Please provide your feedback on Imprint rules by December 1, 2026.

Contents:

An Imprint is a statement that describes where, by whom, and when the resource was published, produced, distributed and/or manufactured. Prioritize publication information over production, distribution or manufacturing information whenever possible.

030100. Place of publisher, producer, distributor, and/or manufacturer (repeatable)

Definition: The name of the place associated with the publisher, producer, distributor, and/or manufacturer.

Rule: Transcribe the place of publication, production, distribution, and/or manufacture from the source of information. If more than one place appears, transcribe all deemed necessary according to local practice.

In cases where the place name is abbreviated or ambiguous, a fuller or clarifying form may be recorded in square brackets after the transcribed form.

If no place name is on the resource, but the place is known, supply it in square brackets.

If no place name can be determined, supply in square brackets the phrase “Place of publication not determined”.

MARC field: 260 $a ; 264 $a

EXAMPLES:

Place of publication

264 #1 $a New York

260 ## $a Paris

Multiple publication place names

264 #1 $a Amsterdam ; $a San Diego, CA

Abbreviated place with its fuller form

264 #2 $a Ontario, CA [Canada]

Clarifying form of place name

264 #1 $a Lugduni [Lyon]

264 #3 $a Barrow, Alaska [Utqiagvik, Alaska]

Place not on resource but known

264 #0 $a [Tehran]

Unknown place

264 #1 $a [Place of publication not determined]


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030200. Name of publisher, producer, distributor, and/or manufacturer (repeatable)

Definition: The name of the person or corporate body responsible for the publication, production, distribution, and/or manufacture of a resource.

Rule: Transcribe the name of the publisher, producer, distributor, or manufacturer as it appears on the resource. Prioritize the publisher.

If there is no publisher on the resource, prefer the producer, distributor, or manufacturer as available.

If choosing between more than one publisher, record the publisher name that appears first, the more visually prominent name, or the name that is considered most important to users.

If deemed important, record multiple publishers, producers, distributors, and/or manufacturers.

If a resource does not bear publisher information but it is known from an outside source, such as the publisher’s website or catalog, supply it in brackets and, optionally, add a note for justification.

If no publisher, producer, distributor, or manufacturer can be identified, supply, in brackets, the phrase “publisher not determined”.

MARC field: 260 $b ; 264 $b

EXAMPLES:

Single publisher

264 #1 $a Lawrence, Kansas : $b University of Kansas Press

260 ## $a London : $b Macmillan

Multiple publishers

260 ## $a [Reston, Va.?] : $b U.S. Dept. of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey ; $a Washington, DC : $b For sale by the U.S. G.P.O., Supt. of Docs., $c [1992]

Multiple publishers, same place

264 #1 $a [United States?] : $b Việt Ecology Press : $b Văn Học Press

Publisher name supplied from an external source

264 #1 $a Rockville, Maryland : $b [Center for Substance Abuse Prevention]
500 ## $a Name of publisher taken from publisher’s website.

Publisher and distributor deemed important for discovery

264 #1 $a New York : $b Metropolitan Museum of Art

264 #2 $a New York : $b Abrams

Publisher not included on the resource

264 #3 $a Lexington, KY : $b Manufactured by Amazon.com, $c [2014]

No publisher, producer, distributor, or manufacturer can be identified

264 #1 $a New York : $b [publisher not determined]


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030300. Date of publication, production, distribution, and/or manufacture (repeatable)

Definition: The date a resource was published, produced, distributed, or manufactured. Production dates apply only to unpublished resources.

  • Source: BIBFRAME “Date”

Rule: Record the publication date as it appears on the resource.

If a resource does not bear a publication date but the publication date is known or can be inferred from a copyright date, other dates printed on the resource, or an outside source, supply it in square brackets and add a note of justification if needed.

If the cataloger cannot determine a publication date, supply in square brackets either a probable date followed by a question mark, or the phrase “date of publication not determined”.

Add distribution or manufacture dates if considered useful for identification or selection.

MARC field: 260 $c ; 264 $c

EXAMPLES:

Publication date clearly identified on resource

264 #1 $a New York : $b Springer, $c 2024

260 ## $a London : $b Macmillan, $c 1999

Distribution date

264 #2 $a New York : $b Distributed Art Publishers, $c 2006

Publication date inferred from copyright date

264 #1 $a Chichester : $b Wiley, $c [2023]

Probable date with a note on the source

264 #1 $a Whittier, California : $b Select Nurseries, $c [1948?]
588 ## $a Publication date inferred from articles cited on pages 39-40.

Publication date not determined

264 #1 $a London : $b Sheldon Press, $c [date of publication not determined]

Publication date and distribution date both deemed important for discovery

264 #1 $a Hong Kong : $b Hong Kong University Press, $c 2009
264 #2 $a London : $b Eurospan, $c 2012


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030400. Notes on imprint (repeatable)

Definition: Other details of publication, manufacturing, distribution, etc., of the resource not previously recorded. May describe imprint variations, irregularities, additional dates, and other nonstandard information.

Rule: Record as a note details of variations, irregularities, additional dates, etc., where details are deemed important for identification, selection, or clarification.

MARC field: 500

EXAMPLE:

500 ## $a Reprint of Detective comics no. 27, which first introduced Batman as a character. Originally published in 1939 by Detective Comics, Inc.


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030401. Changes to imprint information for multipart monographs (repeatable)

Definition: Changes in the place and/or name of the publisher, manufacturer, distributor, etc., that occur after the first or earliest part of a multipart monograph.

Rule: Create additional statements for changes to the publication, manufacture, distribution, etc., of a multipart monograph, if the changes are deemed significant. Record minor variations to publisher, manufacturer, distributor, etc., as a note if deemed important for identification, selection, or clarification.

MARC field: 260 ; 264 ; 500

EXAMPLES:

Additional imprint statement due to significant changes in publication information

264 21 $a Milwaukie, Oregon : $b Riveredge, $c 1989-2016.
264 31 $a Salem, Oregon : $b Ankeny Publishing, $c 2017-

264 21 $3 v.10-16 : $a Seattle : $b Richards Co., $c 2009-2012.
264 31 $3 v.17- : $a Boise, Idaho : $b Russets Inc., $c 2012-

Note for minor variation in publication information

260 ## $a Sŏul T’ŭkpyŏlsi : $b Tan’guk Taehakkyo Ch’ulp’anbu, $c 1999-2008.
500 ## $a Place of publication changed to Kyŏnggi-do Yongin-si around 2008.


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