Documenting Your Collections
Info-Muse Network Documentation Guide

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Title (Identification)

Definition:

Observation:

• This is the title most widely used within the institution or the original title given by the artist, maker or designer or a title given by the curator.

Entry rules:

1. Enter the whole title; do not use abbreviations.
   Example

   	Title	Galacidalacidesoxiribunucleicacid (Homage to Crick and Watson)
   	and not
   	Title	Galacidala...

2. Do not underline the title and do not put it in quotation marks, unless they are part of the title. Respect the original spelling. Do not use "sic," as it would be considered part of the title.
   Example

   A print whose title is marked on the composition

   	Object Name	print
   	Title	La véritable Guillotine ordinaere/Ha, le bon soutien pour la Liberté
   	Cataloguer Remarks	Title in old French

3. "Untitled" can itself be a title, if this is what the artist named the piece.
   Example

   	Object Name	painting
   	Artist/Maker	McEwen, Jean
   	Title	Untitled

4. If this object is a work of art and has no title, enter "No title." It may be assigned a title, however. If the artist is living, you may settle on a title with him or her. If the artist is deceased, the curator may choose a title, following appropriate research and with respect for the work.
   Example

   A drawing of a fish by Jean-Philippe Dallaire, untitled

   	Object Name	drawing
   	Artist/Maker	Dallaire, Jean-Philippe
   	Title	The Fish

5. If the object is not part of a fine art collection and no title has been assigned to it, leave this field blank.
   Example

   	Object Name	candelabra
   	Artist/Maker	Amyot, Laurent
   	Title

6. A common object may have been designed and given a title by its artist or maker. If so, enter this information in this field.
   Example

   	Object Name	chair
   	Artist/Maker	Mies Van der Rohe, Ludwig
   	Title	Barcelona

7. Capitalize all words except articles, conjunctions of fewer than four letters, and prepositions of fewer than four letters.¹ For French titles, capitalize all words up to the first noun, if the title begins with a definite article or with a qualifying adjective or numeral; otherwise, capitalize the first word but not the following words.²
   Examples

   	Title	Rain in the North Country
   	Title	The Wind Beneath My Wings
   	Title	La Jeune Fille à l'écharpe rouge
   	Title	Une jeune fille à l'écharpe rouge

8. Proper names and personified names are naturally capitalized, in English and French titles.
   Examples

   	Title	The Life of St. Francis of Assisi
   	Title	Le Loup et l'Agneau

9. Even if some words appear all in capitals in the original title, capitalize only initial letters.
10. In titles containing hyphenated compounds, always capitalize the first element. Capitalize the second element if it is a proper noun or proper adjective or if it is as important as the first element.
    Example

    	Title	A History of Eighteenth-Century Literature

11. This field may not contain more than one entry.