Music Library Association Best Practices for designation of edition

Routinely record the element.

Treat a statement indicating a particular voice range (high voice, medium voice, etc.) that is not grammatically linked to a title, other title information, etc. as a designation of edition, whether or not it includes the word "edition" or its equivalent.

Consider the terms listed at Vocabulary Encoding Schemes: RDA Format of Notated Music, and their equivalents in other languages, to fit the scope of this element. Also consider to be in scope a statement such as “Klavierauszug” or “Piano reduction” when used to indicate a piece of music for solo instrument with accompaniment reduced for piano (that is, corresponding to MARC 008/20 Format of music value c).

Some formats of notated music (e.g., vocal scores, chorus scores, piano scores, etc.) are special cases inasmuch as they have dual identities: as a format of notated music, subject to these instructions, and as a type of arrangement. Do not treat other statements of arrangement, transposition, etc. as designations of edition; treat those statements as statements of responsibility. When in doubt, treat the statement as a statement of responsibility.

For statements containing "Urtext" and its variants: consult the Library of Congress Name Authority File to see if the usage by a particular publisher has been established as a series or series-like phrase. If appropriate, transcribe as a Manifestation: series statement and/or its subelements. In other cases, use judgment in determining whether the statement fits the "difference in content" criterion and thus may be transcribed as an edition statement. When in doubt, do not transcribe as an edition statement.

For electronic resources, do not record the name of a resource provider or the title of a database package in this element or any related element. For additional guidance and examples refer to MLA RDA Metadata Guidance under Format-Specific Guidance.

Generally do not record manifestation statements. Refer to the Best Practices for Guidance: Manifestation statements for details.

In MARC: Record as an unstructured description using field 250 subfield $a. Any subsequent designations of edition, their associated designations of named revision of edition, etc. should be encoded in separate 250 fields.

Apply the option. Additionally record all other values for the element from the chosen source of information if feasible.