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Metadata Input Guidelines: Title

Page Contents 16 minute read.

Element Name

Title

Definition

The name given to the resource.

Where Can the Title Information be Found?

Item Type Information Sources
For text
  • title page (use the title page unless there isn't one)
  • front cover
  • copyright page
  • spine of cover
For images
  • title written on the back of a photograph
  • captions
  • envelope, slip cover, or case
For maps
  • title caption on map
  • notes around the outside of the map
For music scores
  • title page
  • top of first page
  • front cover
For videos
  • title screen(s)
  • label on disc
  • container cover
For sound files
  • title on disc/cassette
  • container information
For computer files
  • title page/screen
  • title at top of document
  • title in HTML header

In some cases the title may come from accompanying or supplementary information.\

How Title Works in the Metadata Form

Parts:
1. Title qualifier – drop-down menu
2. Title – text field
Repeatable?
Yes - to include multiple titles, click ‘Add’ to repeat all field parts
Required?
Yes - a Main Title is required
Also see more information about required fields

How Should the Title be Filled in?

General Title Rules

  • Every record must have a Main Title, also called an “official title”
  • Some records may have multiple titles (see below, under “Special Titles” for more clarification about when to use other titles)
  • For each title, be sure to choose the appropriate qualifier from the controlled vocabulary
Guideline Example
  • Write out the title the way it appears
  • Do not put the call number, file name, or other identification numbers in the title
Reminiscences of the Terry Rangers
  • Capitalize the first word and proper nouns
  • Keep other capitalization the same as it is found on the item
  • If the title is taken from a catalog, copy the capitalization from the record
  • Use the same capitalization for all titles in a record unless there is a reason not to do so (e.g., authorized series titles)
Difficulties of a Mexican revenue officer in Texas
  • Change Roman numerals to Arabic numbers
    (Add a note with the Roman numerals)
  • Write out numbers through 100

(An alternate title can be added if the numbers are important to the title)
Title: Laws of the Republic of Texas, in two volumes. Volume 1
Note: "Vol. I."

Two Ladies in Beauty Shop
  • Write out abbreviations or acronyms

(An alternate title with the abbreviations may be added, or a display note for common abbreviations such as "vol.")
Main: Documents pertaining to the case of Eliza Miller vs. Texas & New Orleans Railroad Company, cause no. 547, 1902
Alternate: Documents pertaining to the case of Eliza Miller vs. T & NORR Co.
  • Separate titles and subtitles with a colon
Deaf Smith County Schools: 1893-2003
  • Commas may be used to separate long titles
  • Separate parts with periods if they are used in the item
Remains of Judge Baylor Re-Interred, Now Rests in Soil of Baylor Campus at Belton: Impressive Ceremonies Participated In by Leading Baptists of State. Houston Relatives Were in Attendance
  • It is preferred that titles include more than a personal name only (for portraits or items that do not have titles), e.g., "John J. Moore"
  • In cases where an item has been given a title that is only a proper name (except for books or published texts), create a more descriptive title in brackets (the original title can be an alternate or added title if it is important to include it)
[Photograph of Ronald D. Smith]

[Portrait of Susan R. Theodore]

[Obituary for l. M. Cummings]
If there is no title:
  • Use a title for the item found in a library catalog or similar resource (including OCLC Worldcat)
  • Create one; it must be enclosed in [square brackets] and should be both succinct and descriptive
[Calf-Roping in Groups at Cowtown Coliseum]

[Bus Transfer Ticket #020137]

[Certificate of Appointment of K.K. Legett as Delegate]
For some materials, we often use a standardized format, e.g.:
  • For letters: [Letter from {name} to {name}, {date}]
    • Separate correspondence information from date with a comma or dash
    • Write out dates to be "human readable" when adding them to titles
  • If the items are related to court cases: Documents pertaining to the case of {names/case name}, cause No. #, {date}
  • For clippings: [Clipping: {article title}]
  • For funeral programs: [Funeral Program for {full name}, {date of funeral}]
  • For invoice/receipt: [{Invoice/Receipt} for {{{item/summary}}}, {date}]
  • (For serials, see Special Titles below)
[Letter from John C. Brewer to Emma Davis - April 21, 1879]

Documents pertaining to the case of Garner Williams & Co. vs. J. E. Ennis, cause no. 507, 1867

[Clipping: Forced Sale!]

[Funeral Program for Cottrell Brackett, Jr., October 10, 2012]

[Invoice for Cooking Materials, May 18, 1894]
Standardized formats may be adjusted as needed to appropriately fit the item, e.g.:
  • If some information is unknown (generally omit) or if all of the usual details are unknown
  • Business or organizational correspondence (e.g., form letters) that may not have individual correspondents
  • If there are multiple items (such as a reply added to the bottom of a letter or multiple clippings on a sheet of paper)
  • To make titles more unique
[Letter from Betty Scrivner to her Mother]

[Correspondence Concerning a Marriage License]

[Front Page of 'The Washington Blade', August 4, 2000]

[Newspaper Clippings About Dr. May Owen and a TMA Meeting]

Special Titles

Does the item need multiple titles?

