Top-level Element: <titleInfo>
| Element | <titleInfo> |
|---|---|
| Definition | A word, phrase, character, or group of characters, normally appearing in a resource, that names it or the work contained in it. |
| Attributes | Common: Authority: authority; authorityURI; valueURI Language-related: lang; xml:lang; script; transliteration Linking: ID; IDREF; xlink:href; altRepGroup; nameTitleGroup Miscellaneous: displayLabel; altFormat; contentType; usage; supplied Specific: type; otherType; otherTypeAuth; otherTypeAuthURI; otherTypeURI |
| Subelements | <title> <subTitle> <partNumber> <partName> <nonSort> |
| Examples | EXAMPLES |
| Mappings | MAPPINGS |
Guidelines for Use
Titles are an extremely important access point for library resources and are frequently used in brief record displays to assist end users in deciding whether to investigate a resource further. In supplying a title, consider expectations of end users for naming of resources. Choice and format of titles should be governed by a content standard such as the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, 2nd edition (AACR2), Cataloguing Cultural Objects (CCO), Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS), or RDA, Resource Description & Access. Details such as capitalization, choosing among the forms of titles presented on an item, and use of abbreviations should be determined based on the rules in a content standard. One standard should be chosen and used consistently for all records in a set.
<titleInfo> is a container element that contains all subelements related to title information. Data content is contained in subelements. Do not include punctuation intended to delineate parts of titles that are separated into subelements of <titleInfo>.
If multiple titles are recorded, repeat <titleInfo><title> for each title. <titleInfo> is also repeated for each type attribute value.
The language of the title may be indicated, if desired, using the xml:lang or lang attributes.
While no specific MODS element is required, it is best practice that a MODS record should contain at least one <titleInfo> element with one <title> subelement. Other subelements of <titleInfo> are recommended when they apply. Additional <titleInfo> elements should be used to indicate other titles for the resource. When no title appears on the item being described, a meaningful <title> should be supplied.
The supplied attribute may be used to indicate this.
When recording authoritative titles, the authority attribute may be used whenever the type attribute is set to "uniform" and/or "abbreviated". Authority codes for "uniform" may be taken from the Name and Title Authority Source Codes; authority codes for "abbreviated" may be taken from the code list for Abbreviated Title Source Codes, both maintained by the Library of Congress. The authority attribute should not be used with titles having a type attribute of "translated" or "alternative" since these title types would not be represented in an authority file. If implementers need to link a name to a uniform title MODS provides the nameTitleGroup attribute, although this is not often applied in practice.
Specific Attribute Information
type
Identifies what type of title is recorded.
The following values may be used with the type attribute
- abbreviated - Title as abbreviated for indexing or identification.
- translated - Translation or transcription of the main title.
- alternative - Varying form of the title if it contributes to the further identification of the item.
- uniform - The uniform title used as a main entry in a bibliographic record. Used when a work has appeared under varying titles, necessitating that a particular title be chosen to represent the work.
For the primary title of the resource, do not use the type attribute.
otherType
The type of title when it is different from those values enumerated in the schema under type.
otherTypeAuth
The name of an authoritative list of terms for title types. (Supplied only if otherType is supplied, in which case the value of otherType is a member of that list.)
otherTypeAuthURI
The URI of an authoritative list of terms for title types. (Supplied only if otherType is supplied, in which case the value of otherType is a member of that list.)
otherTypeURI
A URI for the type.
Subelement: <title>
| Definition | A word, phrase, character, or group of characters that constitutes the chief title of a resource, i.e., the title normally used when citing the resource. |
|---|---|
| Attributes | Common: Language-related: lang; xml:lang; script; transliteration Specific: None |
| Subelements | None |
Guidelines for Use
Each element should follow the subelement for which it is appropriate (e.g., a part name or number may follow the title or the subtitle depending upon the situation). <namePart> subelement includes all parts of a title not covered by the other subelements of <titleInfo>.
Dates may be recorded here only if considered part of the title (e.g., a date in a uniform title). (Publication dates are included under <originInfo>.)
