Reprints defined

Advancing technology is making it increasingly difficult to define a reprint. Publishers can use data saved in word processing software to reprint entire texts with much less effort than when they relied on plates to set type. Below is the definition of a reprint as taken from AACR2,  1998 revision. This definition also applies under older rules for cataloging (any pre-AACR2).
   
A reprint is defined as: 1. A new printing of an item made from the original type image. "The reprint may reproduce the original exactly (an impression) or it may contain minor, but well-defined variations." (Lewis & Clark Library System) These variations must not be revisions of the body of the work. 2. A new edition with substantially unchanged text.

Clues that the item you are cataloging may be a reprint (typically, all three will be present):

• The title of the item in hand and the title of the previous publication are identical.
• Presence of an edition statement (250 field) that follows the format 1st _______ ed.

In some cases 1st _______ printing has appeared on the item. This information should not be entered into the 250 field as an edition statement, but it does constitute a reprint.

1st  ed.  has also appeared alone on the item, but other criteria made it clear that the item was the 1st [American] ed. The information in the 250 field was entered with [American] added to clarify the reprint status.

• Presence of a note on the T.p. verso similar to “Originally published by (different publisher, foreign or domestic*)…”    There are cases for which you must find the reprint information from a source other than the book. In these instances, it is acceptable to use this form of the note: Originally published: Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers, 1990. In rare instances the publisher will be the same, but other criteria will be present.

* Please note that divisions of a parent company are considered separate entities. If a title was once published by the parent company and is later released by a division of the same company, then the title is a reprint unless revisions to the body of the work are present.

Reprint examples

The following is a typical reprint as defined by AACR2, 1998. The decision for using only one date in the 260 field when there is an edition statement is based on section 1.4F1 of AACR2, 1998 revision.

008	Publication status: r,   Dates: 1999,1998
049	__ |a GPMM
050	00 |a DT1757 |b .K76 1999
082	00 |a 968.06/5 |2 21
100	1_ |a Krog, Antjie.
245	10 |a Country of my skull : |b guilt, sorrow, and the limits of forgiveness in the new South Africa / |c Antjie Krog.
250	__ |a 1st U.S. ed.
260	__ |a New York : |b Times Books, |c 1999.
300	__ |a xii, 403 p. ; |c 25 cm.
500	__ |a Includes index.
500	__ |a "Originally published in South Africa in 1998 by Random House South Africa (Pty.) Ltd."--T.p. verso.

Three dates are necessary for the following record. The dates in the Fixed field (008) are the reprint date and the latest copyright date. The third (Original copyright) date is entered in the 500 field.

008	Publication status: r,   Dates: 1992,1983
049	__ |a GPMM
050	00 |a PS3565.C57 |b G6 1992
082	00 |a 813/.54 |2 20
100	1_ |a O'Connor, Flannery.
245	12 |a A good man is hard to find : |b and other stories / |c Flannery O'Connor.
250	__ |a 1st ed.
260	__ |a New York : |b Harcourt Brace & Company, |c [1992].
300	__ |a 252 p. ; |c 21 cm.
440	_2 |a A Harcourt Brace modern classic
500	__ |a Originally pub. by Harcourt Brace in 1955.

Unusual cases that constitute a reprint:

• If a publisher extracts information from a larger body of work previously published by that same publisher and publishes the excerpt as a separate work, then it may be a reprint. The T.p. title will match the title of that section taken from the larger work and the text will be substantially unchanged.
• A paperback reprint of a title will have a different ISBN than the hardbound printing.
• A reprint of a title bearing an edition statement will bear the same 250 field  as the original printing of that edition.  

Cataloging a reprint

If the item you are cataloging is a reprint, then:

• Change the DtSt in the fixed field to r.
• Change the Dates in the fixed field to reflect reprint date and latest copyright date.
• Verify that there is a 250 field which contains the edition statement if available on the item.
• Verify that the 260 ‡c contains 2 dates if there is no 250 field and the dates differ. This is necessary in addition to the 500 field note for bibliographic records with no 250 field. If the item has a 250 field, then use only the edition date in the 260 field.
• Enter a 500 field note following this format: “Originally published in South Africa in 1998 by Random House”--T.p. verso. Or “Originally published in 1998 by Random House”--T.p. verso. (The note should be taken as a quote and be entered as it appears on the item.)

The notes mentioned above are only necessary when cataloging a reprint.

Reprints vs. Printings

A reprint is not a reprint if it has been issued by the same publisher who previously issued the work. The dates for the latest issue of the title by the same publisher are printing dates.

Reprints vs. New editions

It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between a reprint and a new edition of a work. Listed below are some clues that the item you are cataloging is not a reprint:

• The title of the item in hand and the title of the previous publication vary slightly.
• Presence of an edition statement in the 250 field for 2nd ed., 3rd ed., 4th ed., etc. that did not appear on previous publications of the work.
• Presence of the words “revised”, “updated”, or “with corrections” on the item.
• The ISBN doesn’t match previous publications of the work.
• If the work has been reissued by the same publisher.
• If the 1st U.S. Edition is also the first edition in English. This would be a translation and constitutes a new edition. Disregard all copyright dates for the original language edition when cataloging. Use only the dates applicable to the current publication of the title.
• The copyright has been renewed by the author independent of publishing the title (no edition for that year when checking OCLC).

The word "reprint" may also be used sometimes to mean "printing", especially if the publisher of the later work is the same as the original. Remove printing statements from the imprint if the place, publisher, and the date of publication are a match. (borrowed from the cataloging rules from the University of Maryland) This supports the idea that a reprint MUST have a different publisher than the original publication.

Reprints vs. simultaneous publications

There are instances in which a simultaneous publication resembles a reprint so closely that it is difficult to distinguish between the two. A simultaneous publication will not have the 1st ____ edition note on the book except in rare circumstances. It will usually have two first published notes and the dates in the notes will be identical. Suspect that it is a simultaneous publication if the dates are the same.

If there is a 1st _____ edition note or 1st _____  printing note, there are usually no notes regarding first publication.