    ISBD(A):
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| Accompanying material | Any material accompanying the main part(s) of the publication being described, and intended to be used with it. |
| Accompanying material statement | A brief description of accompanying material. |
| Alternative title | The second part of a title proper that consists of two parts (each of which has the form of a title), joined by a word such as "or" or its equivalent in another language. |
| Area | A major section of the bibliographic description, comprising data of a particular category or set of categories. |
| Bibliographic description | A set of bibliographic data recording and identifying a publication. |
| Broadside | A separately published sheet or part of a sheet, printed on one side only and intended to be read unfolded; usually intended to be posted, publicly distributed, or sold, e.g., proclamation, handbill, ballad-sheet, news-sheet. |
| Colophon | A statement at the end of a publication giving information about its publication or printing, and in some cases, other bibliographic information. Particularly in fifteenth-century books the colophon may give information generally found on the title-page in later books. |
| Common title | That part of the title which is carried by a group of related publications in addition to their different section titles. The common title serves to indicate this relationship and together with the section title identifies a given publication. The common title may also be common to a main publication and its supplement(s) and to a main series and its sub-series when the supplement(s)/ sub-series has (have) dependent title(s). |
| Cover title | The title printed on the (original) cover of a publication. |
| Dependent title | A title which by itself is insufficient to identify a publication and which requires the addition of the common title, or the title of the main publication or the title of the main series. Examples are section titles, some supplement titles and some titles of sub-series. |
| Edition | All copies of a publication produced from substantially the same original input. For older monographic publications, all copies of a publication printed from a given setting of type, disregarding changes made during the printing process. See also Facsimile reprint, Impression, Issue, State, Variant. |
| Edition statement | A word or phrase, or a group of characters, indicating that a publication belongs to an edition, impression, etc. |
| Element | A word or phrase, or a group of characters, representing a distinct unit of bibliographic information and forming part of an area of the bibliographic description. |
| Facsimile reprint | A new edition of a publication made by a process reproducing the original pages. This is normally made by a different publisher from that of the original and often has its own title-page and other introductory matter. |
| Fingerprint | A group of characters derived from a publication with the object of identifying the publication uniquely; more fully defined in 8.1.2. |
| Format | The arrangement of a publication, described in terms relating to the number of times the printed sheet(s) have been folded to form the constituent leaves of the publication, e.g. folio (folded once to form two leaves), quarto (folded twice to form four leaves), etc. |
| General material designation | A term indicating, broadly, the class of material to which a publication belongs. |
| Illustration | A diagrammatic, pictorial or other graphic representation occurring within a publication. |
| Impression | All copies of an edition produced at one time or in one operation. (See also Issue, State, Variant.) |
| ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) | An eight-figure number including a check digit and preceded by an alphabetic prefix. The ISSN together with the key title uniquely identifies a particular serial title (see ISDS Manual, Part 1). It is assigned by the International Serials Data System (ISDS) and is based on the latest edition of ISO standard ISO 3297. |
| Issue | (1) Those copies of an impression which constitute a planned publishing unit, distinguishable from other copies of that impression by one or more differences (e.g. a new title-page or colophon which expressly identifies the copies as a discrete unit). (See also Impression, State, Variant.) (2) One of the successive parts of a serial; the term being used to designate the existing lowest level successive part of a serial. |
| Key title | The unique name assigned to a serial by the International Serials Data System (ISDS) and inseparably linked with its International Standard Serial Number (ISSN). |
| Main series | A numbered series which contains one or more sub-series. |
| Monographic publication | A publication either complete in one part or complete, or intended to be completed, in a finite number of separate parts. |
| Multi-level description | A method of bibliographic description based on the division of descriptive information into two or more levels. The first level contains information common to the whole or main publication. The second and subsequent levels contain information relating to the individual volume or other unit. |
| Multi-volume publication | A monographic publication in a finite number of physically separate parts (other than a publication made up of fascicles) known to have been conceived or published as an entity; the separate parts may have their own titles and statements of responsibility. |
| Numbering | The identification of each of the successive issues of a series. The designation can include a number, a letter, any other character or the combination of these, and the pertaining denomination (volume, number, etc.) and/or a date. |
| Other title information | A word or phrase, or a group of characters, appearing in conjunction with, and subordinate to, the title proper of the publication. Other title information also occurs in conjunction with, and subordinate to, other titles (e.g. parallel titles, titles of individual works contained in the publication, titles in series/sub-series statements). Other title information qualifies, explains or completes the title to which it applies, or is indicative of the character, contents, etc., of the publication or the works contained in it, or is indicative of the motive for, or the occasion of, the publication's production. The term includes sub-titles but does not include variant titles (e.g. spine titles) found in the publication but not on the title-page or the title-page substitute. |
| Parallel edition statement | The edition statement in another language and/or script. |
