MARC Records

Free minimum MARC records delivered next-day

OverDrive MARC Express offers ready-to-load MARC records to your library at no cost. We create these minimum MARC records in-house and deliver them to OverDrive Marketplace the day after you place a content order. Your library can then load the record as is, or edit to suit your specific needs. It’s a fast, free way of getting records into your catalog and synchronizing it with your OverDrive digital collection.

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Ebook Sample
MRC | PDF
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Audiobook Sample
MRC | PDF
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Magazine Sample
MRC | PDF
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Unicode Sample (All Formats)
MRC | PDF

What does OverDrive MARC Express cost?

  • Nothing. Our minimum MARC records are absolutely free.

How will my records be delivered?

  • Files are posted to OverDrive Marketplace the day after content order(s) are submitted.
  • An email notification is sent to the library when files are posted and ready to be downloaded.
  • Additionally, MARC Express records for a title(s), purchase order, or date range can be generated on-demand in Marketplace as needed.
  • MARC files are separated by title format, or by purchase order and then title format.

What is included with the minimum MARC record?

  • An 856 field link to direct patrons from the catalog to the OverDrive-powered site for checkout and download.
  • Custom public note text (e.g., “Click here to access this title”).
  • Publisher-provided metadata as available in OverDrive Marketplace, which includes title, creator, description, subject headings, etc.
  • Optional UTF-8/Unicode formatting.
  • Additional preferences for the following fields:
    • The default formatting for the 245 field is to capitalize only the first letter of the first word—all others are in lowercase. This can be changed so that all words in the title are capitalized as seen in OverDrive Marketplace and at the OverDrive website.
    • The 521 field can be removed from the records.
    • For school partners, we can enable the 852 field. With this field enabled, school codes can be entered into the 852_a field and barcodes can be added to the 852_p field.

What is not included in the minimum MARC record?

  • Library of Congress or DEWEY subject classifications
  • OCLC Control Number
  • Customization of the file and formatting. Once you receive the file, you can edit if needed.

Complete MARC record providers

OverDrive also works with BDS, eBiblioFile and OCLC to make available full ready-to-load MARC records. These records are ordered on your behalf by OverDrive and delivered by the vendor directly for a small fee.