Title Proper. Books

The following information is primarily related to the development of MARC records for book titles which are not main entries. Title tags include MARC Tags 20X-24X. For complete information on these tags, see MARC Bibliographic Records from the Library of Congress. This page includes links to the Follett MARC Tags record information which provides specific details on individual fields. Use the links to learn more about individual MARC tags, indicators and other relevant information.

Chief Source of Information AACR2R specifies the chief sources of information for ascertaining the title proper for various media. A general rule of thumb for all media will be chose the title from the object itself. For books, the title as entered on the title page is preferred as title proper. Titles in different forms may also appear in a book, such as a title on the spine of the book. The cataloger makes added entries for these titles, as indicated in the discussion below.

Title and title related fields include title proper, subtitles, general materials designation, and statement of responsibility.

Capitalization Capitalize only the first word of the title unless it includes proper names which are also capitalized. Ex. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
245 14 The adventures of Huckleberry Finn

See the following discussion on the use of indicators 1 & 2 on the Tag 245.

Filing Rules. Indicator 2, MARC Tag 245 If the title begins with a, an or the, you need to check indicator 2 on MARC Tag 245. Indicator 2 tells the computer how many nonfiling characters to read, including spaces, before it begins alphabetical filing. Ex. The wind in the willows. Set indicator 2 to 4 [t + h + e + 1blank is 4 nonfiling characters.] You will need to know what your software does as default on this indicator since some software automatically adjusts for a, an and the. The equivalents in other languages should be handled the same, ex. Spanish el. In the following example for a title that is not a main entry, the MARC Tag, without ISBD punctuation, would look like this:
245 14 a|The wind in the willows

MARC Tag 245. Indicator 1 If you have an author as the main entry, then indicator 1 on MARC Tag 245 should be a one (1). This tells the computer to enter the title as an added entry.
245 14 a|The wind in the willows

Title Entry Enter the title exactly as it appears on the title page or other chief source of information used. Do not add any words, etc. If the author's name appears as part of the title [usually indicated by possessive case], enter the title as it appears on the title page. Ex. Inez Ramsey's Witty Words. See example below for Tag 245 entry. Make an added entry, MARC Tag 246 Varying Form of Title, for the shorter title, Witty Words:
245 10 a|Inez Ramsey's witty words
246 30 a|Witty words

Parallel Titles. Second Language Titles An item may have more than one title on the title page. This is especially true of foreign language books. Ex. Friends from the Other Side; Amigos del Otro Lado is the title given on the title page. [Note that the first word of the parallel Spanish title is capitalized on the MARC record]. The MARC Tag 245 when the parallel title is in a second language would look like this:
245 10 a|Friends from the other side =
b|Amigos del otro lado
The parallel title in Spanish is included in subfield b. In addition, the cataloger would enter an added entry for the title, Amigos del otro lado under MARC Tag 246, [Varying Form of the Title]
246 31 a|Amigos del otro lado

Other Parallel Titles Other parallel titles are cataloged in 245 as in the following example for Hans Brinker, or, The Silver Skates.
245 10 a|Hans Brinker
b|or, The silver skates
246 30 a|Silver skates
Note that under tag 246 the article "the" is not entered as the first word. Under Tag 246 do not include initial words: a, an, the. Check the 246 link for the correct indicators.

Other Forms of Title Different forms of the title may appear on an item. An example, spine title is Webster's Dictionary; proper title from the title page is New Concise Webster's Dictionary. MARC Tag 245 would be for the title proper.
245 10 a|New concise Webster's dictionary
Under MARC Tag 500, the cataloger may enter: Spine title: Webster's dictionary.
The cataloger will need to use MARC Tag 246 as a means of making the spine title searchable. If the cataloger has made a MARC Tag 500 note, the entry under MARC Tag 246 would be:
246 18 a|Webster's dictionary
Explanation: Tag 246 indicator 1 is 1 [with note, title added entry], indicator 2 is 8 [spine title], subfield a| [title proper/short title].

Still More Title Variations
Titles which have numbers or other characters. Ex. Title is: Super Solvers Gizmos & Gadgets! Would you believe?
245 10 a|Super solvers gizmos & gadgets!
246 a|Super solvers gizmos and gadgets!
246 a|Gizmos & gadgets!
246 a|Gizmos and gadgets!

With a title with numbers, as 8 on a Role
245 10 a|8 on a role
246 a|Eight on a role

MARC Tag 246 Other forms of title will be handled as above using Tag 246. The exception is for works which have entries in the 505 Contents Field. Information on contents of a work entered in Tag 505 are given added entries through the MARC Tag 740 Added Entry--Uncontrolled Related/Analytical Title. Ex. You have a collection of short stories, Best Short Stories which includes the individual short stories, Running Time, Hear the Children, Stop the Ball and Hello, George. You want to be able to search the catalog for the short stories by title. Your entries would look like this:
245 10 a|Best short stories
505 0 a|Running time -- Hear the children -- Stop the ball -- Hello, George.
740 02 a|Running time.
740 02 a|Stop the ball.
740 02 a|Hear the children.
740 02 a|Hello, George.
On Tag 740, indicator 1 is 0 [number of nonfiling characters] and indicator 2 is 2 [analytical entry], subfield a| is for uncontrolled related/analytical title information.

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