| Parallel title | The title proper (or the title of an individual work included in a publication with no collective title proper) in another language and/or script; or a title in another language and/or script presented as an equivalent of the title proper. Parallel titles also occur in conjunction with the titles proper in series/sub-series statements. |
| Plate | A leaf containing illustrative matter, with or without explanatory text, which does not form an integral part of a gathering of leaves of text. |
| Preliminaries | The title-page(s) of a publication together with the verso of each title-page, and any pages preceding the title-page(s). If the cover serves as the title-page substitute, its verso is considered a preliminary. |
| Prescribed punctuation | Punctuation supplied by the bibliographic agency to precede or enclose the information in each element (except the first element of area 1) or area of the bibliographic description. |
| Prescribed source of information | The source or sources from which information is taken for entry in each element or area of the bibliographic description. |
| Publication | "Publication" in ISBD(A) includes items printed only for a limited circulation or private purposes. |
| Section title | The title specific to a section which serves to distinguish one part of a group of related serials having a common title. The section title is dependent on the common title for identification of a serial whether distinctive or not. |
| Series | A group of separate publications related to one another by the fact that each publication bears, in addition to its own title proper, a collective title applying to the group as a whole, i.e. the title proper of the series. The separate publications may or may not be numbered. |
| Series statement | The main elements identifying a series, including any numbering of the separate publications within the series. Also includes a statement that a publication forms part of a multi-volume publication. (See also Sub-series statement.) |
| Signature | Letter(s) and/or symbol(s) and/or numeral(s) usually printed at the foot of the first and some subsequent recto pages of each gathering of a publication and used to ensure the correct printing, folding and assembly of an item. |
| Single sheet publication | A separately published item printed on one or both sides of a single or composite piece of paper, or other material. Usually intended to be read unfolded, the sheet may be issued folded. (See also Broadside.) |
| Specific material designation | The term indicating the specific class of material to which the publication belongs. |
| State | A variation within a publication which distinguishes it from other copies within the same impression or issue in any respect which the publisher has not identified as representing a discrete publishing effort. (See also Edition, Impression, and Issue.) |
| Statement of responsibility | Name(s), phrase(s) or group(s) of characters relating to the identification and/or function of any persons or corporate bodies responsible for or contributing to the creation or realization of the intellectual or artistic content of a work. Statements of responsibility may occur in conjunction with titles (e.g. the title proper, parallel titles, titles of individual works contained in the publication, titles in series/sub-series statements) or in conjunction with edition statements. |
| Sub-series | A series which appears as part of a numbered series (main series). The sub-series may or may not have a title dependent on that of the main series. (See also Common title, Dependent title.) |
| Sub-series designation | Word or lettering or numbering or a combination of these, following the title of the main series, which can stand alone or in conjunction with the title of the sub-series. |
| Sub-series statement | The main elements identifying a sub-series, including any numbering of the separate publications within the sub-series. In the case of a sub-series the title of which is dependent on the title of the main series, the sub-series statement includes both the title of the series and the sub-series, and may include a sub-series designation. (See also Series statement.) |
| Title | A word or phrase, or a group of characters, usually appearing in a publication, naming the publication or the work (or any one of a group of individual works) contained in it. A publication will usually contain several titles (e.g. on the title-page, on the half-title or as a running-title), and these titles may be identical or may differ from one another. |
| Title-page | The page, normally at the beginning of a publication, presenting the fullest information about the publication and the work(s) contained in it and bearing, usually, the fullest title information, a statement of responsibility and the whole or part of the publication statement (imprint). When the elements normally presented on the title-page are divided without repetition between two facing pages, or on pages distributed throughout the publication, these pages together are regarded as the title-page. |
| Title-page substitute | The page, portion of a page, or other component part of a publication which includes information usually found on a title-page, and which, in the absence of a title-page, takes its place for the purpose of describing the publication, e.g. caption, colophon. |
| Title proper | The chief title of a publication, i.e. the title of a publication in the form in which it appears on the title-page or the title-page substitute. The title proper includes any alternative title, but excludes parallel titles and other title information. For publications containing several individual works the title proper is the collective title. Publications containing several individual works and lacking a collective title are considered not to have a title proper. A series or sub-series also has its own title proper. Certain titles proper are made up of multiple tides, called common title and dependent title(s). |
| Variant | Descriptive of a copy showing any bibliographically significant difference from one or more other copies of the same edition. The term may refer to an impression, issue, or state. |
0.3 Comparative outline of the ISBD(G) and the ISBD(A)
- 0.3.1 Outline of the ISBD(G)
| Area | Prescribed preceding (or enclosing) punctuation for elements | Element | ||
| Note: Each area, other than the first, is preceded by a point, space, dash, space (. - ). | ||||
| 1. Title and statement of responsibility area | ||||
| 1.1 Title proper | ||||
| [ ] | 1.2 General material designation | |||
| = | 1.3 Parallel tide | |||
| : | 1.4 Other title information | |||
| 1.5 Statements of responsibility | ||||
| / | First statement | |||
| ; | Subsequent statement | |||
| 2. Edition area | ||||
| 2.1 Edition statement | ||||
| = | 2.2 Parallel edition statement | |||
