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DATE: January 15, 2026
REVISED:
NAME: Addition of Codes "q" (Serial podcast), "a" (Activity report), and "i" (Serial zine) to Field 008/21 in the MARC 21 Bibliographic Format
SOURCE: ISSN Review Group
SUMMARY: This paper proposes the addition of codes "q" for Serial podcast, "a" for Activity report, and "i" for Serial zine to field 008/21 and 006/04 (Continuing Resources/Type of continuing resource) in the MARC 21 Bibliographic Format as a logical and necessary step in modernizing bibliographic standards. The purpose is threefold: to provide increased granularity for contemporary and overlooked types of resources; to provide more useful faceting and statistical reporting in the ISSN Portal database and library information systems; and to provide more granularity in cases where coding for resource type is desired.
KEYWORDS: Continuing Resources (BD); Field 008/21 (Continuing Resources) (BD); Field 006/04 (Continuing Resources) (BD); Type of Continuing Resource (BD); Podcast (BD); Serial Podcasst (BD); Activity report (BD); Zine (BD) ; Serial zine (BD); Serials (BD)
RELATED: 2025-DP06; 2021-03; 2020-DP10
STATUS/COMMENTS:
01/15/26 – Made available to the MARC community for discussion.
Current coding of field 008/21 (and 006/04) in the MARC 21 Bibliographic Format is as follows:
008 - Continuing Resources (NR)
| 21 - Type of continuing resource (006/04) | |
|
|
The ISSN Portal database currently includes over 2.8 million records that rely on 008/21 coding to provide faceting and identification by type of continuing resource. Until the approval of MARC Proposal 2021-03 in June 2021, the limited set of existing codes resulted in overly-broad categorization of continuing resources types (e.g., "blank" for reports or directories; "p" for journals, newsletters, blogs, and potentially podcasts). The lack of specificity complicated metadata-driven discovery, data analysis, and global tracking of publishing trends, particularly in digital and open-access formats. Proposal 2021-03 ameliorated this situation by the addition of the six new codes listed below but a need has recently arisen for the addition of three new codes, two of which (serial podcast, and serial zine) respond to the need to characterize non-traditional types of continuing resources.
Codes added in June 2021:
h - Blog
t- Directory
j- Journal
g- Magazine
s - Newsletter
r- Repository
With the increasing importance of precise content description—especially for born-digital and niche publishing formats like podcasts, zines, and activity reports—this proposal seeks to extend the value of 008/21 by adding new codes to address emerging and underrepresented continuing resource types.
Field 008/21 (Continuing Resources/Type of continuing resource) has long been the standard used by the ISSN Network for identifying the nature of continuing resources. While codes such as "p" (Periodical), "w" (Updating Web site), and "blank" were serviceable for general categorization, they lacked the necessary resolution for the increasingly diverse publishing landscape.
During the MAC Annual meeting discussion of 2020-DP10 (the paper that preceded the proposal to add six new more granular codes), the question of how to deal with the existing code "p" (periodical) arose. Retaining code "p" so it could be used if less granularity is desired was preferred over deprecating that code. In general, unless a community decision applies, the principle of specificity should be used: choose the most specific code that applies to the resource. The same logic should apply with code # (blank) which shall be retained for less granularity or conformity with past practice.
It should be noted that although many bibliographic records are increasingly using form/genre terms to provide faceting by form or genre, ISSN Portal records and various other metadata schemes do not include these kinds of terms. Additionally, the values of the codes in 008/21 can be translated into any language and thus avoid the limitations and potential misunderstanding of technical terms in a specific language.
Podcasts can be monographic or serially-issued audio or audio/video publications, often of a scholarly or journalistic nature, which are distributed primarily online and intended for ongoing dissemination.
As a growing medium for academic communication, cultural programming, and public education, these resources merit a distinct type of continuing resource code. At present, they are inconsistently coded under "p" or "w" or ignored for catalog access. Assigning a specific code would improve discoverability and allow consistent metadata application.
The MAC discussion of 2025-DP06 which simply used the term "podcast," raised concerns that podcasts can be either serials or monographs. Accordingly, "serial" was added, resulting in code "q" being used to denote "Serial podcast."
