A corporate body may serve several functions. It may publish a serial- -i.e., it makes the serial available to the public, or it may issue the serial- -i.e., it is also responsible for the contents. The terms " commercial publisher" and " issuing body" are generally used to distinguish these functions.

a. Definitions:

Commercial publisher:

A corporate body whose sole function is that of publishing on a for-profit basis is referred to by catalogers as a "commercial publisher." Firms such as Random House, Harper & Row, Time/Life Books, and Elsevier are commercial publishers.

Issuing body:

Unlike most monographs that are the work of one or more persons, serials are often the work of one or more corporate entities. These entities may be both author and publisher. Corporate bodies that are not primarily in the business of publishing but which are responsible for the issuance, and often the contents, of the serial are referred to as "issuing bodies." These may be non-profit societies, institutions, or government agencies, or commercial firms whose primary function is not publishing (e.g., IBM). In some cases a commercial publisher may "issue" the serial because it takes on the function of compiling the data, writing the text, etc. An example is University Microfilms International which issues publications such as Dissertation abstracts. In other instances, a serial may be published by a commercial publisher for an issuing body.

Distinguishing between corporate entities that publish and those that issue serials is important when deciding whether to give an added entry for the body (AACR2 21.30E1) or when noting changes that occur in later issues (see CCM 10.6).

b. Sources of the publishing statement:

Record the publisher from a formal publishing statement found anywhere in the item. A formal publishing statement is one prefaced by the words "published by" or their equivalent. The chief source is the preferred source of information, but a formal publishing statement found elsewhere takes precedence over a body found on the chief source that is not the publisher. In the absence of a formal publishing statement, a body found at the foot of the title page is assumed to be the publisher (unless it is prefaced by words such as "prepared by"). For most periodicals, the publisher is found on the editorial page, often in the masthead. In many cases there is no publishing statement per se. Instead the name of the responsible body may appear as part of the title, at the head of the title, on the cover, or elsewhere.

If there are several statements in different sources and none is a formal publishing statement, prefer the information found on the chief source or preliminaries. In general, take the name of the publisher from one source, particularly in the case of corporate hierarchies; do not piece together the name of the publisher from several sources.

c. Selecting from multiple publisher(s) or publishing statements:

Multiple languages or scripts (AACR2 1.4D2):

When a publisher’s name is given in more than one language or script, give the name in the language or script of the title proper.

More than one body given:

When the serial presents names of several corporate bodies, make the following determinations:

Whether the bodies are performing the same or different functions

Whether the bodies are separate organizations or elements of a corporate hierarchy (if the latter is the case there is only one body represented)

Whether the bodies are presented in separate statement or one grammatically linked statement

More than one body serving the same function:

While AACR2 1.4D5 says to record the first publisher, the accompanying LCRI says to record all publishers given on the chief source. The RI was written to simplify the decision- -don’t worry about which to record or not to record. When several bodies are recorded in separate statements, record each in a separate subfield $b (LCRI 1.4D4). If there is one grammatically linked statement, record the entire statement in one subfield $b. If one publisher is given on the chief source and additional publishers are given elsewhere, record only the one given on the chief source, unless a U.S. publisher is given elsewhere (LCRI 1.4D5). Example:

More than one body serving different functions:

If there is one statement, record the entire statement as the publisher. Example:

If there are several bodies mentioned in separate statements, prefer a commercial publisher over an issuing body and a body whose function is publishing or issuing over that of printing or preparation of the contents. As appropriate, the other body may be included in an issuing body note (550), when not already given in the description, If the other body is a distributor, see CCM 10.2.5.

Government printers recorded as publisher:

A government printer is recorded as the publisher when there is no evidence that the printer is not the publisher (LCRI 1.4D1). Consider a prominently named issuing agency to be evidence that the government printer is functioning only as the printer. If there is no other body given that could be functioning as the issuing agency, treat the government printer as the publisher. For example, most U.S. government publications are issued by an agency, such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Government Printing Office may serve as the printer and the Superintendent of Documents as the distributor but neither is the publisher. Congressional reports and documents, however, are not the product of any issuing agency but are published and printed by the GPO. On such publications, "Government Printing Office" appears in the publishing position at the foot of the title page and is recorded as the publisher. In general, government printer is either recorded as the publisher/distributor or not at all; it is not generally recorded as the manufacturer. For instructions concerning non-government printers, see CCM 10.5. Example:

d. Recording names of corporate bodies as publishers:

Capitalization:

Capitalize names of places and bodies according to the rules for the language involved (AACR2 A.7A1). Also capitalize the article when abbreviating the publisher according to AACR2 1.4D4 (AACR2 A.7B1). Example:

The primary task in recording the name of the publisher is deciding whether to shorten the entire statement, or to record the entire statement and abbreviate or omit words. This task has been simplified by LCRIs 1.4D2 and 1.4D4, according to which, catalogers are instructed to do whatever seems most efficient and effective. When opting to shorten or abbreviate the name of the publisher, apply the following.

Shortening the publishing statement (4):

AACR2 1.4D4 allows for the publisher to be recorded in the "shortest possible form" when it appears in a "recognizable form in the title and statement of responsibility area." This means that the recognizable form must be given somewhere in field 245. A 1XX main entry does not count! The publisher is usually abbreviated in one of two ways: 1) by adding a definite article to the word in the name that indicates the type of body or 2) by recording an initialism for the body found on the piece. When using the first alternative, give the article in the language of the word it precedes. Example:

Note: When the publishing statement consists of a corporate hierarchy, part of which is included in the title or statement of responsibility, do not abbreviate the part given in field 245 in the publishing statement; give the entire corporate hierarchy as it appears on the piece. Example:

When the publisher is given in its full form in field 245, it may be abbreviated in field 260 (AACR2 1.4D4.)

Abbreviations for terms used in the publishing statement:

Abbreviate words that are part of the name and are retained, or that precede the publishing statement when such words are found in Appendix B. Note that the abbreviation "Pub." stands for "Publishing" and not "Publishers," "Publishes," or "Publications." Note also the abbreviations "G.P.O.," for Government Printing Office and "H.M.S.O.," for Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. Other commonly used abbreviations are "Dept." (Department), "Corp." (Corporation), "Co." (Company), and "Print." (Printing).

Omitting parts of the name:

According to AACR2 1.4D2, give the publisher in the shortest possible form "in which it can be understood and identified internationally." (5) Since this is not always easy to determine, LCRI 1.4D2 attempts to simplify the situation by saying to shorten or not shorten as is most efficient and effective. Do not worry about judging the international identifiable of the name. In other words, it’s not critical so don’t fuss! Example:

When a non-commercial publisher is part of a hierarchy that is given in a single statement, record the entire hierarchy (unless the statement is abbreviated according to AACR2 1.4D4).

Unnecessary parts of the hierarchy of commercial publishing firms may be omitted according to LCRI 1.4D2. For example, when a publisher is a subsidiary, the parent company may be omitted. Example:

Omitting preceding words:

AACR2 1.4D3 says to omit words that are unnecessary, such as "published by", "publisher:" and so forth. Such words are necessary because of the placement of the information in the publishing area. Preceding words are retained when they imply something other than publishing or when two statements are grammatically linked to one another. Example:

Statements such as "prepared by," "edited by," "compiled by," etc. are not usually considered to be publishing statements. The body given following such terms is recorded as publisher only when there is other evidence that shows this to be the case.

When a statement such as "prepared for ... by ... " appears on the piece, the body for whom it was prepared is generally considered to be the publisher. Example:

See also:

10.2. Publishers and distributors