If... Add:
  • The title has alternate spellings, omissions, abbreviations, or acronyms
an alternate title
  • The item is in a foreign language
  • The item is a translation from another language
 a parallel title
  • The item has multiple versions of a title listed in different places

(for example, different titles on the title page, cover, and/or spine of a book)
an added title
  • The item is a serial publication

(multiple issues published under the same title including yearbooks, journals, magazines, etc.)

  • The item is a serial with a different title on the title page
  • The item is a serial without a numeric sequence number
a serial title

an added title (for the title on the title page)

a sort title
  • The item is part of a series

(items or objects with different titles that are related to one another)
a series title
  • The item is a single page/article from a larger collection of items
a series title
  • The item has also been published under other titles

(e.g., music pieces, Shakespeare's works, some serials)
a uniform title
Guideline Example
If the item is part of a serial
  • Formulate a standardized main title format which will the same for each issue/item
    • Include the title, volume/issue numbers, and dates in the main title
  • Add a serial title that represents the entire publication
  • Add the title from the title page as an "added title" when relevant



If the serial has had multiple titles over the full run
  • Use the serial title that matches the individual issue
  • A note can be added when necessary regarding former or later titles



If the serial has a title that will sort alphabetically instead of numerically/chronologically
  • Add a sort title that will order items
Main: Prickly Pear, Yearbook of Abilene Christian College, 1945
Serial: Prickly Pear
Added: The 1945 Prickly Pear

Main: Experiment Station Record, Volume 1, September 1889-July 1890
Serial: Experiment Station Record

Main: Chemical Literature, Volume 27, Number 1, Spring 1975
Serial: Chemical Literature
Note: Later volumes of this journal (Volume 27, Number 2 to present) are published under the title 'Chemical Information Bulletin'.


Main: Chemical Information Bulletin, Volume 27, Number 2, Fall 1975
Serial: Chemical Information Bulletin
Note: Earlier volumes of this journal (Volume 1, Number 1 through Volume 27, Number 1) were published under the title 'Chemical Literature'.


Main: Retrospect, Summer 2013
Serial: Retrospect
Sort: Retrospect 2013-22

Main: The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States, Fourth Congress, Second Session
Serial: The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States
Sort: Annals of Congress, Congress 4, Session 2
If the item is part of a series or part of a sub-collection*
  • Use the title on the item (or an appropriately created unique title)
  • Add a series title that represents the entire series
Main: Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, Front Cover
Series: Things in and about San Antonio

Main: [Glass with a picture of an oil well]
Series: Commemorative glasses
If the item is in a foreign language
  • Add a parallel title with the English translation (if known)
If the item is a translation into English
  • Add a parallel title with the original, foreign language title
  • If the translation is not included on the item, enclose the parallel title in [square brackets]
Main: Estado libre de Coahuila y Tejas
Parallel: [Free State of Coahuila and Texas]

Main: The Mexican Soldier, 1837-1847
Parallel: El Soldado Mexicano, 1837-1847
If the item title has abbreviations, acronyms or alternate spellings
  • Write out full words in the main title
  • Add an alternate title with the abbreviations
  • If the acronym is well-known it can be used in the main title with the fuller version in the alternate title
Main: Documents pertaining to the case of Eliza Miller vs. Texas and New Orleans Railroad Company, cause no. 547, 1902
Alternate: Documents pertaining to the case of Eliza Miller vs. T & NORR Co.

Main: FCC Record, Volume 12, No. 20, Pages 11370 to 11956, July 28-August 8, 1997
Alternate: Federal Communications Commission Record, Volume 12, No. 20, Pages 11370 to 11956, July 28-August 8, 1997
If a published item has multiple titles
  • Use the title on the primary title page
  • Include other titles (e.g., a title from the front cover, spine, or sub-section), if relevant, as added titles
If an item has multiple parts or sections
  • Create an inclusive title that describes the entire item
  • Include piece titles as added titles
Main: A Memorial and Biographical History of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone, Freestone and Leon Counties, Texas
Added: The Lone Star State

Main: Visiting people on a dairy farm.
Added: Cut out your own cow.

Main: [Maps of Canada]
Added: Quebec
Added: Ontario
If the same item has been published under multiple titles
  • Use the title on the item as the main title
  • Add a generic uniform title that represents all of them
Main: Six suites for violoncello solo
Uniform: Suites, violoncello, BMV 1007-1012

Main: 1980 census of population and housing. Census tracts. Abilene, Tex., standard metropolitan statistical area.
Uniform: Census of population and housing (1980). Census tracts.

*In The Portal to Texas History and the UNT Digital Library, serial and series titles show up as a facet used for narrowing search results, so adding a series title is one way to create a subset or grouping of items within an established collection. Also see Serials and Series for more information.

