Parallel Names for Publishers in Bibliographic Records

Increasingly, Slavic publishers are, in their publications, giving versions of their names in romanized script as well as in the vernacular. This trend is particularly noticeable in comic books and graphic novels. While including the parallel name for a publisher is optional in RDA, adding it to a bibliographic record enhances the representation of the resource and provides additional access points, thus making it a beneficial practice for catalogers. This chapter provides guidance on how to handle parallel publisher names in bibliographic records.

RDA defines a parallel entry for a publisher as “a nomen that is a name of publisher in another language or script”. RDA’s basic guidance suggests recording the names in the order indicated by the sequence, layout, or typography of the names on the source or sources of information (see RDA 2.8.5.3).

To qualify as a parallel entry, the publication must therefore state the information in either two (or more) languages and/or in two (or more) scripts.

Example with parallel publisher name:

Publisher name on title page

Publisher name on back cover

According to RDA (2.8.4.6), if the name of a publisher appears on the source of information in more than one language or script, record the form that is in the language or script of the title proper. If this criterion does not apply, record the name in the language or script that appears first.

The publisher’s name should come from the sources in the following order of preference (RDA 2.8.5.2): (1) the same source as the publisher’s name, (2) another source within the manifestation itself, (3) other sources connected to the manifestation.

The order of the parallel form will depend on the hierarchy of authoritativeness of the sources of information. State first the form found on the title page, followed by an equal sign (=), and then give the form found in other places within the same resource (such as, e.g., the colophon or cover), as in the following example.

Example (in MARC format):

264 1 Москва : ǂb Мир Хобби = Hobby World, ǂc 2022.

264 1 Moskva : ǂb Mir Khobbi = Hobby World, ǂc 2022.

The same applies to parallel names of distributors, producers, and manufacturers.

Other attributes of resources with parallel forms, such as titles, editions, and series, have long been the subject of precise rules in the cataloging standards and so are not dealt with here.

For additional information on parallel entries please consult current cataloging standards, such as the standard handbooks on RDA (e.g. Maxwell’s Handbook for RDA, 2014, pp. 81-86, 89-90, 102, 109, 130-131), RDA Toolkit (e.g. Original RDA 2.3.3, 2.3.5, 2.4.3, 2.5.5, 2.7.3, 2.7.5 2.9.3, 2.9.5, 2.12.7, 2.12.11, 2.12.11, 2.12.13, 2.12.15), LC-PCC Policy Statements (e.g. LCC PS for Original RDA 2.3.3; LC PS Entities), SCM chapter on Colophon and Summary Titles, or other relevant documentation.

Submitted by Milan Pohontsch, Larisa Walsh, Karen Scott; February 7, 2025