9.06 Translation

If the translated (English) title appears on the title page of a publication in another language, it follows the primary title in the bibliographic entry and is italicized, with a period separating the two elements:

• Von Keitz, S., and W. von Keitz. Bibliotheks- und Informationswissenschaft. Library and Information Science. Weinheim, Germany: VCH Verlagsgesellschaft, 1989.

If you yourself must provide a translation, insert the English version of the title (no italics) in brackets after the primary title, capitalize the initial word, and place a period after the closing bracket:

• Chang-Rodríguez, Eugenio. Latinoamérica: su civilización y su cultura [Latin America: its culture and civilization]. Boston: Heinle and Heinle, 1991.

For a publication in which French and English titles are given, both languages should be included:

• Canada. Department of Canadian Heritage. Convention on the Rights of the Child. First Report of Canada / Convention relative aux droits de l’enfant. Premier rapport du Canada. Ottawa, May 1994.

Note the space on each side of the oblique.

The publisher’s name should not be translated, but for the benefit of the unilingual reader the place of publication may be:

• L’Europa mediterranea: Spagna, Portogallo, Francia. Arnoldo Mondadori, ed. Milano (Milan): Panorama, 1990.

When no translation is given on the title page, check whether translations of the work are already on record at the National Library of Canada, the Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information (CISTI) or elsewhere before translating the primary title. Accuracy of translation is essential.

9.07 Principal source of information

The principal source of information when listing a work should be the work itself. In the case of a monograph (book, pamphlet), the title page and overleaf are the sources of information, whereas for a work published in a series (periodical), the main source is the title page or, in the absence of a title page, the cover, the running title or the copyright page. In the case of a computerized document, information for the bibliographic entry is found on the sticker on the disk, diskette or packaging. For films and videotapes, the main sources of information are the credits and the packaging. If any bibliographic details are missing and cannot be found in the principal source of information, scan the document itself or check library records.

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