Use the following guidelines when recording publication information for self-published items:
Place of publication
If no place of publication is available on the item, record at least a country as best determined. Record in brackets, i.e., [United States]. If you’re not certain, end with a question mark, i.e., [United States?].
Publisher
If a publisher is clearly identified, record the publisher in 264 _1 ‡b.
If there is no publisher identified, record the author, in brackets, as publisher in 264 _1 ‡b.
Example
264 _ 1 ‡a[United States] :‡b[Jean Grainger],‡c[2019]
Self-publishing platforms
Self-publishing platforms such as Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing and Lulu are printers rather than publishers. These do not need to be recorded in MARC tag 264, except as noted below:
If a record in OCLC incorrectly indicates Lulu or another self-publishing platform as the publisher in 264 _1, but it is not clearly identified that way on the item, record the author as the publisher as above and record the self-publishing platform as the manufacturer in 264 _3.
In record:
264 _ 1 ‡a[Morrisville, North Carolina] :‡b[Lulu],‡c[2019]
Change to:
264 _ 1 ‡a[United States] :‡b[Jean Grainger],‡c[2019] 264 _ 3 ‡a[Morrisville, North Carolina] :‡b[Lulu],‡c[2019]
Publication date
If the resource has a publication date and a copyright date available, record the publication date in 264 _ 1 ‡c and add 264 _ 4 ‡c with the copyright date.
If the resource has no publication date but has a copyright date, record the copyright date as an implied publication date in 264 _ 1 ‡c and add 264 _ 4 ‡c with the copyright date. Also record the implied publication date in 264 _3 ‡c when that field is present.
Do not use a self-publishing platform printing date as a publication date unless that is the only date available on the resource. If used, record as an implied publication date in brackets in 264 _1 ‡c.
If there is no date of any type available on the item, you may:
- Record an estimated publication date or range of dates, as best determined in 264 _ 1 ‡c. If you’re not certain, end with a question mark, i.e., [between 2000 and 2020?].
- Record an implied publication date taken from an outside source, i.e., Amazon, place it in brackets in 264 _ 1 ‡c.
Fixed field elements
Fixed field elements such as country code and date(s) should be completed based on information in 264 _1 and 264 _4.
Adopted 11-2025