Number of Volumes as a Subtitle or Part of the Title Proper

Subtitles are considered to be other title information--that is to say, additional information that appears in conjunction with, and is subordinate to, the title proper of the resource. “Other title information can include any phrase appearing with title proper that is indicative of the character, contents, etc., of the resource or the motives for, or occasion of, its production, publication, etc.” (RDA 2.3.4.1).

“While designations and/or names of parts, sections etc. are not considered subtitles” (RDA 2.3.4.1; RDA 2.3.1.7) and “in general, supplying other title information is not required except for cartographic and moving image resources” (RDA 2.3.4.1), other title information is a core element for monographs in LC/PCC practice.

“Other title information that appears on the same source of information as the title proper is recorded” (RDA 2.3.4.3) ... “in accordance with the basic instructions on recording the titles“” (RDA 2.3.1).

If the subtitle merely states the number of volumes (NB, this is often in the format "in x volumes"), the cataloger should make it a subtitle if the title proper includes words indicating the genre of the work.

Examples (in MARC format):

245 00 Istorii︠a︡ ukraïnsʹkoho teatru : ǂb u trʹokh tomakh / ǂc Hanna Skrypnyk, holovnyĭ redaktor.

245 00 Azerbaycan naǧilları : ǂb 5 cildde / ǂc tertib edeni: M.H. Tahmasib.

245 00 Bashqort telenen︠g︡ akademik ḣu̇t︠h︡lege : ǂb un tomda = Академический словарь башкирского языка : в десяти томах / ǂc Filologii︠a︡ făndăre doktory, professor F.Gh. Khisamitdinova redakt︠s︡ii︠a︡ḣynda.

[These three titles translate as “The history of Ukrainian theater”, “Azerbaijani tales”, and “Academic dictionary of the Bashkir language”, respectively. Since these titles indicate the genre of the works in question, the phrases indicating number of volumes are entered as subtitles.]

If the title is a generic title, make the number of volumes a part of the title proper.

Examples (in MARC format):

245 10 Sŭchinenii︠a︡ v dvanadeset toma / ǂc Nedi︠a︡lko Ĭordanov.

245 10 Sobranie sochineniĭ v shesti tomakh / ǂc Leonid Andreev.

[The titles translate as “Works in twelve volumes” and “A collection of works in six volumes”, respectively: since these titles are generic, the phrase indicating number of volumes forms part of the title proper.]

Revised: Sept. 22, 2015