Issue Numbers

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Revision as of 05:35, 25 December 2009 by Handrews (talk | contribs) (Record decision to not put cover numbers in (parens) except when they disagree with an indicia number.)
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  • Required field
  • In general, a number in (parentheses) means that it is the cover number on an issue that also lists an indicia number
  • In general, a number in [brackets] means that it is not present anywhere on the issue, but is assigned by the indexer based on sequential order or traditional usage such as in popular price guides.
  • When a book or periodical doesn't have a number listed, [nn] should be used as the issue number.
  • If a non-numbered book occupies a spot in an otherwise numbered series, the number in brackets may be used in place of (not in addition to) [nn]
  • When the issue does not list a number in the indicia, the cover number may be used without any brackets or parentheses
  • When a number is present in both the indicia and on the cover, but those numbers differ, the indicia number should come first, followed by the cover number in (parentheses).
  • When a number is present in the indicia but an additional or different number is commonly used (for instance because a series has two issues of that number and a distinction must be made), the indicia number should come first followed by the additional number in [brackets].
  • Please do not use the ISBN as an issue number. A separate field for this will be added in the future. For now it may be recorded in the issue notes field.
  • For series which restart the numbering periodically and change the volume number (many Golden Age US books, for example) use the volume number and check the "show volume with number" check box in addition to the issue number field in order to get numbers in the format "v1#1".
  • If you feel a made-up number which does not actually appear on the book would be useful it can be included in [square brackets].

End of definition


  • Examples:
    • Normal single issue number one:
      • Issue number field: 1
      • No volume field: checked
    • No number and only one issue:
      • Issue number field: [nn]
      • No volume field: checked
    • No number but is the second issue of a series:
      • Issue number field: [2]
      • No volume field: checked
    • Normal single issue #14 with a volume #2 that is usually not mentioned:
      • Issue number field: 14
      • Volume number: 2
      • Show volume with number: not checked
    • Book in a series that is identified as having volume or book numbers and no "issue" number (Volume 2 in this case):
      • Issue number field: 2
      • Volume number field: 2
      • Show volume with number: not checked
    • Volume 5 issue 6:
      • Issue number field: 6
      • Volume number field: 5
      • Show volume with number: checked
    • Volume 5 issue 6 in the indicia with cover number 30:
      • Issue number field: 6 (30)
      • Volume number field: 5
      • Show volume with number: checked
    • Volume 5 issue 6 in the indicia, no cover number but other issues in the series use whole cover numbers and the issue is commonly referred to by its whole number:
      • Issue number field: 6 [30]
      • Volume number field: 5
      • Show volume with number: checked
    • Issue 4 in publication year 1995:
      • Issue number field: 4/1995
      • No volume field: checked
    • Issue 4 in publication year 1995 in volume #2:
      • Issue number field: 4/1995
      • Volume number field: 2
      • Show volume with number: not checked

See Cat-Man Comics for an example of more than half of these rules in a single series.

(end of definition)


Unapproved definition revised based on various discussions on gcd-main in the wake of the new OI's deployment (December 2009)


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