| 2.3 Statements of responsibility relating to the edition | ||||
| / | First statement | |||
| ; | Subsequent statement | |||
| , | 2.4 Additional edition statements | |||
| 2.5 Statements of responsibility following an additional edition statement | ||||
| / | First statement | |||
| ; | Subsequent statement | |||
| 3. Material (or type of publication) specific area | ||||
| 4. Publication, distribution, etc., area | ||||
| 4.1 Place of publication, distribution, etc. | ||||
| First place | ||||
| ; | Subsequent place | |||
| : | 4.2 Name of publisher, distributor, etc. | |||
| [ ] | 4.3 Statement of function of publisher, distributor, etc. | |||
| , | 4.4 Date of publication, distribution, etc. | |||
| ( | 4.5 Place of manufacture | |||
| : | 4.6 Name of manufacturer | |||
| ,) | 4.7 Date of manufacture | |||
| 5. Physical description area | ||||
| 5.1 Specific material designation and extent of item | ||||
| : | 5.2 Other physical details | |||
| ; | 5.3 Dimensions of item | |||
| + | 5.4 Accompanying material statement | |||
| 6. Series area Note:.A series statement is enclosed by parentheses When there are two or more series series statements, each is enclosed by parenthese |
||||
| 6.1 Title proper of series or sub-series | ||||
| = | 6.2 Parallel title of series | |||
| : | 6.3 Other title information of | |||
| 6.4 Statements of responsibility relating to the series | ||||
| / | First statement | |||
| ; | Subsequent statement | |||
| , | 6.5 International Standard Serial Number of series | |||
| ; | 6.6 Numbering within series | |||
| . | 6.7 Enumeration and/or title of sub-series | |||
| = | 6.8 Parallel title of sub-series | |||
| : | 6.9 Other title information of sub-series | |||
| 6.10 Statements of responsibility relating to the sub-series | ||||
| / | First statement | |||
| ; | Subsequent statement | |||
| , | 6.11 International Standard Serial Number of sub-series | |||
| ; | 6.12 Numbering within sub-series | |||
| 7. Note area | ||||
| 8. Standard number (or alternative) | ||||
| 8.1 Standard number (or alternative) and terms of availability area | ||||
| = | 8.2 Key title | |||
| : | 8.3 Terms of availability and/or price | |||
| () | 8.4 Qualification (in varying positions) | |||
- 0.3.2 Outline of the ISBD(A)
| Area | Prescribed preceding (or enclosing) punctuation for elements | Element | ||
| Note: Each area, other than the first, is preceded by a point, space, dash, space (. - ). | ||||
| 1. Title and statement of responsibility area | ||||
| 1.1 Title proper | ||||
| [ ] | 1.2 General material designation (optional) | |||
| = | *1.3 Parallel title | |||
| : | *1.4 Other title information | |||
| 1.5 Statements of responsibility | ||||
| / | First statement | |||
| ; | *Subsequent statement | |||
| 2. Edition area | ||||
| 2.1 Edition statement | ||||
| = | *2.2 Parallel edition statement (optional) | |||
| 2.3 Statements of responsibility relating to the edition | ||||
| / | First statement | |||
| ; | *Subsequent statement | |||
| , | *2.4 Additional edition statement | |||
| 2.5 Statements of responsibility following an additional edition statement | ||||
| / | First statement | |||
| ; | *Subsequent statement | |||
| 4. Publication, distribution, etc., area | ||||
| 4.1 Principal place(s) of publication, etc. | ||||
| First place | ||||
| ; | *Subsequent place | |||
| : | *4.2 Statement of publisher, etc. | |||
| 4.3 [Not used] | ||||
| , | 4.4 Date of publication, etc. | |||
| ( | 4.5 Place of printing | |||
| First place | ||||
| ; | *4.6 Name of printer | |||
| ,) | 4.7 Date of printing | |||
| 5. Physical description area | ||||
| 5.1 Specific material designation and extent | ||||
| : | 5.2 Illustration statement | |||
| ; | 5.3 Format and/or dimensions | |||
| + | *5.4 Accompanying material statement (optional) | |||
| 6. Series area Note:.A series statement is enclosed by parentheses When there are two or more series series statements, each is enclosed by parenthese |
||||
| 6.1 Title proper of series or sub-series | ||||
| = | *6.2 Parallel title of series or sub-series | |||
| : | *6.3 Other title information of series or sub-series (optional) | |||
| 6.4 Statements of responsibility relating to the series or sub-series | ||||
| / | First statement | |||
| ; | *Subsequent statement | |||
| , | 6.5 International Standard Serial Number of series or sub-series | |||
| ; | 6.6 Numbering within series | |||
| 7. Note area | ||||
| 8. Fingerprint area (optional) | ||||
General notes on the outline of the ISBD(A)
- A. Optional elements are indicated as such (see 0.1.3)
B. Elements preceded by an asterisk can be repeated when necessary.
C. Areas 6 (Series) and 7 (Notes) can be repeated when necessary.
D. In the above outline the terms "first statement…", "subsequent statement…", and the like, denote the order in which these statements are given in the description and have no other connotation.
E. No provisions are included in the ISBD(A) for area 3 of the outline of ISBD(G) (Material (or type of publication) specific area), or for element 4.3 of the ISBD(G) outline (statement of function of publisher, distributor, etc.). Area 8 in ISBD(A) may be used to record the fingerprint of the item rather than the standard number (or alternative) and terms of availability.
F. Whenever information normally associated with one area or element appears in the publication linked linguistically as an integral part of another area or element, it is transcribed as such.
G. The elements appearing on the title-page are transcribed in the order in which they appear, unless stated to the contrary.
0.4 Punctuation
0.4.1 Each element of the description, except the first element of area 1, is either preceded or enclosed by prescribed punctuation (see 0.4.3 for other exceptions). Prescribed punctuation is preceded and followed by a space (a single space on a typewriter or an em space in printing) with the exception of the comma (,) and point (.) which are only followed by a space. The inclusion of other punctuation is at the discretion of the bibliographic agency, as is the spacing before and after such punctuation. ISBD punctuation is retained even when this results in double punctuation (but see 0.4.1.1 and 0.4.7). For the punctuation of scripts written from right to left, see 0.4.11.0.4.1.1 Bibliographic agencies, particularly those creating definitive records, may wish to indicate unambiguously in the description the exact punctuation as found in the publication. In such cases
- the extent of its application must be indicated in notes to the records as a whole or individually.
- exceptionally, when the actual and prescribed punctuation marks are identical, the actual punctuation may be omitted; this, and any other exception made, must also be indicated in notes to the records as a whole or individually.
