0C. Chief source of information (title page)
0C1. The chief source of information for a publication other than a broadsided or a single sheet (see 1F ) is the title page , or, if there is no title page, the source from within the publication that is used as a substitute for it. If information traditionally given on the title page is given on two facing pages or on pages on successive leaves, with or without repetition, treat these pages as the title page.
0C2. If the publication has more than one title page, choose one as the basis of the description according to the following guidelines, applying the first applicable criterion:
a) If the title pages present the publication in different aspects (e.g., as an individual item and as part of a multipart item), prefer the one that corresponds to the aspect in which the publication is to be treated.
b) If the publication is in more than one volume, each of which has a title page, use the title page in volume one (or the lowest numbered volume if volume one is not available).
c) If the publication is in one volume and the chief difference between multiple title pages is imprint date, choose the one with the latest date.
d) If the publication is in one volume and the chief difference between two title pages is that one is letterpress and the other is engraved, choose the letterpress title page.
e) If the publication has the same title page in more than one language or script, choose the title page that is in the language or script of the main part of the publication.
f) If the two title pages face one another, choose the right-hand one (the one on the recto of its leaf).
g) If two or more title pages follow one another, choose the first one.
Indicate in a note the title page chosen as the chief source of information if other than the usual title page, or , in a multivolume monograph, if it is other than the title page of volume one.
0C3. For publications issued without a title page (and for publications issued with a title page when the title page is missing and no reliable description of it is available), if a single title proper is available in a single source within the publication, use this source as the title page substitute. If the same title proper is available in more than one source within the publication, choose as the title page substitute the source that supplied the most additional title page information. If different titles, or differing forms of the same title appear within the publication, select one as the title proper and use its source as the title page substitute. If for any reason this last mentioned provision does not settle the issue , choose as the title page substitute one of the following, according to the order given:
a source within the preliminaries or the colophon
a source elsewhere within the publication
a source anywhere
Indicate in a note the source chosen as the title page substitute. Hereafter in these rules, "title page" means "title page or title page substitute."
See also:
