Title

Definition: "The name given to the resource" (DC).
Obligation: Compulsory
Type of element: Free text

Entry guidelines note

When looking for the main title of a resource, the cataloguer should look at the source coding of the web page. If metadata headings are given, then the title that is displayed in the metadata should be recorded as the title of the resource. (NB metadata might also be contained in a separate file available through the web page.)

If there is no formal metadata, but there is a title described as such in the source coding, then this should be recorded as the title of the resource. Otherwise, some degree of discretion in determining the title must be used by the cataloguer.

The title should be recorded as it is given, preserving the original wording, order and spelling. Only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns should be capitalised. Initial articles from the title should be omitted, except where the article is an integral part of the name, as for The Register. (http://www.theregister.co.uk/) Information regarding the version or edition of the resource should be omitted at this stage and recorded separately for the Version element.

Acronyms and abbreviations should be catalogued as Alternative titles, unless they are an integral part of the name of the organisation/service which people would expect to see, and which the organisation is commonly known by. In this case, the acronym should be bracketed and put after the full name. For example, the resource at http://www-cacse.ucsd.edu/ would have the Title entry
"Center for Advanced Computational Science and Engineering (CACSE)"

Punctuation need not reflect the usage of the original. Subtitles should be separated from the title by colon, for example: "Radioactivity Basics - Integrated Environmental Management, Inc." is the title of the resource at http://www.iem-inc.com/prmbasic.html as it appears in the coding for the web page. This should be recorded as
"Radioactivity Basics : Integrated Environmental Management (IEM), Inc."

EEVL cataloguing conventions, as listed in the EEVL Manual and quoted below, should also be followed:

Corporate body headings

Use the correct and fullest name :
University of London not London University

Research groups / University Departments / Surbordinate Bodies:
Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Sheffield
Mobile Robot Laboratory at the College of Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology

Commercial sites

Use standard abbreviations in the names, without full stops.
Ltd not Limited
Inc not Incorporated

Titles with single letters

Do not use full stops, and leave a space between letters for initials etc
G Cussons Ltd
A J Langley Group plc
but
ABI Electronics Ltd
SKF Group

Avoid adding descriptive phrases to the title, except in the following cases - mailing lists, magazine / journal (where it is not obvious from the title), catalogue, software.
Example: geo-tectonics mailing list

Foreign Language Titles

If the foreign language resource has been translated into English, use the title in English and put the foreign language title as an alternative title. Otherwise, the language of origin should be used."

Note

These guidelines are adapted from the EEVL manual and RDN Cataloguing Guidelines: (http://www.rdn.ac.uk/publications/cat-guide/)