- in machine-based descriptions, indications of the areas and elements and by implication their appropriate prescribed punctuation can be held in the record, but not necessarily output.
- discretion must continue to be used when a description bears no or excessive punctuation, in which case conventional punctuation should be applied taking into consideration the requirements of prescribed punctuation. If punctuation has been supplied or suppressed this must be stated in a note.
- a hyphen used at the end of the line solely to divide a word taken over to the next line is not recorded; in case of doubt, the hyphen is recorded.
0.4.2 Parentheses, i.e. curved brackets (()) and square brackets ([]) (see 0.4.8), are each to be treated as a single punctuation symbol, and the preceding space comes before the first (opening) parenthesis or square bracket and the following space comes after the second (closing) parenthesis or square bracket (but see 0.10 for exceptions). If parentheses or square brackets are preceded or followed by prescribed punctuation that ends or begins with a space, only one space is used. If a closing parenthesis or square bracket is followed by a comma or a point used as prescribed punctuation, or by any punctuation mark found in the publication, no space is used.
0.4.3 Each area of the ISBDs other than area 1 is preceded by a point, space, dash, space (. - ), unless that area is clearly separated from the preceding area by paragraphing, typography or indentation, in which case the point, space, dash, space may be omitted or replaced by a point (.) given at the end of the preceding area.
0.4.4 When the first element of an area is not present in a description, the prescribed punctuation of the first element that is present is replaced by a point, space, dash, space (. - ) preceding the area.
0.4.5 When an area is repeated, each repetition is preceded by a point, space, dash, space (. - ), except (a) in the condition described in 0.4.3 and (b) as provided in area 6, Punctuation pattern B-C, for multiple series statements.
0.4.6 When an element is repeated, each repetition is preceded by the prescribed punctuation appropriate to the element
0.4.7 When an element ends with a point or with marks of omission (see 0.4.8) and the prescribed punctuation for the element which follows begins with a point, both points are given if exact punctuation is being recorded. If the exception described in 0.4.1.1(b) is implemented, or if other punctuation is being used at discretion, only one of the points is given.
| e.g. Full punctuation | |
| by J. Smith, Esq.. - | |
| by J. Smith, ... G. Brown, and others ... . - | |
| Discretionary | by J. Smith, Esq. - |
| punctuation | |
| by J. Smith, ... G. Brown, and others | |
| by J. Smith Esq. |
0.4.8 Three punctuation symbols can be used in all or most areas:
- Square brackets ([]) are prescribed punctuation to enclose
particular elements in area 1 (see 1.2) and are prescribed
punctuation within an element in area 5 (see 5.1). Square brackets
enclose information found outside the prescribed sources of
information (see 0.5.2) and interpolations in the description (see
0.6, 0.7, 0.10, 0.11).
When successive elements within the same area are obtained from outside the prescribed source, they are enclosed in a single pair of square brackets unless one element is the general material designation, which is always enclosed in its own pair of square brackets. When successive elements are in different areas, each element is enclosed in a separate pair of square brackets.
- Marks of omission, i.e. three points ( … ), indicate the omission of some part of an element (see 0.7.1, 0.7.2). Marks of omission are preceded and followed by a space.
- Parentheses (()) are prescribed punctuation to enclose each series statement in area 6, to enclose certain elements in area 4 and to enclose information within particular elements of area 5.
One punctuation symbol, the plus sign ( + ) preceded and followed by a space, is prescribed punctuation in area 5 (see 5.4).
0.4.9 When in an area or an element the same information appears in two or more languages and/or scripts, the following provisions apply:
- When one element is recorded in two or more languages and/or
scripts, the information in each language and/or script after the
first is preceded by a space, equals sign, space ( = ).
When, in a single area, two or more elements are recorded in two or more languages and/or scripts, the elements in each language and/or script are given with the appropriate preceding punctuation for each element.
0.4.10 An area or element that does not apply to the publication is not included in the description. The preceding or enclosing prescribed punctuation of such an area or element is also omitted.
0.4.11 When information is given in scripts written from right to left, commas and semi-colons used as prescribed punctuation are reversed when that is the style of the script. Similarly, the point, space, dash, space combination of prescribed punctuation reads from right to left and the meanings of open and closed parentheses and square brackets are reversed. The diagonal slash and groups of western arabic numerals which are not reversed in such scripts are not reversed when given. See Appendix B for the treatment of information given both in scripts written from left to right and in scripts written from right to left.
The complete punctuation pattern for each area is set out at the beginning of the area.
0.5 Sources of information
The information used in the description of a publication is taken from its title-page and other sources prescribed for specific areas according to the following stipulations.0.5.1 Order of preference of sources
When for a single-volume publication there is more than one title-pageą, the one selected is the one specific to the publication described (e.g. for a monograph in a series, the volume title-page; for a facsimile reprint, the title-page with the reprint details; see also 1.1.3.2).When for a multi-volume publication there is a title-page for each volume, the one selected is the title-page of the first volume.
When in a single-volume publication there is no title-page applying to the whole publication, but each work contained in it has its own title-page, the several title-pages, including those of tęte-bęche publications containing different works, may be considered collectively as a single source of information.
Title-pages not selected as the title-page for description or as part of a collective single source of information are considered to constitute other preliminaries.
When a publication lacks a title-page, an alternative source of information is selected as a title-page substitute. The selection of the source to be treated as title-page substitute is determined by considering which source has the fullest information, with preference given to a source that is part of the publication over sources outside the publication.
