RDA defines the publication date as a date associated with the publication, release, or issuing of a resource. (CCM:10.4.1) LC/PCC practice is not to record copyright dates for multipart monographs, serials, and integrating resources. Give the date of publication of the first issue followed by a hyphen when the first issue is in hand; give the date of the last issue when the serial is complete and the last issue is in hand.” (CCM: 10.4.2a)
⮚Selecting the publication date(s)
Some serials have a publication date in addition to a chronological designation. The chronological designation (inputted in MARC field 362 for Date of Publication) is not to be confused with the publication date. 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 date (1), release date (2) followed by chronological designation (3) may be used to infer a publication date. (CCM: 10.4.3)
⮚Recording the Publication Date)
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 (RDA 2.8.6.5). If both first and last issues are published in the same year, give the year only once. 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. (CCM: 10.4.4)
⮚When Not to Record Publication Date
If neither the first nor last issue is in hand, do not give a date of publication according to RDA 2.8.6.5. Do not apply RDA 2.8.6.5 in this situation because it is unknown whether there is a date on the first issue or what the date should be. When describing the serial from an issue other than the first or the last, do not input $c in the 264 field. As a result, there is no ending punctuation; do not include a comma following the publisher. (CCM: 10.4.2b)