Large print

Large print books are defined by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress and OCLC Bibliographic Standards and Formats.

Consider a resource to be large print if both of these conditions are met:

• The item is printed in characters in a 14 point or larger font
• The item is labeled "large print" or "larger print"

HarperLuxe and Harlequin are publishers of popular "larger type" books. (HarperLuxe's "larger print" books typically use 14-point type, and thus should be treated as large type. Harlequin's "larger print" books typically use 11- or 12-point type, which is basically the same as any normal hardcover or trade paperback book, and thus should not be treated as large type.)

Fixed field

Form: d

Variable fields

Edition (250)

Use a formal edition statement that appears on the item, if there is one. If there is no formal edition statement, but "Larger print" appears on the item, use that as an edition statement. If there is no edition statement, nor the words "Larger print", add a bracketed edition statement of (AACR2) [Large print ed.] or (RDA) [Large print edition].

RDA:
250 1st Thorndike large print edition.

250 [Large print edition].

250 Larger print.

AACR2:
250 1st Thorndike large print ed.

250 [Large print ed.].

250 Larger print.

If there is a formal edition statement that does not include the term "large print" or "larger print" and that term does appear on the item, determine whether the formal edition statement actually applies to the original print version or only to the large print version, and then enter both statements in the 250 field in the order original edition, revision edition. If the term "large print" or "larger print" does not appear on the item, bracket it, as stated above. Capitalize the first word of each statement.

Examples:

Large print version of the revised edition of the standard print version of a book (this will likely be the most common form used for large & larger print books):

RDA:
250    Revised edition, Large print.

AACR2:
250    Rev. ed., Large print.

Large print version of the revised edition of the standard print version of a book (But "Large print" does not appear anywhere on the item):

RDA:
250    Revised edition, [Large print].

AACR2:
250    Rev. ed., [Large print].

Revised edition of the Large print edition of a book:

RDA:
250    Large print, Revised edition.

AACR2:
250    Large print, Rev. ed.

One special case is when both "1st HarperLuxe edition" and "Larger print" appear on an item, as they are different ways of saying the same thing (HarperLuxe is Harper's "larger print" imprint, so everything HarperLuxe publishes is "larger print"). For local practice, combine them into a single edition statement as above, with "1st HarperLuxe ed." as the primary edition statement. (When creating original records in WorldCat, transcribe "1st HarperLuxe ed." in the 250 field and give "Larger print" in a quoted note.)

Example:

RDA:
250    1st HarperLuxe edition, Larger print.

AACR2:
250    1st HarperLuxe ed., Larger print.

Extent of item (300 ‡a)

In AACR2 records, always qualify the pagination with (large print). This practice is optional for RDA records--if already present, it can be retained; if absent, it does not have to be added.

RDA:
300    243 pages (large print) ;‡c25 cm

AACR2:
300    243 p. (large print) ;‡c25 cm.

Font size (340 ‡n)

Optionally, specify "Large print" in a 340 field.

340    ‡nLarge print‡2rda

Genre (655)

Always use the genre heading Large type books.

655  0 Large type books.

Classification considerations

Particularly for larger print material, each library may decide for itself whether the print size of a given book is big enough to warrant shelving it with their other large print books or with their other regular print books,, but local shelving decisions do not alter the requirement for accuracy in the bibliographic description.