In case of doubt, the order of choice for a title-page substitute is colophon, half-title, other preliminaries, caption-title, docket-title, running-title, incipit, explicit, opening words of the main text, opening words of the item. No title-page substitute may be considered as a single source along with a title-page. When there is no title-page, and no single title-page substitute applies to the whole publication, several title-page substitutes (preferably of the same kind) may be considered collectively as a single source of information. Otherwise in each description only one page, portion of page, or part of the publication can be designated a title-page substitute.
In the case of oriental publications in non-roman scripts, where full bibliographic details are given in the colophon, a leaf standing in the position of a title-page and bearing the title proper is not to be considered the title-page in the following circumstances:
- when the leaf bears only the title proper in the manner of a half-tide page;
- when the leaf bears the title proper, with or without other bibliographic information, in a calligraphic version (the full bibliographic details in the colophon being given in conventional forms of Chinese characters as used in modern Chinese, Japanese and Korean printing);
- when the leaf bears only a western language version of the title and/or publication details.
In each of these cases the first preference for the title-page substitute is the colophon.
0.5.2 Prescribed sources of information
For each area certain sources are designated "prescribed sources of information". Information taken from a source other than a prescribed source for the area is enclosed in square brackets if it is transcribed as part of the area. Alternatively such information may be given without square brackets in area 7. Specific provisions are given in appropriate sections of the ISBD(A).The publication described is that issued as by the publisher, etc. No part of the publication in hand may be considered as a prescribed source unless it is part of the publication as issued. For example, a cover or spine is used as a prescribed source only if it is clear that the publication was issued in that binding.
When information in areas 1, 2, 4, or 6 is from a source other than the title-page, the source of information is indicated in area 7. When the publication lacks a title-page and an alternative source of information is selected as title-page substitute, the title-page substitute is identified in area 7, as is any information in areas 1, 2, 4 and 6 taken from a substitute.
| Area | Prescribed sources of information |
| 1. Title and statement of responsibility | Title-page |
| 2. Edition | Title-page |
| 3. Material specific area | Not used in ISBD(A) |
| 4. Publication, printing or distribution, etc. | Title-page, colophon and other preliminaries in the order shown in detail at the beginning of area 4. |
| 5. Physical description | The publication itself |
| 6. Series | Title-page, other preliminaries, cover, spine and colophon |
| 7. Note | Any source |
| 8. Fingerprint | The publication itself |
The prescribed source(s) for each area is also set out at the beginning of each area after the Punctuation pattern.
0.6 Language and script of the description
Elements in areas 1, 2, 4 and 6 are normally transcribed from the publication and are, therefore, wherever practicable, in the language(s) and/or script(s) in which they appear there. Interpolations in these areas are enclosed in square brackets and are given in the language and/or script of the context of that part of the description, except:
- - prescribed abbreviations (see 0.7) and prescribed interpolations (see 0.10, 0.11);
- general material designation (see 1.2) which, when supplied, is given in the language and/or script chosen by the bibliographic agency.
Terms used in areas 5, 7 and 8 are not enclosed in square brackets and are given in the language and/or script chosen by the bibliographic agency, except:
- when original title or variant title is provided in area 7;
- when quotations are provided in area 7.
The description of publications appearing in scripts˛ other than that used by the bibliographic agency may, if necessary, be transliterated or transcribed without brackets into the script used by the agency.
The spelling of words taken from the publication is preserved, but ligatures and other contemporary forms of letters and diacritics may be transcribed in their current forms when the contemporary form is not available to the cataloguing agency. No account is taken of the differing forms of letters when no orthographic difference is made in current usage. Accents and other diacritic marks not present on the source are not added. For recording of upper and lower case letters, see 0.8. Interpolations by the cataloguing agency should follow modern practice as to spelling. Latin interpolations should follow the practice of the item in hand (see also 0.7).
0.7 Abridgements and abbreviations
0.7.1 In exceptional cases the abridgement of certain elements in the description is permitted, provided the omission takes place at the end or in the middle of the element (e.g. a lengthy title proper, see 1.1.4.1). In such cases, the omission is indicated by marks of omission.0.7.2 In the case of the abridgement of a single statement of responsibility consisting of the names of several persons or corporate bodies (see 1.5.4.3), the omission is indicated by marks of omission and the insertion of the prescribed abbreviation "et al." ( = et alii, and others) enclosed in square brackets (or for non-roman script records, its equivalent in another script).
0.7.3 Other abbreviations are prescribed in specific stipulations (e.g. 4.1.11, 5.3.1).
0.7.4 In various stipulations in the ISBDs, provision is made for the use of "standard abbreviations" (e.g. in the edition statement, see 2.1.2) without specifying the forms of the abbreviations to be followed. These abbreviations are not prescribed but it is recommended that the latest edition of ISO 832, Documentation - Bibliographical References - Abbreviations of Typical Words, or similar national standards, be used.
The abbreviations used throughout the ISBDs in the examples, other than those prescribed above in 0.7.2 and 0.7.3, are illustrative and not prescriptive.
0.7.5 Except for specifically prescribed or permitted abridgements and abbreviations, the transcription of data in areas 1,2 and 6 does not show abbreviations unless they appear in the source.
0.7.6 Abbreviations found in the publication
When contractions and abbreviations in continuance of the
manuscript tradition of abbreviating words which were long and/or
frequently encountered are found, these may be left as they stand or
may be expanded wherever possible. Any such expansion must be
indicated by italicizing, underlining, enclosure in brackets or a note
in area 7.ł
Dialogus beati Gregorij Pape : eiusq[ue] diaconi Initials, initialisms and acronyms are recorded without internal
spaces, regardless of how they are presented in the item.