Activity reports are reports that are usually published on a regular basis (often called annual reports) and provide a summary of an institution's operations, finances, or achievements. They are critical reference materials for researchers and analysts. However, currently, activity reports are either coded as "blank" or coded ambiguously, meaning they cannot be discovered as a distinct type of resource in metadata-based systems. Assigning a dedicated code would enable clearer discovery of the reports, facilitate usage tracking and support policy development. This code can encompass reports of various frequencies, including semi-annual and quarterly reports.
2025-DP06 used the term "Annual report" for this type of resource. Questions were raised about whether the frequency always needed to be annual. This proposal uses the term "Activity report" instead and indicates that various frequencies are possible.
Although many zines are "one-off" publications, some zines are issued serially. A serial zine can be printed or it may be issued digitally or made available on a website. The ISSN Portal already includes a number of serial zines to which ISSNs have been assigned. Currently, researchers studying marginal communities and seeking serial zines have to rely on a category based on the "periodical" type (code "p"), in which zines are vastly outnumbered by other types of periodical.
Since in other character positions in the continuing resources field 008, the code "z" is used either for "Treaties" or "Other", we are proposing code "i" to eliminate confusion.
The MAC discussion of 2025-DP06 which simply used the term "zine," raised concerns that zines can be either serials or monographs. Accordingly, "serial" was added, resulting in code "i" being used to denote "Serial zine."
To summarize, the proposed additions augment the previous effort to revise and expand field 008/21, which led to the inclusion of codes such as "h" for blogs and "r" for repositories. However, retaining broader codes like "p" (periodical) and “blank” (none of the following) continues to provide the ability for less granular faceting.
The addition and implementation of these new codes will allow for the following benefits:
In field 008/21 and field 006/04 (Continuing Resources/Type of Continuing Resource) of the MARC 21 Bibliographic Format:
Current definition:# - None of the following
Also used for yearbooks and annual reports.Proposed revision:
# - None of the following
Also used for yearbooks and other types of continuing resources that do not fit into existing types. For conference proceedings, use # in combination with 008/29. For annual reports and other activity reports use 008/21.
q –Serial podcast
A serialized spoken-word digital audio or sometimes audio/video publication, typically released episodically and made available for download or streaming. Podcasts may include interviews, storytelling, or educational content and are distributed through web syndication platforms or mobile applications.
a - Activity report
An activity report is a periodically-issued institutional publication that provides a structured account of an organization's operations, programs, and performance over a specified reporting period, intended to serve as an ongoing, serial record for stakeholders and for bibliographic identification in library systems. Reports are often issued annually, but can be issued with various frequencies, including semi-annual and quarterly.
i – Serial zine
A serial zine, short for "fanzine" or "magazine", is an ongoing independently produced, small-circulation publication created outside of professional publishing channels, which can be considered as a continuing resource when issued in successive parts with an explicit or implicit intent to continue. Serial zines can be both printed and published digitally and made available using an online platform or website.
Example 1:
008/21 "q" Serial podcast
007 cr
007 sr||||||||||||
008 170315c20209999es a| q|o|||||| b0spao
022 0 # $a 3006-9483 $2 _0 $l 3006-9483
222 # # $a Cuentos en red
245 1 # $a Cuentos en red.
260 # # $a San Salvador $b Centro Cultural de España en El Salvador
Example 2:
008/21 "a" Activity report
007 cr
008 210215cuuuu9999lu a||a|s|||||||||a0eng
022 0 # $a 2716-7461 $2 74 $l 2716-7461
222 # # $a Annual report … $b (Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research)
245 1 # $a Annual report ….
260 # # $a Esch-sur-Alzette $b LISER
Example 3:
008/21 "i" Serial zine
007 ta
008 220324d20212021enkar|i 0|||a0eng
022 0 # $a 2752-6550 $2 _2 $l 2752-6550
222 # # $a 10 zine
245 1 # $a 10 zine.
246 3 # $a Ten zine
264 # 1 $a London $b [Sick Love Zine/Isobel Gorman-Buckley] $c 2021.
The MARC-to-BIBFRAME and BIBFRAME-to-MARC conversion programs can be modified to include this addition.
In field 008/21 and 006/04 (Type of continuing resource) of the MARC 21 Bibliographic Format:
6.1. Revise the definition for the following code, as described in Section 3.1.:
# - None of the above
6.2 Add and define the following new codes, as described in Section 3.2.:
q - Serial podcast
a - Activity report
i - Serial zine
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