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For librarians

For librarians

Catalogue records for the books on our free shelf, free to load into your library system: MARC 21 and MARCXML, with a link to every edition.

Updated

Download

MARC 21 records, English, free shelf (.mrc)Binary records (ISO 2709, UTF-8), one per edition, ready for MarcEdit, Koha, Alma, Sierra or any system that reads MARC.MARC 21 · 339 KB MARCXML records, English, free shelfThe same records as MARCXML.MARCXML · 901 KB KBART list, English, free shelfThe same titles as a KBART list (tab separated), for knowledge bases and link resolvers.KBART · 37 KB Index of the records, English (CSV)Record number, title, author and the address of each edition, for checking a load.CSV · 24 KB Terms of the records (text)What you may do with the records, in one page.Text · 1 KB

What you get

  • The records of the books on our free shelf, in English, as MARC 21 (the binary exchange format) and as MARCXML, with a KBART list for knowledge bases and an index. The English files are ready now; each language that opens gets its own files.
  • Every record links to its edition page (field 856), so a reader of your catalogue lands on the book, and carries a persistent number (fields 001 and 024) that does not change when we re-issue the files.
  • The index file lists every record number with its title, author and address, so you can check a load against it.
  • The records of the rest of the catalogue go to libraries and catalogues that ask for them: write to tim@libraryofalexandria.com.

What a record holds

  • 001, 003, 005: Record number (the edition's persistent number, LOA-E-nnnnnn-en), source code LoAPress, date of the export.
  • 006, 007, 008: Online resource, text; language and place of publication (Houston, Texas); year of the edition.
  • 024: The edition number again, and its persistent web address.
  • 040, 041: Cataloguing agency LoAPress, RDA; language code.
  • 100, 700: The author in inverted form with years where known, with the VIAF number (subfield 0) and the Wikidata item (subfield 1) where we have matched them; translators and editors in 700.
  • 245, 250, 264: Title and statement of responsibility; the edition statement (modern-English edition, human-edited); publisher Library of Alexandria Press, Houston, Texas.
  • 300, 336, 337, 338: 1 online resource; RDA content, media and carrier.
  • 500: Year of first publication of the work; length in words.
  • 520, 521: A short description; the reading level.
  • 538, 540, 546: Mode of access; the access note (free to read online, no sign-in); language.
  • 653, 655: Genre terms as the library shows them (not controlled).
  • 758, 856: The Wikidata item of the title where we have matched it; the address of the edition page.
  • 884: Where the record comes from and the date of the export.

How to load the records

  1. Download the .mrc file (or the MARCXML file) above.
  2. Open it in your system's import tool. In MarcEdit use MARC Tools and check that the records read as UTF-8. In Koha use Stage MARC records for import; in Alma, an import profile; in Sierra, Data Exchange.
  3. Match on the 001 (it stays the same when we re-issue the files) or on the 856 address.
  4. Tell us if your system needs another field or format.

Things to know

  • Minimal-level records. The records are marked minimal (leader position 17 is 7). Author headings follow the form we know and are not authority-controlled: please run your usual authority matching.
  • Book sets. The files hold single-title editions. Our book sets, which sell several books together, are not in them.
  • No ISBN yet. Records carry an ISBN when we hold one for the edition (field 020). None is in these files.
  • The edition statement. Field 250 names the edition: "Modern-English edition, human-edited".
  • Free to use. Any library or catalogue may load, change and share the records. Field 884 names the source, which is all the credit we ask for; the terms are in the terms file above.
  • Updates. We re-issue the files when the free shelf changes and when a language opens. The record numbers stay the same; the date on this page is the date of the files.

Questions

Who can use the records?

Any library, consortium or catalogue, free of charge.

Can you send the records in another format or for a feed?

Yes. Write to us with the format and we will tell you what is possible: tim@libraryofalexandria.com.

Can a library offer the editions to its patrons?

Each record links to the edition's page, where a reader sees how to read it. If you want something more for your patrons, write to us at tim@libraryofalexandria.com and we will tell you what is possible.

Cite this

Library of Alexandria Press (2026). Library of Alexandria Press catalogue records [Catalogue records]. Version 2026-10-27. https://libraryofalexandria.com/pages/for-librarians.