02. Blanks (hashes) “with a meaning” in MARC 006 and 008 coded data fields

Blanks (hashes) have a “meaning” in MARC field 006 - Fixed-length Data Elements – Additional Material Characteristics - and MARC field 008 - Fixed-Length Data Elements - on main/master level very often. So, a blank (hash) doesn't always mean "undefined", "unknown", or "unspecified".

The following table gives an overview on the blanks (hashes) “with a meaning”. This is very important to be aware of when data is imported, exported, or converted.

Especially when data is delivered by a library which has no "MARC 21 background" as far it applies the format of the records, and the format of that library has no fields like Leader or coded data like field 008, then the delivered fields like 008 have been generated automatically probably without checking the values with the "items in hand". This implies that the blanks (hashes) "with a meaning" mean in fact "No attempt to code". Then, the decision can be taken - in cooperation with the library - to remove those blanks (hashes) from the records.