the type of personal name entry element.

• 0 = Forename
• 1 = Surname (most common form)
• 3 = Family name

Indicator 2 became obsolete in 1990 and, as such, is undefined.

=110 Field

Indicator 1 in the =110 field indicates the type of corporate name entry element.

• 0 = Inverted name
• 1 = Jurisdiction name
• 2 = Name in direct order

Indicator 2 is undefined.

=240 Field

Indicator 1 in the =240 field indicates whether the uniform title is printed/displayed or not.

• 0 = Not printed or displayed
• 1 = Printed or displayed

Indicator 2 indicates the number of nonfiling characters (definite or indefinite articles, including spaces) present at the beginning of a title that are disregarded in sorting and filing processes.

• 0 = No nonfiling characters
• 1-9 = Number of nonfiling characters present

=245 Field

Indicator 1 in the =245 field indicates whether the title is an added entry or not (i.e. if a =1XX field is present in the record as well, then the =245 field is considered an "added entry").

• 0 = No title added entry (always used when a =1XX field is not present in the record)
• 1 = Title added entry (most common entry; used only when a =1XX field is present in the record)

Indicator 2 indicates the number of nonfiling characters (definite or indefinite articles, including spaces) present at the beginning of a title that are disregarded in sorting and filing processes.

• 0 = No nonfiling characters
• 1-9 = Number of nonfiling characters present

=246 Field

Indicator 1 in the =246 field indicates whether a note and/or an added entry is generated from the field.

• 0 = Note, no added entry (not commonly used)
• 1 = Note, added entry
  • Mainly used for variant or alternative titles that appear on the item but are not part of the title recorded in field =245.
• 2 = No note, no added entry (not commonly used)
• 3 = No note, added entry
  • Mainly used for variant or alternative titles which already appear in field =245 (e.g. alternative titles, parallel titles, portions of the title proper, etc.).

Indicator 2 indicates the type of title recorded in field =246.

• \ = No type specified
  • Used for titles not covered by any of the other Indicator 2 values.  Use with Indicator 1 value 1.
• 0 = Portion of title
  • Used for any portion of the title recorded in field =245.  Use with Indicator 1 value 3.
• 1 = Parallel title
  • Used for titles in another language.  A separate =246 field should be used for each parallel title.  Use with Indicator 1 value 3.
• 2 = Distinctive title
  • Mainly used for serials, this is a special title that appears on individual issues of a particular resource in addition to the regular title and by which the individual issues may be identified.  Most common on conference proceedings, annual reports, or yearbooks, when a specific issue may be dedicated to a particular theme or topic.  (Note:  These are not the same as individual titles within a series.)
• 3 = Other title
  • Mainly used for serials, these can include colophon titles, masthead titles, or half titles. 
• 4 = Cover title
  • The title as it appears on the cover if different from the title page.
• 5 = Added title page title
  • Used when an item has multiple title pages.
• 6 = Caption title
  • Used for titles printed at the head of the first pages of a text or a music sheet.
• 7 = Running title
  • Used when a title is repeated on the top or bottom of each page or on every other page of a text.
• 8 = Spine title
  • The title as it appears on the spine if different from the title page.

=264 Field

Indicator 1 in the =264 field indicates the sequence of statements.

• \ = Not applicable or no information provided (most commonly used)
• 2 = Intervening
  • Used when the original production, publication, distribution, manufacture, or copyright notice information has been been changed, updated, or corrected, but it is not the latest or most current version of the work.
• 3 = Current/Latest
  • Used when the original production, publication, distribution, manufacture, or copyright notice information has been been changed, updated, or corrected, and it is the latest or most current version of the work.

Indicator 2 indicates the function of the entity.

• 0 = Production
• 1 = Publication
• 2 = Distribution
• 3 = Manufacture
• 4 = Copyright notice date

=490 Field

Indicator 1 in the =490 field indicates whether a series is traced or not (i.e. whether a corresponding =8XX field is present in the record or not).

