ISO 25577:2008 specifies the requirements for a generalized XML-based exchange format for bibliographic records as well as other types of metadata.

ISO 25577:2008 does not define the length or the content of individual records and does not assign any meaning to tags, indicators, or identifiers, these specifications being the functions of an implementation format.

ISO 25577:2008 describes a generalized structure, a framework designed primarily for communication between data processing systems, but may also be relevant for use as a processing format within systems.

MarcXchange could potentially be used as follows:

• for representing a complete MARC record or a set of MARC records in XML;
• for original resource description in XML syntax;
• as an extension schema to METS (Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard);
• for exchange of MARC records in XML;
• for transfer of MARC records in web services like SRU (search/retrieval via URL);
• for publisher transmission of data;
• as a temporary format in all kinds of data transformation or manipulation, e.g. conversion, publication, editing, validation;
• for metadata in XML that may be packaged with an electronic resource.