About the MARC Cooperative

Our Mission

The MARC Cooperative is a community-driven initiative to create and maintain the world's most comprehensive open bibliographic database. We believe that library catalog records should be freely available to all libraries, regardless of their budget or size.

What We Do

We aggregate, enhance, and distribute MARC records for books, serials, and other library materials. Every record in our database is available under the CC0 Public Domain Dedication, meaning you can use them for any purpose without restriction.

For Libraries

  • Free catalog records - Download individual records or bulk exports at no cost
  • Quality metadata - Community-reviewed records with consistent standards
  • Easy integration - Full API access for automated workflows
  • Regular updates - New records added daily by contributors worldwide

For Contributors

  • Make an impact - Your contributions help libraries around the world
  • Build your reputation - Track your contributions and earn recognition
  • Learn and grow - Work alongside experienced catalogers
  • Shape the future - Participate in governance and standards discussions

How It Works

The MARC Cooperative operates like Wikipedia for library catalog records:

  1. Browse and search - Anyone can access our database to find records
  2. Propose changes - Contributors can suggest additions and improvements
  3. Community review - Experienced catalogers review proposals for quality
  4. Continuous improvement - Records get better over time through collaboration

Our History

The MARC Cooperative was founded as part of the OkMARC project, a library services platform designed specifically for K-12 schools. We recognized that the high cost of commercial catalog records was a significant barrier for school libraries, and that a collaborative approach could benefit the entire library community.

Today, the Cooperative serves libraries of all types - public, academic, school, and special - with free, high-quality bibliographic data.

Get Involved

Ready to join the community? Here's how you can participate:

  • Create an account - Sign up to start contributing
  • Review the guidelines - Read our Contributing Guide to understand our standards
  • Start small - Begin with simple corrections and work your way up
  • Ask questions - Our community is here to help you succeed

Contact

Have questions about the MARC Cooperative? We'd love to hear from you.

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