Contents:

5.13.1.Y.Y Element information

5.13.1.1.Y.Y Link to RDA Toolkit

5.13.1.2.Y.Y Sources of information

5.13.2.Y.Y RDA definition and scope

5.13.2.1.Y.Y A timespan during which an unpublished manifestation is inscribed, fabricated, constructed, or otherwise produced.

5.13.3.Y.Y General rule

5.13.3.1.Y.Y Transcribe dates of production 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.

5.13.3.2.Y.Y Transcribe words and phrases such as “in the year” and “anno”.

5.13.3.3.Y.Y 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 production. If the supplied date includes a day/month, use the pattern: day, month, year.

5.13.31.Y.Y Transcription involving adjustments or additions

5.13.31.1.Y.Y 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. Include the day and month, if present, following the pattern: day, month, year.

5.13.31.2.Y.Y 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 production statement explaining the source of the date. Include transcription of the original chronogram in the note if considered important (see 5.14.SOMETHING.SOMETHING).

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

5.13.31.3.Y.Y Very long dates. If the date on the preferred source of information is very long, substitute for it a formalized statement in square brackets. If the supplied date includes a day/month, use the pattern: day, month, year. Make a Note on production statement concerning the source and form of the statement if considered important (see 5.14.SOMETHING.SOMETHING).

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

5.13.31.37.Y.Y Unconventional dates. If the date is unconventionally expressed, generally transcribe the date as it appears. Supply the year in arabic numerals in square brackets.

5.13.31.4.Y.Y Fictitious or incorrect dates. If the date of production 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 production statement to indicate the source of the information (see 5.14.SOMETHING.SOMETHING).

5.13.31.45.Y.Y If the date supplied as a correction is a differing date, not a correction of an error on the manifestation, always make a Note on production statement to clarify (see 5.14.SOMETHING.SOMETHING).

Example:
Date of production: 1611 [that is, approximately 1800]
Note on production statement: Materials and style indicate 19th-century production

(Comment: A painted portrait known to be a fake)
(Ingest comment: example needs review)

5.13.31.5.Y.Y Julian/Old Style dates. If the year of production is based on the Julian calendar (sometimes called the Old Style calendar) and the manifestation is known to have been created 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 production statement to indicate the basis for the supplied year (see 5.14.SOMETHING.SOMETHING). 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.

5.13.31.6.Y.Y Dates not of the Julian or Gregorian calendar. If the date of production 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).

5.13.31.65.Y.Y Optionally, if the date of production 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.

5.13.31.7.Y.Y Multiple adjustments or additions. If the date of production 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 production statement for the source of supplied dates (see 5.14.SOMETHING.SOMETHING).

5.13.32.Y.Y Dates of production supplied from reference sources

5.13.32.1.Y.Y If the date of production 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 production statement (see 5.14.SOMETHING.SOMETHING).

5.13.33.Y.Y Conjectural date of production

5.13.33.1.Y.Y Supply in square brackets a conjectural date of production based on any information available. Always indicate the basis for the conjecture in a Note on production statement (see 5.14.SOMETHING.SOMETHING).

5.13.33.2.Y.Y If the preferred source of information does not clearly bear a date of production, 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).

5.13.34.Y.Y Patterns for supplying a conjectural date

5.13.34.1.Y.Y Give a probable date or period of production according to one of the patterns shown in the examples below. Always indicate the basis for the conjecture in a Note on production statement (see 5.14.SOMETHING.SOMETHING).

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

5.13.35.Y.Y Date of production in multiple unit resources

5.13.35.1.Y.Y In describing a manifestation consisting of multiple units produced over a number of years, transcribe the date of production of the unit produced first and the date of production of the unit produced last, and connect them with a hyphen.

5.13.35.2.Y.Y Record the date of each unit in a Note on production statement if considered important. Such a Note on production statement is particularly useful when the order of production does not correspond to the order of the unit numeration (see 5.14.SOMETHING.SOMETHING).

5.13.36.Y.Y Date of production on part pages

5.13.36.1.Y.Y If parts of a manifestation have individual title pages bearing dates of production that differ from the date pertaining to the whole manifestation, give these additional dates of production in a Note on production statement (see 5.14.SOMETHING.SOMETHING).

If, however, one of these dates is a more accurate reflection of the actual date of production than the date pertaining to the whole manifestation, give it as a correction as instructed in 5.13.SOMETHING.SOMETHING.

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