Tagging Ordinal Numbers

Edition Statements: Edition statements (<edition>) in BITS books are allowed both within the book metadata (<book-meta>) and within citations (<mixed-citation> or <element-citation>). In both uses, edition statements are frequently given as ordinal numbers (first, second, third) and abbreviated with a “th” or “rd” suffix. These ordinals may either directly follow the number (4th) or be placed in a superscript following the number (4<sup>th</sup>). BITS allows some flexibility in placing these ordinals, and each publisher or archive will need to decide whether or not these ordinal suffixes are part of the <edition> element’s content.
For example, consider the edition statement “3rd” used within a <mixed-citation>:
  • Archives and publishers who wish to regularize content for searching can eliminate these extra characters and tag the edition as <edition>3<edition>.
  • Archives who wish record each detail of the printed volume exactly can retain these extra characters
    • inside the edition statement: <edition>3<sup>rd</sup><edition>
    • outside the edition statement inside the text of a mixed citation: <edition>3<edition><sup>rd</sup> or
    • inside the edition statement, using the @designator attribute to preserve the edition number:
      <edition designator="3">3<sup>rd</sup></edition>
      
Volume Numbers: In BITS books, the volume number element (<volume>) is used only inside citations and not as part of book metadata. Inside citations (<mixed-citation> or <element-citation>), a volume number with ordinals can be:
  • inside the volume number: <volume>1<sup>st</sup><volume> or
  • outside the volume number inside the text of a mixed citation: <volume>1<volume><sup>st</sup>
The related <volume-id> element is used to record an identifier, such as a DOI, that describes an entire volume of a journal or series.