diff --git a/internal/library/scanner.go b/internal/library/scanner.go
index fc066b87..b4bb1b19 100644
--- a/internal/library/scanner.go
+++ b/internal/library/scanner.go
@@ -208,15 +208,33 @@ func (s *Scanner) resolveAlbum(ctx context.Context, q *dbq.Queries, artistID pgt
 		SortTitle: sortKey(title),
 		ArtistID:  artistID,
 	}
-	if year > 0 {
-		params.ReleaseDate = pgtype.Date{
-			Time:  time.Date(year, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC),
-			Valid: true,
-		}
+	if d, ok := releaseDateFromYear(year); ok {
+		params.ReleaseDate = d
+	} else if year != 0 {
+		// year=0 is the no-tag case; anything else getting rejected is a tag
+		// we couldn't trust (typo, OOB number, …). Log it so users can chase
+		// down the file but don't fail the album insert over a soft field.
+		s.logger.Warn("library scan: dropping invalid release year",
+			"year", year, "album", title)
 	}
 	return q.UpsertAlbum(ctx, params)
 }
 
+// releaseDateFromYear converts a tag-supplied year into a Postgres date,
+// returning ok=false if the year is outside what we'll accept. We're
+// deliberately strict (1..9999): Postgres' date type goes much wider, but
+// 5-digit years from ID3 tags are always garbage in practice and trigger
+// SQLSTATE 22008 (datetime field overflow) at insert time.
+func releaseDateFromYear(year int) (pgtype.Date, bool) {
+	if year < 1 || year > 9999 {
+		return pgtype.Date{}, false
+	}
+	return pgtype.Date{
+		Time:  time.Date(year, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC),
+		Valid: true,
+	}, true
+}
+
 // sortKey drops a leading "The " for sortable ordering. Non-English articles
 // (Los, Die, Les) can be added if users ask — keeping the rule obvious for now.
 func sortKey(s string) string {
diff --git a/internal/library/scanner_test.go b/internal/library/scanner_test.go
index ce653775..a6632dcf 100644
--- a/internal/library/scanner_test.go
+++ b/internal/library/scanner_test.go
@@ -16,6 +16,31 @@ import (
 	"git.fabledsword.com/bvandeusen/minstrel/internal/db/dbq"
 )
 
+func TestReleaseDateFromYear(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		in    int
+		ok    bool
+		label string
+	}{
+		{0, false, "missing tag"},
+		{-1, false, "negative"},
+		{1, true, "lower bound"},
+		{1999, true, "ordinary"},
+		{9999, true, "upper bound"},
+		{10000, false, "five digits"},
+		{99999999, false, "tag corruption"},
+	}
+	for _, c := range cases {
+		got, ok := releaseDateFromYear(c.in)
+		if ok != c.ok {
+			t.Errorf("%s: ok = %v, want %v", c.label, ok, c.ok)
+		}
+		if ok && (!got.Valid || got.Time.Year() != c.in) {
+			t.Errorf("%s: date = %+v, want year=%d", c.label, got, c.in)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 // TestScanner_Integration exercises walk → tag-parse → upsert → incremental
 // skip against a real Postgres. Gated on MINSTREL_TEST_DATABASE_URL.
 func TestScanner_Integration(t *testing.T) {