Contents:

5.33.1 Element information

5.33.1.1 Link to RDA Toolkit

5.33.1.2 Sources of information

5.33.2 RDA definition and scope

5.33.2.1 A timespan during which a published manifestation is printed, duplicated, cast, etc.

5.33.3 General rule

5.33.3.1 Transcribe dates of impression or other manufacture only if it has not been treated as the Date of publication or Date of distribution and only if it applies, or is likely to apply, to all copies of the edition or issue being cataloged. Such situations will occur only rarely. Dates of impression or other manufacture associated with a substantially unchanged impression of an edition or issue may be transcribed in a Note on item if considered important (see 9.4.3.1).

5.33.35 Alternative rules

5.33.35.1 If a decision has been made to create a separate bibliographic description for an individual impression, state, binding variant, or copy within a single edition or issue (see Precataloging decisions, i.01.9.1 and Options, i.01.4.1), follow the alternative rules below.

5.33.351 Alternative rules for Date of manufacture

5.33.351.1 Transcribe dates of manufacture in the form and order in which they are presented on the preferred source of information, unless specifically instructed otherwise (see Transcription, 0.4.94.05). Include the day and month, if present.

5.33.351.2 Transcribe words and phrases such as “in the year” and “anno”. If both the place and the date of printing appear in conjunction with the phrase “printed in the year,” determine whether “printed” is to be transcribed with the date or elsewhere in the Manufacture statement according to the punctuation or typography of the source.

5.33.351.3 If the date is grammatically inseparable from information transcribed as part of another element, transcribe it within that element and supply the date in square brackets as the date of manufacture. If the supplied date includes a day/month, use the pattern: day, month, year.

5.33.352 Transcription involving adjustments or additions

5.33.352.1 Roman numerals. If the date appears in roman numerals, transcribe the date as it appears. Retain punctuation but omit internal spaces (see Transcription, 0.4.34 and Transcription, 0.4.42.3). Supply the year in arabic numerals in square brackets.

5.33.352.2 Chronograms. If the date appears only in the form of a chronogram, substitute for it the date in arabic numerals in square brackets. If the supplied date includes a day/month, use the pattern: day, month, year. Always make a Note on manufacture statement explaining the source of the date. Include transcription of the original chronogram in the note if considered important (see 5.34.36.1).

5.33.352.25 Optionally, transcribe the chronogram as it appears. Include the date in arabic numerals in square brackets.

5.33.352.3 Very long dates. If the date on the preferred source of information is very long, substitute for it a formalized statement in square brackets. Make a Note on manufacture statement concerning the source and form of the statement (see 5.34.36.2).

5.33.352.35 Optionally, transcribe the very long date as it appears. Include a formalized statement in square brackets.

5.33.352.4 Fictitious or incorrect dates. If the date of manufacture appearing on the manifestation is known to be fictitious or incorrect, transcribe it nonetheless and supply the actual date, preceded by “that is,” all enclosed within square brackets. If the reason for supplying the actual date is not apparent from the rest of the description, always make a Note on manufacture statement to indicate the source of the information (see 5.34.36.3).

5.33.352.5 Julian/Old Style dates. If the year of manufacture is based on the Julian calendar (sometimes called the Old Style calendar) and the manifestation is known to have been published in the following year according to the Gregorian calendar, transcribe the date as it appears and supply the Gregorian year, preceded by “that is,” in square brackets. Always make a Note on manufacture statement to indicate the basis for the supplied year (see 5.34.36.4). Do not amend the month and day, if present, by supplying Gregorian equivalents. In case of doubt, do not adjust the year.

The Julian calendar was gradually abandoned in favor of the Gregorian calendar beginning in 1582, with different countries adopting the calendar in different years. The difficulty in determining dates during this period is further complicated by the fact that January 1 was not universally used to reckon the start of a new year (e.g., before adopting the Gregorian calendar, Great Britain and its colonies long calculated the turn of the year on March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation or “Lady Day”). For assistance in establishing Gregorian dates, consult a bibliographic or reference source such as Adriano Cappelli’s Cronologia, Cronografia e Calendario Perpetuo or C.R. Cheney’s Handbook of Dates.

If two dates appear on the manifestation, representing both Julian (Old Style) and Gregorian (New Style) dating, transcribe both dates, separated by a slash. Supply the Gregorian year in square brackets, if necessary.

5.33.352.6 Dates not of the Julian or Gregorian calendar. If the date of manufacture is based on a calendar other than the Julian or Gregorian calendar, transcribe the date and supply the equivalent Julian or Gregorian year(s) in square brackets, reckoning 1 January as the first day of the year. For manifestations issued before 1582, supply the equivalent Julian date(s). For later manifestations, supply the equivalent Gregorian date(s).

5.33.352.65 Optionally, if the date of manufacture includes a day/month based on a calendar other than the Julian or Gregorian calendar, transcribe the date and supply the equivalent Julian or Gregorian day/month in square brackets. Use the pattern: day, month, year.

5.33.352.7 Multiple adjustments or additions. If the date of manufacture requires more than a single adjustment or addition, provide all the supplied information within the same set of square brackets. Always make a Note on manufacture statement for the source of supplied dates (see 5.34.36.5).

5.33.353 Date of manufacture supplied from reference sources

5.33.353.1 If the date of manufacture does not appear on the manifestation but is known, supply it in square brackets from any source, preferably a reliable bibliographic or reference source. Always give the source of the supplied date and any needed explanation in a Note on manufacture statement (see 5.34.36.6).

5.33.354 Conjectural date of manufacture

5.33.354.1 Supply in square brackets a conjectural date of manufacture based on any information available if considered important. Always indicate the basis for the conjecture in a Note on manufacture statement (see 5.34.36.7).

5.33.354.2 If the preferred source of information does not clearly bear a date of manufacture, but does bear another prominent date, either transcribe that date as part of the Title or the Statement of responsibility elements or give it in a Note on manifestation (see 9.3.36.1).

5.33.3545 Patterns for supplying a conjectural date

5.33.3545.1 Give a probable date or period of manufacture according to one of the patterns shown in the examples below. Always indicate the basis for the conjecture in a Note on manufacture statement (see 5.34.36.75).

Conjectural date Pattern
[1560?] probable date
[approximately 1580] approximate date
[approximately 1580?] probable approximate date
[not before 1479] terminal date
[not after 21 August 1492] terminal date
[1727 or 1728] one year or the other
[between 1711 and 1749] span certain
[between 1711 and 1749?] span uncertain
[between 1670 and 1680] decade certain
[between 1670 and 1680?] probable decade
[between 1600 and 1700] century certain
[between 1600 and 1700?] probable century

5.33.355 Date of manufacture in multipart monographs

5.33.355.1 In describing a manifestation consisting of volumes, parts, or fascicles published over a number of years, transcribe the date of manufacture of the volume, part, or fascicle published first and the date of manufacture of the volume, part, or fascicle published last, and connect them with a hyphen.

5.33.355.2 Record the date of each volume in a Note on manufacture statement if considered important. Such a Note on manufacture statement is particularly useful when the order of manufacture does not correspond to the order of the volume numeration (see 5.34.36.8).

5.33.356 Date of manufacture on part pages

5.33.356.1 If parts of a manifestation have individual title pages bearing dates of manufacture that differ from the date pertaining to the whole manifestation, give these additional dates in a Note on manufacture statement (see 5.34.36.9).

If, however, one of these dates is a more accurate reflection of the actual date of manufacture than the date pertaining to the whole manifestation, give it as a correction as instructed in 5.33.352.4.


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