The MARC@NLSA Office is tasked with the training of South African cataloguers in the correct use and application of the MARC 21 format. The Office presents MARC 21 courses telematically four times a year. The courses are supported by an annual workshop presented in cooperation with one of the local universities.

Internationally, the Office maintains close links with the Network Development and MARC Standards Office in Washington,serving as a central point for the receipt and relay of information from the Standards Office to the South African library and information science community and vice versa.

The Office runs an advisory service on the use and application of the MARC 21 format via the MARC listserve: marc@nlsa.ac.za. This is a moderated mailing list centred around MARC topics and maintained by the Office. The Office is responsible for the promotion of the use of bibliographic standards on a national basis, maintaining close links with the country's main service provider SABINET Online. It is an active member of the Sabinet Online Standards Committee, and is supported by the MARC Working Group, a committee of South African experts established in 1998. The MARC Working Group holds meetings twice a year and the Office acts as secretary to the meetings.

Twice a year the Office publishes the MARC Fact Sheet as an insert to the periodical Meta-info Bulletin. The Fact Sheet promotes the use of the MARC format and serves to maintain international standards as well as to keep South African MARC users informed about current trends.