• 0 = Series is not traced (i.e. no corresponding =8XX field is present in the record)
• 1 = Series is traced (i.e. a corresponding =8XX field is present in the record)

Indicator 2 is undefined.

You can read more about the =490 field's first indicator in the Knowledge Book here.

=505 Field

Indicator 1 in the =505 field indicates how the contents are labeled and displayed in the catalog.  (However, note that in Evergreen, regardless of the indicator used, the contents will always be labeled and displayed in the staff client as "Table of Contents:", and in the OPAC as "Formatted Contents Note:".)

• 0 = Contents (i.e. complete contents)
• 1 = Incomplete contents
  • Used when all of the parts of a multipart item are not available, whether because the remaining parts have not yet been published or because they are not owned or have not yet been acquired by the library.
• 2 = Partial contents
  • Used when all of the parts of a multipart item are available and/or owned by the library, but are not to be included in the record for one reason or another.
• 8 = No display constant generated
  • Normally this would mean that the contents are not labeled in the catalog, but as noted above, in Evergreen they will still be labeled regardless.

Indicator 2 indicates the level of content designation.

• \ = Basic
  • Used when all of the information is included in a single subfield $a.
• 0 = Enhanced
  • Used when there are repeated uses of subfields other than subfield $a (e.g. $t for title, $r for author) so that each individual title and author in the formatted contents can be searched for using Title and Author searches in the catalog.

=511 Field

Indicator 1 in the =511 field indicates how the participants/performers are labeled and displayed in the catalog.  (However, note that in Evergreen, regardless of the indicator used, the participants/performers will always be labeled and displayed in the staff client as "Performer:", and in the OPAC as "Participant or Performer Note:".)

• 0 = No display content generated
  • Normally this would mean that the participants/performers are not labeled in the catalog, but as noted above, in Evergreen they will still be labeled regardless.
  • Recommended to be used when other information is included in the field besides just the participants or performers names (e.g. "Voices:" for a voice acting cast).
• 1 = Cast

Indicator 2 is undefined.

=521 Field

Indicator 1 in the =521 field indicates how the target audience is labeled and displayed in the catalog.  (However, note that in Evergreen, regardless of the indicator used, the target audience will always be labeled and displayed in the OPAC as "Target Audience Note:".)

• \ = Audience
• 0 = Reading grade level
• 1 = Interest age level
• 2 = Interest grade level
• 3 = Special audience characteristics
• 4 = Motivation/interest level
• 8 = No display constant generated
  • Normally this would mean that the target audience is not labeled in the catalog, but as noted above, in Evergreen it will still be labeled regardless.
  • Used for movie ratings.

Indicator 2 is undefined.

You can read more about the =521 field's first indicator in the Knowledge Book here.

=600 Field

Indicator 1 in the =600 field indicates the type of personal name entry element.

• 0 = Forename
• 1 = Surname (most common form)
• 3 = Family name

Indicator 2 indicates the specific subject heading system or thesaurus from which a personal name was taken.

• 0 = Library of Congress Subject Headings
• 1 = Library of Congress Children's and Young Adults' Subject Headings
• 2 = Medical Subject Headings
• 3 = National Agricultural Library subject authority file
• 4 = Source not specified
• 5 = Canadian Subject Headings
• 6 = Répertoire de vedettes-matière
• 7 = Source specified in subfield $2

You can read more about the =600 field's second indicator in the Knowledge Book here.

=610 Field

Indicator 1 in the =610 field indicates the type of corporate name entry element.

• 0 = Inverted name
• 1 = Jurisdiction name
• 2 = Name in direct order

Indicator 2 indicates the specific subject heading system or thesaurus from which a corporate name was taken.

• 0 = Library of Congress Subject Headings
• 1 = Library of Congress Children's and Young Adults' Subject Headings
• 2 = Medical Subject Headings
• 3 = National Agricultural Library subject authority file
• 4 = Source not specified
• 5 = Canadian Subject Headings
• 6 = Répertoire de vedettes-matière
• 7 = Source specified in subfield $2

You can read more about the =600 field's second indicator in the Knowledge Book here.