Abbreviations consisting of more than a single letter are treated
as distinct words, separated with spaces from preceding or following
words or initials.
When two or more distinct abbreviations, initialisms, etc., appear
in juxtaposition, each is separated from the other by a space.
However, lower case letters are never transcribed into capitals. In
converting capitals to lower case, the usage (including that of
diacritics) in the publication being described should be followed. The
following usage is recommended for converting I, J, U, V and VV where
practice is not consistent:
Black letter capitals in the form J or U are transcribed as I or V.
Letters of numerical value in a chronogram in the title or imprint, or
in a chronistic in the text of a poem are given in capitals.
Interpolations used by the cataloguing agency should follow modern
practice.4
In the English text of the ISBDs the terms used and the words or
short phrases added to the examples in areas 5 and 7 are in English.
It is anticipated that in translations of the ISBDS, such terms and
words and phrases will be given in the language of the translation.
In some examples marks of omission have been inserted to abbreviate
long titles when another element of the description is being
exemplified. The omission marks do not necessarily imply that in a
full description (see 0.4.1) these omissions would be made.
In the examples the punctuation given is not necessarily that
appearing in the source of information. For comparison, the first two
examples in Appendix C are given with their own full punctuation and
the others with conventionalized punctuation (see 0.4. 1). In some
instances the omission of punctuation appearing in the source of
information may fail to differentiate different editions of the same
work, e.g. The bunter's wedding, and The bunter's
wedding. In such cases a note of the actual punctuation must be
given in area 7.
When the printer has left a blank space for an initial letter to be
inserted by hand, the letter is supplied, enclosed in square brackets,
and the interpolation is explained in area 7.
[3rd] edition Splinters, historical, sacred and profane, partly from off that
standard [oak], our blessed constitutione.g. Boetij viri celeberrimi de [con]solatio[n]e
When the
meaning of an abbreviation or contraction is conjectural, a question
mark is given following the conjectural expansion, e.g. amico[rum?]
etc. When the meaning of an abbreviation or contraction cannot be
determined, give a question mark, enclosed in square brackets, for
each indeterminable abbreviation or contraction e.g. amico[?], [?]s,
or leave the abbreviation or contraction as it stands.
phylosophie
liber : cu[m] optimo [com]me[n]to beati Thome
Petri in
quattuor libros diuisus : de vita [et]
miraculis patru[m]
italicor[um] : [et] de
eternitate a[n]imarum e.g. Pel battesimo di S.A.R. Ludovico ...
KL Ianuarius habet
dies xxxi
J.J. Rousseau e.g. Ph. D.
Mr J.J. Rousseau e.g. par R.F. s. d. C.
M. J.P. Rabaut 0.8 Capitalization
In
general, the first letter of the first word of each area should be a
capital; the first letter of the first word of some elements (e.g.
general material designation, parallel title, alternative title,
section title) should also be a capital. Other capitalization should
follow the appropriate usage for the language(s) and/or script(s) used
in the description (see 0.6). When more than one language and/or
script appears in the description, each should be capitalized in
accordance with the usage of that language and/or script even when
this produces an inconsistent pattern of capitalization for the
description as a whole.
I or J as i (but final IJ as ij and final larger capital I as
I);
U and V as u (but initial U or V as v);
VV as uu (but vv
initially). 0.9 Examples
The
examples given throughout the ISBDs are illustrative and not
prescriptive except when the stipulations specify that the form found
in the example(s) is to be followed. Most examples are based on the
description of existing publications, but some fictitious examples
have been included.
0.10
Misprints
Inaccuracies or misspelled words are transcribed
as they appear in the publication. They may be followed by "sic" or
"!", enclosed in square brackets which are preceded and followed by a
space ( [sic] or [!] ). Alternatively, the correct version may be
added, enclosed in square brackets, the correction being preceded by
"i.e.", or its equivalent in another language and/or script. Letters
which have been omitted from misspelled words may be inserted,
enclosed in square brackets (in this case not preceded or followed by
a space).
e.g. An hnmble [sic] address
The notted [i.e. noted] history
of Mother Grim
To my loaing [!] friend e.g. [T]he true history of recent events
Note: Initial
letter space left blank by printer 0.11 Symbols, etc.
A
symbol or other matter that cannot be reproduced by the typographic
facilities available (normally, characters that are neither numeric
nor alphabetic) is replaced by its description or its equivalency in
letters or words, as appropriate. The substitution is placed in square
brackets and an explanatory note is made if necessary.
e.g. / by [E.B.C.]
Note: Author's initials represented on
title-page by musical notes
Note: Number of edition represented on
title-page by three asterisks
Note: The word "oak" is
represented on title-page by a woodcut of the tree
0.12 Imperfections
The ISBDs are concerned with the recording of perfect copies of library materials, and make no provision for situations where no ideal copy or perfect copy exists or when an imperfect copy has to be catalogued without the help of a bibliographic record for a complete example. In the first case, compilers and users of data bases, whether manually or machine-based, should realize that descriptions taking account of alterations during printing, special dedication copies, the presence of cancel leaves, etc., may not apply to all copies of the same edition. In the second case, a record for a complete example should first be sought and imperfections and other peculiar characteristics described in a note; but when no details of a complete copy can be found, information supplied by the cataloguer from inference in the title and statement of responsibility area should be given in brackets with an explanatory note. Alternative possibilities are linked by "or". When such information cannot be supplied, lacunae should be indicated by marks of omission within brackets ([ ... ]) with an explanatory note if necessary. The extent of imperfect copies when the complete extent cannot be inferred should be given by recording the numeration of the pages and/or leaves according to the provisions of 5.1, but with "p." or "leaves" preceding and a plus sign preceding or following the statement of extent, (e.g. p. 1- 200 +, or p. + 41-200), or in the case of unpaginated or unfoliated works according to the provisions of 5.1.2.6. In these cases, and when the extent of a complete copy has been inferred, an explanatory note must be given.ą "Title-page" refers to a title-page or title-page substitute when the publication lacks a title-page.
