The cover lies. The spine abbreviates. The dust jacket sells. Only the title page tells the truth — or at least, the version of the truth the publisher intended.
Why the Title Page?
In bibliographic description, the title page is the primary source of information. Not the cover, not the half-title, not the running header, not whatever the Amazon listing says. The title page.
This convention dates back centuries and exists for good reason: the title page is the most deliberate, most complete, and most authoritative statement of what a book is. It typically includes the full title, the author's name (as they wished to be identified), the publisher, and the place and date of publication.
When you catalog a book in Shelvd, every title field should reflect what appears on the title page.
Title
Enter the title as printed, including any punctuation. If the title page reads:
THE ANATOMY OF MELANCHOLY, What it is. With all the Kindes, Cavses, Symptomes, Prognostickes, and Seuerall Cvres of it.
...then that's the title. You may modernize capitalization, but keep the wording faithful.
Subtitle
If the title page has a clearly separated secondary title — often below the main title in smaller type — enter it in the Subtitle field. In Shelvd, the subtitle is separated from the title by a colon in the ISBD entry.
Series
If the title page (or verso) indicates the book belongs to a named series — "Penguin Classics," "Bibliothèque de la Pléiade," "Oxford World's Classics" — record it in the Series field, with the volume number in Series Number.
Original Title
For translations, record the original title in the Original Title field. This helps identify the work across editions and languages. A French translation of War and Peace should have "Война и миръ" (or its transliterated form) as the original title.
When the Title Page Lies
Sometimes the title page is wrong — a reprint claiming to be a first edition, a piracy attributing the work to the wrong author, a publisher who couldn't spell "Shakespeare." In these cases, record what the title page says, and use the Edition Notes field to clarify the truth. The catalog describes the object; the notes correct the record.
📖 Related on the blog: The Colophon, What the Brackets Mean