Abstract:This article describes how a MARC record has evolved in the decades since its introduction, i.e. from the ISO 2709 to XML format. The XML format is a general format for presenting MARC records in a simple and understandable way. Tools that work with the XML format are of the open source type and can be used to process XML records without incurring additional costs associated with one's own software development. XML is also the main format for data transfer on the Internet and for Web services. It is evident though that as long as computer systems using old technology exist, MARC records in the ISO 2709 standard format will also survive.