General Resources

There are a number of introductory title words that are droppable for preferred access points (in MARC, a 130 or a 240). They still need to be included in transcribed fields such as the title and statement of responsibility fields (in MARC, the 245 field).

The Hebraica Cataloging RDA Manual (HCM-RDA, 2014, revised 2019, page 49) instructs: 

In works for which the title proper begins with the word "Sefer," "Ḳuntres" or another comparable word, the introductory word is usually grammatically separable (sometimes described as "droppable") from the sense of the title. In such cases, the preferred title is held to consist of the title without the introductory word, as being the title "by which the work has become known" and by which it is commonly known in reference sources. (Frequently the title without the introductory word appears prominently in the work itself, often as the spine or running title.) If the preferred title appears in a 240 field, an identical 246 field ensures its searchability. Such a 246 is not required if the preferred title appears in a 130 field. The truncated examples given below are used only to demonstrate this situation.

100 1 Yagid, Avraham.

240 10 Naḥalat Yitsḥaḳ

245 10 Sefer Naḥalat Yitsḥaḳ / ‡c Avraham Yagid.

246 30 Naḥalat Yitsḥaḳ

130 0 Matsati maḳom.

245 10 Sefer Matsati maḳom. [here, no 246 title added entry is needed]

130 0 Bible. ‡p Genesis. ‡l Hebrew. ‡f 1985.

245 10 Sefer Be-reshit.

246 30 Be-reshit

When, however, the word "Sefer" is judged to be inseparable from what follows, essential to the meaning, it is not dropped from the preferred title. Examples: Sefer ha-bahir; Sefer Horodenḳah; Sefer Shlonsḳi; Sefer kis.

While the phrase "another comparable word" following "Sefer" and "Ḳuntres" in the HCM-RDA instruction provides catalogers with considerable leeway, the RAS Cataloging Committee agreed (meeting, June 16, 2022) that compiling a list of such terms will promote consistent practice in the profession and, significantly, a consistent shelflist.

"Droppable" introductory title words that were discussed by the committee include

Ḳovets

Ḳunṭres

Liḳuṭ

Maʼamar

Maḥberet

Sefer

Sheʼelot u-teshuvot or Shut (abbreviation for Sheʼelot u-teshuvot)  

Yalḳuṭ

Please reach out to Jasmin Shinohara or Aaron Taub if you would like to add words to this list.