I really don't want the next 15 weeks to be all about this class I am taking but I just HAD to share this paragraph from my textbook.

"Precede the first element of each area, other than the first element of the first area or the first element of an area beginning a new paragraph, by a full stop, space, dash, space. When that element is not present in a description, precede the first element that is presented by a full stop, space, dash, space instead of the prescribed preceeding punctuation for that element." AACR2 (Anglo-American Cataloging Rules 2002 revision)

Holy cow it's a tech manual for libraries! I expect this kind of confusion in say, legal documents, anything coming out of Congress, etc. But the library.

Sigh.