For parallel titles (i.e., equivalent titles in different languages), use separate <titleInfo><title> elements with type attribute equal to "translated" for each parallel title.
For non-collective titles by the same author (i.e., separate titles with no inclusive title for the collection), use separate <titleInfo><title> elements with no type attribute.
Subelement: <subTitle>
| Definition | A word, phrase, character, or group of characters that contains the remainder of the title information after the title proper. |
|---|---|
| Attributes | Common: Language-related: lang; xml:lang; script; transliteration Specific: None |
| Subelements | None |
Guidelines for Use
<subTitle> is used when it is desired to include the information as a separate element. Alternatively, the subtitle may be included as part of <title>.
When using the <subTitle> element, do not include punctuation at the end of the <title> element intended to delineate the title from the subtitle.
Subelement: <partNumber>
| Definition | A part or section number of a title. |
|---|---|
| Attributes | Common: Language-related: lang; xml:lang; script; transliteration Specific: None |
| Subelements | None |
Guidelines for Use
Use <partNumber> to describe the enumeration-type designation of a section of the object (for example, an episode number or an audio or video clip of a digital item).
<partNumber> may follow <title> or <subTitle> as appropriate.
When using the <partNumber> subelement, do not include punctuation at the end of the preceding subelement intended to delineate the part number from previous parts of the title.
Multiple parts of an item should appear in separate MODS records or <relatedItem> elements.
Subelement: <partName>
| Definition | A part or section name of a title. |
|---|---|
| Attributes | Common: Language-related: lang; xml:lang; script; transliteration Specific: None |
| Subelements | None |
Guidelines for Use
Use <partName> to describe the section or division titles of an object (for example, a chapter title, episode name, or an audio or video clip).
Multiple <partName> elements may be used in a single <titleInfo> element to describe a single part with multiple hierarchical levels (see the Bible example below). However, multiple parts of an item should appear in separate MODS records or <relatedItem> elements.
When using the <partName> subelement, do not include punctuation at the end of the preceding subelement intended to delineate the part name from previous parts of the title.
Subelement: <nonSort>
| Definition | Characters, including initial articles, punctuation, and spaces that appear at the beginning of a title that should be ignored for indexing of titles. |
|---|---|
| Attributes | Common: Language-related: lang; xml:lang; script; transliteration Specific: xml:space |
| Subelements | None |
Guidelines for Use
<nonSort> begin and end tags surround the nonfiling text which should not be regarded in sorting. It is equivalent to the technique in MARC 21 that uses control characters to surround data disregarded for sorting. It is used for the same purpose as the non-filing indicator value that indicates the number of characters disregarded for sorting.
Punctuation may or may not be included within the non-sort value depending upon whether it is part of the sorting or non-sorting data. For instance, "The" as an initial article is input with a space following the characters, while other data might not require a space (e.g. "L'").
<nonSort>The </nonSort><title>Trial</title>
<nonSort>L'</nonSort><title>Enfant</title>
Specific Attribute Information
xml:space
Specifies the handling of white space characters within nonSort.
The following value may be used with this attribute:
- default - default white-space processing
- preserve - preserves all white spaces
EXAMPLES
<title>"wintermind"</title>
<subTitle>William Bonk and American letters</subTitle>
<title>man who would be king</title>
<title>homme qui voulut être roi</title>
<title>Olympics</title>
<subTitle>a history</subTitle>
<partNumber>Part 1</partNumber>
<partName>Ancient</partName>
<partName>O.T.</partName>
<partName>Exodus</partName>
<partNumber>1. Abt. Originale</partNumber>
<partNumber>Reihe B</partNumber>
<partName>Hygiene. Krankenhaushygiene. Betriebshygiene, präventive Medizin</partName>
MAPPINGS
MARC Mapping (Bibliographic)
See MARC Mapping to MODS for the <titleInfo> element.
Dublin Core Mapping
See MODS to Dublin Core Metadata Element Set Mapping.
Last Updated: October 20, 2022