˛ When the script is not in current use or is otherwise not available a suitable alternative script should be used, for example, Cyrillic (civil) for Cyrillic (Church Slavonic).
ł If titles are not expanded it may be necessary to construct uniform titles to ensure correct interfiling of such titles.
4 The provisions of 0.6 apply to the language, script and form of letters and diacritics to be used for transcription.
5 However, an imprint such as "London printed, in the year 1742" would be transcribed "London printed : [s.n.], in the year 1742" (cf. 4.1.5, 4.2.9), and "London, printed in the year 1742" transcribed "London : [s.n.], printed in the year 1742".
6 For pages or leaves of plates, maps, etc., not included in the numbering of pages or leaves containing text, see 5.1.2.10.
7 The publication Standard citation forms for published bibliographies and catalogs used in rare book cataloging. Washington, D.C. : Library of Congress, 1982, is recommended as a source for citations.
8 A definitive formula for fingerprint has yet to be determined by international agreement. Until such an agreement is made, various forms of fingerprint will be considered acceptable in this area.
Description of a method of fingerprint construction is found in:
Fingerprints = Empreintes = Impronte.
- Paris : Institut de
Recherche et d'Histoire des Textes, 1984. 2 vol. which is supplemented
by the periodical: Nouvelles des empreintes = Fingerprint
Newsletter. - no. 1 (1981)-. - Paris : Institut de Recherche et
d'Histoire des Textes, 1981-
2 Edition Area
Introductory note:Not only editions, but also issues, impressions and states of older monographic publications may be given separate descriptions. The stipulations for the edition area may be considered to include information concerning the issue, impression or state being described.
Contents
- 2.1 Edition Statement
2.2 Parallel edition statement (optional)
2.3 Statements of responsibility relating to the edition
2.4 Additional edition statement
2.5 Statements of responsibility following an additional edition statement
Punctuation pattern
- The edition area is preceded by a point, space, dash, space (. - ).
- Each parallel edition statement is preceded by a space, equals sign, space ( = ).
- The first statement of responsibility relating to the edition (or following an additional edition statement) is preceded by a space, diagonal slash, space ( / ).
- Each subsequent statement of responsibility relating to the edition (or following an additional edition statement) is preceded by a space, semi-colon, space ( ; ).
- An additional edition statement following either an edition statement or a statement of responsibility relating to the edition is preceded by a comma, space ( , ).
Examples
- - Edition statement
- Edition statement = parallel edition statement
- Edition statement / statement of responsibility
- Edition statement / statement of responsibility ; second
statement
of responsibility ; third statement of responsibility
- Edition statement / statement of responsibility =
parallel
edition statement / statement of responsibility
- Edition statement, additional edition statement
- Edition statement / statement of responsibility,
additional
edition statement / statement of responsibility
Prescribed source
Title-page
2.1 Edition statement
- 2.1.1 The edition statement consists of a term, phrase or group
of characters relating to:
- all the copies of a publication formally identified as
constituting membership of an edition,
or
- all the copies of a publication in a particular form of presentation having significant differences, in intellectual or artistic content, from other copies, issues, states or editions in the same form of presentation, whether or not the publication bears any formal statement to this effect.
- The edition statement normally includes either the word
"edition" (or its equivalent in another language) or a related
term together with a number in ordinal form ("second edition",
etc.), or a term indicating difference from other editions ("new
edition", "revised edition", "revision", etc.). A statement such
as "newly printed" should be treated as an edition statement when
it appears to imply the existence of an earlier edition and to be
associated with the title; but as a part of the publication, etc.,
area when it appears to be associated with that area.
The edition statement can also include other phrases, which may be linguistically associated, linking the edition to other elements of the description (e.g. original title in a form such as "abridgement of...").
An edition statement which identifies a first edition is transcribed.
2.1.2 The edition statement is transcribed in the terms in which it appears in publication. It is enclosed in square brackets if it does not appear on the prescribed source of information. The exact wording is given when the edition statement is taken from a prescribed source of information. When the edition statement is taken from any other source, standard abbreviations may be used and arabic numerals are substituted for other numerals or spelled out numbers. Explanatory phrases appended to the edition statement may be given when they are considered necessary for the identification of the edition (see 2.3.3). When the edition statement is not taken from the title-page, the source of the statement is given in area 7.
If the edition statement consists solely or chiefly of characters that are neither numeric nor alphabetic, which cannot be reproduced by the typographic facilities available (cf. 0.11), the characters are replaced by words or numbers, as appropriate, in square brackets. An explanation may be given in area 7 (see 7.2).
2.1.3. When no edition statement appears in the publication, although it is known that the publication contains significant changes from previous editions of the published material, a suitable edition statement in the language of the title-page and in accordance with the provisions of 2.1.2 may be supplied, enclosed in square brackets. Edition numbers should not be supplied unless it is clear that the publication has a place in a sequence of otherwise numbered editions. An explanation may be given in area 7.