Other Examples

City directory
Main: Morrison & Fourmy’s General Directory of the City of Austin, 1893-94
Government publication
Main: Depository libraries: hearings before the Subcommittee on the Library of the Committee on Rules and Administration, United States Senate, Eighty-seventh Congress, second session, on S. 2029 and H. R. 8141, to revise the laws relating to depository libraries. March 15 and 16, 1962.
Untitled photograph
Main: [Look-out Tower at Fort Davis]
Magazine
Main: StarDate, Volume 39, Number 3, May/June 2011
Serial: StarDate
Military training materials
Main: Moisture and Clouds
Added: Programed Text AM-26, June 1971
Musical Score in French
Main: Nouvelles Poesies Morales sur Les Plus Beaux Airs de la Musique Francoise et Italienne avec la Basse.: Fables Choisies Dans le gout de M. De La Fontaine, Sur des Vaudevilles & petits Airs aisés à chanter, avec leur Basse & une Basse en Musette. Recueil I. 6 liv. broché.
Parallel: [New Moral Poems based on the Most Beautiful Songs of the French and Italian Music, with Bass: Fables Chosen according to the taste of M. De La Fontaine, based on Vaudevilles & little Airs to be sung, with [Basso continuo].]
Added: Nouvelles Poesies Spirituelles et Morales Sur Les Plus Beaux Airs de la Musique Francoise et Italienne, Avec la Basse. Recueil II.
Added: Nouvelles Poesies Morales sur Les Plus Beaux Airs de la Musique Francoise et Italienne avec la Basse. Recueil III.
Added: Nouvelles Poesies Morales sur Les Plus Beaux Airs de la Musique Francoise et Italienne avec la Basse. Recueil IV.
Added: Nouvelles Poesies Morales sur Les Plus Beaux Airs de la Musique Francoise et Italienne avec la Basse. Recueil V.
Added: Nouvelles Poesies Morales sur Les Plus Beaux Airs de la Musique Francoise et Italienne avec la Basse. Recueil VI.
Added: Nouvelles Poesies Morales sur Les Plus Beaux Airs de la Musique Francoise et Italienne avec la Basse. Recueil VII.
World War II newsmap
Main: Newsmap. Monday, June 14, 1943: week of June 3 to June 10, 196th week of the war, 78th week of U.S. participation
Added: The Making of a U.S. Bluejacket.
Hand-carved cross
Main: [Wooden Cross]
US Geological Survey map
Main: Map of the Woodbine Artesian Reservoirs of the Black and Grand Prairies of Texas including the Eastern and Western Cross Timbers
Letter
Main: [Letter from Jose Maria Viesca to Lorenzo de Zavala, April 14, 1828]
Yearbook
Main: The Swarm, Yearbook of Howard Payne University, 2005
Serial: The Swarm
Added: Building the Future, Howard Payne University 2005 Swarm, Volume 94, Brownwood, Texas
Legislative Journal
Main: Journal of the House of Representatives of the Regular Session, Volume 2, and First Called Session of the Fifty-Ninth Legislature
Serial: Journal of the House of Representatives, Texas Legislature
Uniform: Journal of the House of Representatives of the…session of the…Legislature of Texas.
Series: 59th Legislature of Texas
Sort: Journal of the House of Representatives of the State of Texas, Legislature 59, Regular Session, Volume 2
Added: Journal of the House of Representatives of the Regular Session of the Fifty-Ninth Legislature of the State of Texas, Volume 2
Added: Journal of the House of Representatives of the First Called Session of the Fifty-Ninth Legislature of the State of Texas
Plat Map
Main: K. K. Legett’s Subdivision of Lot Number 4 & a Part of Lot Number 5 of the Benjamin Austin Survey Number 92, Taylor County, Texas
Alternate: K. K. Legett’s Subdivision of Lot No. 4 & a Part of Lot No. 5 of the Benj. Austin Sur. No. 92, Taylor Co., Texas
Technical Report
Main: Fuel Cycle Program Progress Report: Eleventh Quarter, January-March 1963
Added: Fuel Cycle Program. A Boiling Water Reactor Research and Development Program: Eleventh Quarterly Progress Report, January-March, 1963
Serial: Fuel Cycle Program Progress Report
Sort: Fuel Cycle Program Progress Report, Quarter 11, 1963
Series: AEC research and development report
Series: Atomic Energy Commission Reports
Series: General Electric Company Atomic Power Reports
Added: General Electric Atomic Power Equipment Department Report GEAP-4215

Comments

Glossary of title types:

Code Type Definition
officialtitle Main Title The most appropriate title to represent the individual item
alternatetitle Alternate Title Reflects alternate spellings, terms, or omissions (including abbreviations, acronyms, and enumerations)
paralleltitle Parallel Title Used for items written in foreign languages or translations from a second language
serialtitle Serial Title Represents an entire serial publication
seriestitle Series Title Represents an entire series of separate but related items
uniformtitle Uniform Title Used when an item has been published under different titles
addedtitle Added Title Reflects additional titles or significant subsections

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