Greetings all, This may have been addressed already, but I have seen a lot of variation, so I thought it worth bringing up. I understand that RDA is a content standard and not a display standard. However, I was just curious how one would punctuate the 300 field, specifically final punctuation in $c, when cataloging a print monograph according to RDA using ISBD punctuation in MARC21. I know that RDA now considers "cm" a metric symbol and not an abbreviation, so it does not require a period, and that according to MARC21: "*Punctuation* - Field 300 ends with a period if there is a 4XX in the record; otherwise it ends with a period unless another mark of punctuation or a closing parentheses is present. See also subfield descriptions for punctuation information." I would assume that the $c should then end with a period (or some other punctuation).
All that having been said, in many many many LC RDA records, the 300 $c does not end in a period. In many others, it does. Any clue as to why some lack the period? For some examples, see OCLC #'s 677981165, 449856066, and 587078028 (lacking period); and 308173544, 297147712, and 468854226 (with period). Thanks! -- Christopher Case Content Management Librarian Milton S. Eisenhower Library Johns Hopkins University