- e.g.
- . - [Rev. ed.]
. - [With a new appendix]
. - [Reproduction en fac-similé]
2.1.4 The following edition statements are not transcribed in the edition area:
- 2.1.4.1 An edition statement which is an integral part of an
element in another area (such as title proper) and has been treated
as such (see 1.1.2.6) is not repeated in the edition area.
- e.g.
- Chirurgia / nunc iterum non mediocri studio atque diligentia
pluribus mendis purgata
2.1.4.2 An edition statement associated with one or more works or statements which is included in a publication containing a number of works but lacking a collective title, is not given in the edition area, but in area 1, with conventional punctuation (see 1.1.4.2).
- e.g.
- An examination of Dr. Bumet's theory of the earth ... / by
J. Keill, The second edition corrected ... To the whole is
annexed A dissertation on the different figures of the
coelestial bodies, &c ... / by Mons. de Maupertuis
2.1.5 When information pertaining to other elements of the description (e.g. an original title or other information concerning the original work) is linguistically an integral part of the edition statement, it is recorded as such.
2.1.6 When an edition statement or any part of it has been taken from part of the title-page preceding the title and statement of responsibility statement, that is stated in a note.
2.2 Parallel edition statement (optional)
- When the title-page bears edition statements in more than one
language and/or script, the statement appearing first is given. The
parallel statement(s) may be given; if so, they are recorded in the
order indicated by the sequence of information on the source
- e.g. . - Troisičme edition = The third edition
2.3 Statements of responsibility relating to the edition
- 2.3.1 Statements of responsibility relating to the edition can
refer to persons or to corporate bodies and can indicate functions
such as that of a reviser of a new edition, or can name the person
or body responsible for the provision of supplementary matter, of
appendices, etc., in a new edition.
2.3.2 Details of appendices and other subsidiary matter relating to the edition in hand but not necessarily to all editions of the work are recorded as statements of responsibility relating to the edition, i) when they are found on the title-page ; or ii) when there is in the publication (e.g. in the preliminaries or the colophon) a formal statement referring to them, provided a person or corporate body is named or otherwise identified as responsible for their creation.
- e.g
. - The fourth edition / with a new epilogue by the author
. - Editio altera, ab innumeris erroribus emendata / huic editioni accessęre Jacobi Bongarsii excerptiones chronologicae ad Justini historias accommodatae
When such statements have been transposed from a position preceding an edition statement, this is stated in area 7.
2.3.3 Statements of responsibility, details of appendices, other subsidiary matter, etc., clearly relating to the edition in hand (as described in 2.3.2), but which do not name or otherwise identify a person or corporate body are given as part of the edition statement (see 2.1.1). Such statements often appear as explanatory phrases.
2.3.4 The following statements of responsibility and/or details of appendices or other subsidiary matter relating to the edition are not transcribed in the edition area:
- 2.3.4.1 Statements of responsibility and/or details of
appendices or other subsidiary matter which clearly relate to the
first published edition or to all published editions of a work are
given in area 1.
2.3.4.2 Statements of responsibility and/or details of appendices or other subsidiary matter which do not clearly relate to only one edition or only some editions of a work are given in area 1.
2.3.4.3 When such information has been transposed from a position following an edition statement, the position of such information is stated in area 7.
- e.g.
. - An enquiry into the original state and formation of the earth ; deduced from the facts about the laws of nature / by John Whiteburst. - The second edition, considerably enlarged, and illustrated with plates
Note: The author's name appears after the edition statement
2.3.5 When the same prescribed source of information as the edition statement includes parallel statement(s) of responsibility relating to the edition, the parallel statement(s) may be given in the order indicated by the sequence of information on the source. Each statement is preceded by a space, equals sign, space.
2.4 Additional edition statement
- 2.4.1 An additional edition statement is given
- A. when the publication carries a formal statement identifying
it as belonging to an edition or impression within an edition, or
to an edition which is equivalent to the first named edition,
- e.g. . - The third edition, reprinted with a new
preface
or
B. when the publication has significant differences in content from other impressions of the larger edition to which it belongs
- e.g. . - The third edition, [with an appendix]
2.4.2 Additional edition statements are given according to the provisions of 2.1.2 and 2.1.3
- When an additional statement (e.g. a statement of reprinting)
appears in the context of another area, it is recorded as part of
that area, with the exception that when it appears at the head of
the title-page it is transcribed in the edition area following the
prescribed punctuation. This is mentioned in area 7.
- e.g. "nouvelleme[n]t i[m]primee a Paris" is treated as a
statement of the principal place of publication.
2.4.3 Unchanged impressions of an edition are given as edition statements, or additional edition statements as appropriate.
- e.g. . - The fifth impression
2.4.4 When the same prescribed source of information for the edition statement includes parallel additional edition statement(s), the parallel statement(s) may be given in the order indicated by the sequence of information on the source. Each statement is preceded by a space, equals sign, space.
2.5 Statements of responsibility following an additional edition statement
- 2.5.1 Statements of responsibility following an additional
edition statement are transcribed in accordance with the provisions
of 2.3.
- e.g. . - The second edition, reprinted / with a new preface by
Dr. Horace Smith
2.5.2 When the same prescribed source of information for the additional edition statement includes parallel statement(s) of responsibility, the parallel statement(s) may be given in the order indicated by the sequence of information on the source. Each statement is preceded by a space, equals sign, space.
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