What is a publishing date?

A publishing date tells you when something was first made available to the public. It could be the day a book was printed, the day an article was posted online, or the day a newspaper was printed.

Simple examples

• Book: The publishing date might be on the back of the title page or the copyright page. Example: "Published June 1, 2015."
• Website article: The date is often at the top or bottom of the article. Example: "Published: March 10, 2021."
• Newspaper or magazine: The date is usually on the front page or cover. Example: "April 4, 2024."

Where to look

• Books: check the copyright page (near the front) or the back cover.
• Websites: look near the article title or at the bottom of the page for "Published" or "Posted".
• Magazines/Newspapers: check the cover or the top of the first page.

Why the publishing date matters

• It tells you how new or old the information is.
• For facts that change (like news or science), newer is often better.
• When citing (naming) a source for schoolwork, you usually need the publishing date.

Things to notice

• Sometimes you see a "copyright" date — this is often the same as the publishing date, but not always.
• Web pages can show both "published" and "updated" dates. The updated date is when the page was changed later.
• Dates can look different: "June 1, 2015", "2015", or "2015-06-01".

Quick practice

Pick a book or a website. Can you find the publishing date? Tell someone the title and the date you found.

If you want, tell me the title of a book or a website and I can help you find its publishing date.