Skip to main content
OCLC Support

Prepare your BIBFRAME data

Discover the specifications and guidelines for BIBFRAME data.

Overview

In data sync collections, you can submit BIBFRAME version 2.2.0 data to be processed in a Bibliographic or Delete WorldCat Holdings Data Sync collection.

 Note: Please note that BIBFRAME data and MARC data should always be processed separately using separate data sync collections.

OCLC expects a structure that is similar to the 'cbd.rdf' serialization used by the Library of Congress for use in their editor, MARVA: e.g. https://id.loc.gov/resources/instances/5226.cbd.rdf.

Format of data

  • BIBFRAME RDF/XML (.rdf) representing a Concise Bounded Description (CBD) for exchange. https://www.w3.org/submissions/CBD/
  • Each description should be serialized to a file with a unique name with the extension .rdf, eg. 123456789.rdf. These rdf file(s) should be compressed in a .zip file.

Structure of data

A bibliographic record can be constructed from a RDF/XML document representing a CBD with the following characteristics:

Deletions

Deletions can be indicated in the BIBFRAME data by using the bfcl:Deprecated class. 

If you are not able to indicate deletions within the data, you may use a separate Delete WorldCat Holdings collection to submit your deletes.