CCM— Module 10. Publication, distribution, etc. area (Field 260) — 10.4. Dates of publication

While serials such as annuals may have true publication dates, many others, such as periodicals, have only a copyright date or a chronological designation that may suggest a probable date of publication. Serial catalogers frequently have to supply the date of publication when the record is described from the first issue.
10.4.1. Definitions
AACR2 does not define any of the types of dates that might be found on serials. For a discussion on dates relating to chronological designations, see Module 8.
a. Publication date


Fig. 10.20.

The publication date is the year in which a work is made available to the public. The publication date, when found on the piece, generally consists solely of the year and most often appears with the place and name of the publisher.
In Fig. 10.20. "1968" is clearly a publication date since it appears with the publishing statement and differs from the chronological designation of 1964.
260 ## $a Edinburgh, Scotland : $b International Seismological Centre, $c 1968-
362 0# $a Vol. 1 (1964)-
b. Release dates
The release date generally consists of a month and year that reflects the date of release for publication. Release dates often appear on government publications and technical reports.
c. Copyright dates
The copyright date is a legal date that reflects the year in which copyright protection is claimed for an issue. The date may or may not be the same as the publication date. In many cases, however, the copyright date is the only available date for recording in this area.
10.4.2. When to record publication date(s)
a. First/last issue in hand
Give the date of publication of the first issue followed by a hyphen and the date of the last issue when the serial is complete and both issues are in hand (AACR2 1.4F8). A date must be given when the first or last issue is in hand, even if it has to be supplied according to AACR2 1.4F7.
260 ## $a ..., $c 1987-
362 0# $a Vol. 1, no. 1 (July 1987)-
260 ## $a ..., $c -1988.
362 0# $a -v. 33, no. 8 (Aug. 1988).
500 ## $a Description based on: Vol. 30, no. 1 (Jan. 1985).
260 ## $a Plovdiv [Bulgaria] : $b Narodna biblioteka "Ivan Vazov", $c 1966-
362 0# $a 1965-
500 ## $a Latest issue consulted: Vol. 30, no. 1 (Jan. 1985).
When only an approximate date can be provided, a date containing a hyphen and/or question mark can be used as publication date (AACR2 1.4F7).
260 ## $a [Sugar Land, Tex.] : $b Internet Scientific Publications, $c [200-?]-
362 0# $a Vol. 1, no. 1-
b. First/last issue not in hand
If neither the first or last issue is in hand, do not give a date of publication according to

AACR2 contains an option to supply the date. LC and CONSER libraries other than LAC will not apply the option for serials.
AACR2 1.4F8. Do not apply AACR2 1.4F7 in this situation because it is unknown whether there is a date on the first issue or what the date should be. There is no ending punctuation;

This is a change in practice as of 2002.
do not include a comma following the publisher.
260 ## $a Boston, MA : $b Beacon Press
362 1# $a Began with: 1986.
500 ## $a Description based on: 1988.
Thus, when recording a "formatted" 362 field, also record a beginning or ending date of publication, or both. When describing the serial from an issue other than the first, do not input $c in field 260 unless the final issue is in hand.
10.4.3. Selecting the publication date(s)
Some serials have a publication date in addition to a chronological designation. The publication date, when present, is most often found with the publishing information, either at the foot or verso of the title page or in the masthead. If there is no publication date, a copyright or release date may be used. Give the publication date in field 260 even if it is the same as the chronological designation (AACR2 12.4F1).
If there is no publication date given on the first/last issue, supply the probable date in brackets. While the chronological designation itself is not a publication date, it may serve as an indication of the probable date of publication. For instance, if a periodical is issued monthly and the first issue is dated July 1991, it is safe to supply 1991 as the date of publication. For an annual report covering the 1990 calendar year, however, 1991 would be a more probable publication date. The date is bracketed because it does not appear as the publication date.

Dates to be used as the publishing date: preferred order
Publication date
Release date
Copyright date
Probable date (may be inferred from chronological designation)
Note that rule 1.4F8 says to give the date of the “first published issue.” This is not necessarily the issue that is no. 1 (or its equivalent). If the publication date of the first issue is later than the publication date of subsequent issues, record the earliest publication date in the 260 field and give the publication date of no. 1 (or its equivalent) in a note (LCRI 12.7B11.2). In printed serials, this situation is most likely to occur with monographic series. It is also frequently encountered with electronic journals where back issues are digitized after the initial publication of the electronic version (see Module 31).
260 ## $a Chicago, IL : $b American Library Association, $c 1967-
362 0# $a Vol. 1-
500 ## $a Vol. 1 published in 1969.
10.4.4. Recording the publication date(s)
Record only the year; do not give months or days. If both first and last issues are in hand, give the year of the first issue followed by the year of the last issue (AACR2 1.4F8). If both first and last issues are published in the same year, give the year only once. Precede a copyright date with a small "c." Give the year in brackets when it is supplied (i.e., no separate publication date appears in the piece). If you are uncertain about the probable date, add a question mark.
260 ## $a ..., $c 1989-
260 ## $a ..., $c c1990-
260 ## $a ..., $c 1945-1989.
260 ## $a ..., $c 1990. {i.e., not 1990-1990}
260 ## $a ..., $c -[1989]
260 ## $a ..., $c [1987?]-
362 0# $a Vol. 1, no. 1 (Jan. 1988)-