MeSH in MARC Format
General Information
- Understanding MARC Authority Records: Machine-Readable Cataloging. This information is from the US Library of Congress. It gives a general overview of MARC Authority Records and how they are used.
MeSH/MARC file release dates
- The annual MeSH/MARC files are released in November prior to the calendar year of their intended use. For example, the annual update of 2018 MeSH/MARC was released in November of 2017.
- Midyear MeSH data changes are reflected in that month’s non-cumulative change file and in a full MARC file, both posted to the MARC FTP site. Full files are reissued when changes occur, and each release is announced via a technical bulletin. Files are posted only in months when changes are made.
MeSH/MARC File Types
- MARC Sample file
- This is a smaller file primarily used for testing and evaluation purposes. It contains 41 descriptor records, 82 qualifier records, and 869 descriptor/qualifier combinations, for a total of 993 records.
- MARC sample label file
- This file provides size and other statistics for the matching sample data file.
- Update-only files
- These files contain new and modified terms with descriptor records and descriptor/qualifier combinations. Please remember use all the files since your last update to get all the changes.
- Update Label Files
- Provide size and other statistics for the update files.
- Full Release Files
- Contains all terms with descriptor records, qualifier records, and descriptor/qualifier combination records.
- Full Label Files
- Provides size and other statistics for the full file.
Downloading MeSH/MARC files
All files are directly accessed via our FTP directory. The data are in extended 8-bit US MARC ASCII. The file can only be transferred via FTP into a saved file. A file extension of ".bin" has been used to prompt the local receiving computer to automatically open a file to save the data.
FTP Site:
All files are available at: https://nlmpubs.nlm.nih.gov/projects/mesh/MESH_FILES/meshmarc where you will also see additional metadata such as file size and upload date.
The naming convention for the files follows this pattern: they are prefixed with the YearMonthDate (i.e. 20160101 = Jan 1, 2016) followed by the filename (see examples below).
MeSH/MARC File Examples (2016 data)
| Date | Time | File Size | File Name | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09/02/2016 | 08:04AM | 77 | 20160901_label_marc_change.bin | = MARC Label for Change File from Sept 1, 2016 |
| 09/02/2016 | 08:04AM | 79 | 20160901_label_marc_full.bin | = MARC Label for Full File from Sept 1, 2016 |
| 09/02/2016 | 08:04AM | 15,891,881 | 20160901_marc_change.bin | = MARC Change File from Sept 1, 2016 |
| 09/02/2016 | 08:04AM | 165,696,962 | 20160901_marc_full.bin | = MARC Full File Sept 1, 2016 |
| 09/29/2016 | 01:49PM | 74 | 20161001_label_marc_change.bin | = MARC Label for Change File from Oct 1, 2016 |
| 09/29/2016 | 01:49PM | 79 | 20161001_label_marc_full.bin | = MARC Label for Full File from Oct 1, 2016 |
| 09/29/2016 | 01:48PM | 12,938 | 20161001_marc_change.bin | = MARC Change File from Oct 1, 2016 |
| 09/29/2016 | 01:49PM | 165,708,170 | 20161001_marc_full.bin | = MARC Full File from Oct 1, 2016 |
For further information about the organization of files and file naming conventions visit our MeSH FTP guide.
Have questions concerning the content of MeSH/MARC files, downloading from FTP, or just want to provide feedback?
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Last Reviewed: April 6, 2026