Most useful MARC relator code values are listed here:
Adapter [adp] Use for a person who 1) reworks a musical composition, usually for a different medium, or 2) rewrites novels or stories for motion pictures or other audiovisual medium.
Annotator [ann] Use for a person who writes manuscript annotations on a printed item.
Arranger [arr] Use for a person who transcribes a musical composition, usually for a different medium from that of the original; in an arrangement the musical substance remains essentially unchanged.
Artist [art] Use for a person (e.g., a painter) who conceives, and perhaps also implements, an original graphic design or work of art, if specific codes (e.g., [egr], [etr]) are not desired. For book illustrators, prefer Illustrator [ill].
Associated name [asn] Use as a general relator for a name associated with or found in an item or collection, or which cannot be determined to be that of a Former owner [fmo] or other designated relator indicative of provenance.
Author [aut] Use for a person or corporate body chiefly responsible for the intellectual or artistic content of a work. This term may also be used when more than one person or body bears such responsibility.
Author in quotations or text extracts [aqt] Use for a person whose work is largely quoted or extracted in a works to which he or she did not contribute directly. Such quotations are found particularly in exhibition catalogs, collections of photographs, etc.
Author of afterword, colophon, etc. [aft] Use for a person or corporate body responsible for an afterword, postface, colophon, etc. but who is not the chief author of a work.
Author of introduction, etc. [aui] Use for a person or corporate body responsible for an introduction, preface, foreword, or other critical matter, but who is not the chief author.
Bibliographic antecedent [ant] Use for the author responsible for a work upon which the work represented by the catalog record is based. This may be appropriate for adaptations, sequels, continuations, indexes, etc.
Book producer [bkp] Use for the person or firm responsible for the production of books and other print media, if specific codes (e.g., [bkd], [egr], [tyd], [prt]) are not desired.
Collaborator [clb] Use for a person or corporate body that takes a limited part in the elaboration of a work of another author or that brings complements (e.g., appendices, notes) to the work of another author.
Commentator [cmm] Use for a person who provides interpretation, analysis, or a discussion of the subject matter on a recording, motion picture, or other audiovisual medium.
Compiler [com] Use for a person who produces a work or publication by selecting and putting together material from the works of various persons or bodies.
Designer [dsr] Use for a person or organization responsible for design if specific codes (e.g., [bkd], [tyd]) are not desired.
Editor [edt] Use for a person who prepares for publication a work not primarily his/her own, such as by elucidating text, adding introductory or other critical matter, or technically directing an editorial staff.
Illustrator [ill] Use for the person who conceives, and perhaps also implements, a design or illustration, usually to accompany a written text.
Lyricist [lyr] Use for the writer of the text of a song.
Metadata contact [mdc] Use for the person or organization primarily responsible for compiling and maintaining the original description of a metadata set (e.g., geospatial metadata set).
Musician [mus] Use for the person who performs music or contributes to the musical content of a work when it is not possible or desirable to identify the function more precisely.
Narrator [nrt] Use for the speaker who relates the particulars of an act, occurrence, or course of events.
Other [oth] Use for relator codes from other lists which have no equivalent in the MARC list or for terms which have not been assigned a code.
Photographer [pht] Use for the person or organization responsible for taking photographs, whether they are used in their original form or as reproductions.
Printer [prt] Use for the person or organization who prints texts, whether from type or plates.
Redactor [red] Use for a person who writes or develops the framework for an item without being intellectually responsible for its content.
Reviewer [rev] Use for a person or corporate body responsible for the review of book, motion picture, performance, etc.
Sponsor [spn] Use for the person or agency that issued a contract, or under whose auspices a work has been written, printed, published, etc.
Thesis advisor [ths] Use for the person under whose supervision a degree candidate develops and presents a thesis, memoir, or text of a dissertation.
Transcriber [trc] Use for a person who prepares a handwritten or typewritten copy from original material, including from dictated or orally recorded material.
Translator [trl] Use for a person who renders a text from one language into another, or from an older form of a language into the modern form.
Consult the MARC code list cited above for the complete list.
The normative list of values used for the role attribute is defined by the MARC relator code list (http://www.loc.gov/marc/relators/). When roles are specified, the 3-character registered MARC values must be used when applicable. Although that list is extensive, other values may be added if a required role is not covered by those predefined values. Such values must begin with “oth.”, and shall be considered subdivisions of the “other” relator code. Like other constructs in this specification, these values are case-sensitive and must be coded entirely in lower-case.
See also:
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