=650 Field

Indicator 1 in the =650 field indicates the level or importance of the subject matter (i.e. whether it is the main focus or subject of the resource or a less important aspect of the content covered).

• \ = No information provided
• 0 = No level specified
• 1 = Primary (main focus or subject of the resource)
• 2 = Secondary (less important aspect of the content covered)

Indicator 2 indicates the specific subject heading system or thesaurus from which a subject term was taken.

• 0 = Library of Congress Subject Headings
• 1 = Library of Congress Children's and Young Adults' Subject Headings
• 2 = Medical Subject Headings
• 3 = National Agricultural Library subject authority file
• 4 = Source not specified
• 5 = Canadian Subject Headings
• 6 = Répertoire de vedettes-matière
• 7 = Source specified in subfield $2

You can read more about the =650 field's second indicator in the Knowledge Book here.

=651 Field

Indicator 1 in the =650 field is undefined.

Indicator 2 indicates the specific subject heading system or thesaurus from which a subject term was taken.

• 0 = Library of Congress Subject Headings
• 1 = Library of Congress Children's and Young Adults' Subject Headings
• 2 = Medical Subject Headings
• 3 = National Agricultural Library subject authority file
• 4 = Source not specified
• 5 = Canadian Subject Headings
• 6 = Répertoire de vedettes-matière
• 7 = Source specified in subfield $2

You can read more about the =651 field's second indicator in the Knowledge Book here.

=655 Field

Indicator 1 in the =655 field indicates the type of genre or form heading in the field.

• \ = Basic
  • Used when the information is recorded in a single subfield $a.
• 0 = Faceted
  • Used when multiple genre or form terms are recorded in separate subfield $a's and $b's in the same field, and these are each preceded by subfield $c's to delineate the hierarchy of each term in a particular thesaurus.

Indicator 2 indicates the specific subject heading system or thesaurus from which a genre or form term was taken.

• 0 = Library of Congress Subject Headings
• 1 = Library of Congress Children's and Young Adults' Subject Headings
• 2 = Medical Subject Headings
• 3 = National Agricultural Library subject authority file
• 4 = Source not specified
• 5 = Canadian Subject Headings
• 6 = Répertoire de vedettes-matière
• 7 = Source specified in subfield $2

You can read more about the =655 field's second indicator in the Knowledge Book here.

=700 Field

Indicator 1 in the =700 field indicates the type of personal name entry element.

• 0 = Forename
• 1 = Surname (most common form)
• 3 = Family name

Indicator 2 indicates the type of added entry.

• \ = No information provided (most commonly used)
  • Used for co-authors, illustrators, editors, etc.
• 2 = Analytical entry
  • Used when the resource contains the work represented by this added entry.

=710 Field

Indicator 1 in the =710 field indicates the type of corporate name entry element.

• 0 = Inverted name
• 1 = Jurisdiction name
• 2 = Name in direct order

Indicator 2 indicates the type of added entry.

• \ = No information provided (most commonly used)
  • Used for issuing bodies, production companies, etc.
• 2 = Analytical entry
  • Used when the resource contains the work represented by this added entry.

=800 Field

Indicator 1 in the =800 field indicates the type of personal name entry element.

• 0 = Forename
• 1 = Surname (most common form)
• 3 = Family name

Indicator 2 is undefined.

=810 Field

Indicator 1 in the =810 field indicates the type of corporate name entry element.

• 0 = Inverted name
• 1 = Jurisdiction name
• 2 = Name in direct order

Indicator 2 is undefined.

=830 Field

Indicator 1 in the =830 field is undefined.

Indicator 2 indicates the number of nonfiling characters (definite or indefinite articles, including spaces) present at the beginning of a title that are disregarded in sorting and filing processes.

• 0 = No nonfiling characters
• 1-9 = Number of nonfiling characters present