Sept. 2005
IMPRINT DATES IN LC CALL NUMBERS
A. MONOGRAPHS
General policy
End-of-year dates
Conferences
Photocopies or facsimiles
Editions or reprints
Corporate authorship
Supplements
Class subarranged by date only
B. OTHER MATERIALS
Microforms
Serials
Loose-leaf materials
Audio-visual materials
Maps
NLM note: The National Library of Medicine has different rules. Most are not included here. For details, see Imprint Dates in NLM Call Numbers.
A. MONOGRAPHS
1) GENERAL POLICY. Add the imprint date to the call number of all monographs; e.g., DK131.M28 1980. (LC has done this since 1982). For exceptions and added information, see below.
Table from from Subject Cataloging Manual: Shelflisting, G 140.
[197-] use 1970z. (if corporate body, use 1970)
[197-?] use 1970z. ( " 1970)
[19--] use 1900z. ( " 1900)
[19--?] use 1900z. ( " 1900)
[1976?] use 1976.
[ca.1976] use 1976.
1981, c1980 use 1981.
1980, c1981 use 1981.
1980 [i.e. 1979] use 1979.
[1962 or 1963] use 1962.
1969 (1973 printing) use 1969.
1980 printing, c1957 use 1957.
1979 [distributed] 1980 use 1979.
1979-1981 use 1979.
[between 1977 and 1980] use 1977.
1978/79 [i.e. 1978 or 1979] use 1978.
1977 (cover 1978) use 1978.
2) FUTURE DATES AND END-OF-YEAR DATES. LC’s practice for future publication dates and end-of-year publication dates is shown below. Assume you are cataloguing in 2005:
In general:
Accept without correction a publication or copyright date which is in the year following the year in which the publication was received. Correct to the year of receipt a publication or copyright date which is dated later than the year in which the publication was received. In other words: when cataloguing at any time in 2005 an item received that year, accept a date of 2006, but correct to 2005 a date of 2007 or later.
Only date in book is 2006:
Date1 -- 2006
Date2 -- blank
260 |c -- 2006
Call # -- 2006
Only date in book is c2006:
Date1 -- 2006
Date2 -- blank
260 |c -- c2006
Call # -- 2006
When presented with conflicting dates, record them as follows:
Book has both 2006 and c2005:
Date1 -- 2006
Date2 -- 2005
260 |c -- 2006, c2005
Call # -- 2006
Book has both 2005 and c2006:
Date1 -- 2005
Date2 -- 2006
260 |c -- 2005, c2006
Call # -- 2005
3) CONFERENCES. If present in the conference main entry heading, use the date of the conference; otherwise use the imprint date.
m.e. heading: 1981 ; use 1981.
m.e. heading: 1979-1980 ; use 1980.
Use the same cutter number for all publications of a conference, including translations, selections, editions, etc. (Do not use the Translation Table.) If there is more than one publication in the same year, add the work letters “a-y, aa-ay” to the date in the order you receive the publications. Do this also when two conferences are held in the same year. Add the work letters “z, za, zb, zc,” etc., in order of receipt, for books written about the conference.
For further information about classifying conferences see Section G230 in the Subject Cataloging Manual: Shelflisting.
conference (New York ed.): 1989
translation into French: 1989a
London edition: 1989b
2nd conference in 1989: 1989c
About the 1st 1989 conference: 1989z
4) PHOTOCOPIES (XEROXES) OR FACSIMILES.
A) LC. Use the imprint date of the original work and the work letter “a”. If in doubt about whether an item is a facsimile or a reprint, consider the item to be a reprint. (Previous policy was to add the imprint date of the photocopy or facsimile.)
orig. U54 facs. U54 2nd U54 [etc.]
work 1952 1952a facs. 1952aa
B) NLM. National Library of Medicine cataloguing uses the imprint date of the original work and “F”. From 4.2.8 Facsimiles in NLM’s Shelflisting Procedures for Monographs and Classed Serials.
orig. WZ 290 facs. WZ 290
work A167d A167d
1726 1726F
5) EDITIONS OR REPRINTS.
A) LC. Use the imprint date. If you receive another edition with the same imprint date, use work letters starting with “b”.
orig. I33 2nd I33 2nd I33 2nd I33 [etc.]
work 1978 ed. 1982 ed. 1982b ed. 1982c
(N.Y.) (London) (Toronto)
B) NLM. For reprints, National Library of Medicine cataloguing uses the imprint date of the original work and the work letter “a”. McGill adds “a” also if the title is republished the same year by a different publisher. From 4.2.7. Reprints in NLM’s Shelflisting Procedures for Monographs and Classed Serials.
6) CORPORATE AUTHORSHIP. Use the imprint date. If you receive another work by the same corporate body, use work letters starting with “a”. For further information about classifying when you have a corporate author, see Section G220 in Subject Cataloging Manual: Shelflisting.
R37 R37 R37 [etc.]
1981 1981a 1981b
7) SUPPLEMENTS. Do not add a date. Add Suppl. If there is more than one suppl., number them Suppl.1, 2, 3, etc.
K56 K56 L7 L7 L7 [etc.]
1980 1980 1979 1979 1979
Suppl. Suppl.1 Suppl.2
NOTE: By special request for reference collections use the dates of coverage.
D4 D4 D4 D4 [etc.]
1885 1885 1885 1885
Suppl. Suppl. Suppl.
1901/11 1912/21 1922/30
8) CLASS SUBARRANGED BY DATE ONLY. Do not add another date. Add a work letter to the date starting with “a”.
CD1106 CD1106 [etc.]
1918 1918a
BUT NOTE: CLASS SUBARRANGED BY DATE AND MAIN ENTRY. Add the imprint date to the call number (even if a date appears as part of the classification number).
GV722
1952
W4
1981
B. OTHER MATERIALS
1) MICROFORMS OF PRINT WORKS. Use the imprint date of the print work (chosen according to the rules given above for monographs) and the work letter “a”, e.g., 1902a. See above: PHOTOCOPIES (XEROXES) OR FACSIMILES.
2) SERIALS (& SERIES CLASSED TOGETHER). Do not add a date to the call number, except when required by LC schedules.
3) LOOSE-LEAF MATERIALS. Do not add a date if loose-leaf service is continuously kept up to date or is a legal publication where the final cutter is selected from a span based on dates, e.g., KF230.A3-39.
4) AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS for Redpath Audio-Visual. Generally do not add a date to the call number, except as indicated by the call number section of the LTS procedure document Notes on Cataloguing Videorecordings.
5) MAPS. Use the date of the information, not the imprint date.
Written by: Barbara Finlay
Last revised: September 2005
DOCUMENT STATUS
Filename / Author / Action required / Date completedimprintdatescallnumbers / Barbara Finlay
Revised by Marc Richard. October 2005. / Uploaded to web site by Joseph Hafner / Oct. 19, 2005
Keywords / Date assigned
cataloguing, call, numbers / Oct. 19, 2005
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