Citations are always important in genealogical research, but they can be problematic with ledgers and bound courthouse materials. Courthouse record books are usually not considered “published” and titles can sometimes be difficult to obtain after one has left. One good way to get that “title” is to take a picture of the spine or the cover of the book as that’s often where the title is written.
If I’m making copies from several books, I always take a picture of the spine and cover first, then make copies of specific pages. That way the time stamp on the images helps me know what came from what.
But ask before taking pictures from record books as some courthouses do not allow it.
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On regular books, the correct title is on the title page. If you look for a book in a library by the title on the spine or cover you may not be able to find it in the catalog under the title. I have seen books advertised by societies with a title like Cemeteries of _________ County, ________. When the book arrives the cover or title page, depending on the book, says Resting Places of our Ancestors. It may or may not mention that they are cemetery records of whatever county and state. That is the title a librarian would use to catalog the book. So also take a picture of the title page. That is the title that should be sourced.
You are correct that for regular books that were actually published one should use the actual title page to construct the source. As you mentioned for books of that type the cover’s “title” may be something shorter or “clever” which differs from what would be used to create card catalog entries.
Last week at our local library, I was doing research in the genealogy section when I spotted an anomaly. According to the title on the spine (created in-house by a label-maker, many years ago), the book was “Geological Records of _______County.” My first thought was that this locally-published monograph had been miss-shelved, and was on the wrong floor of the library. Then I looked at the title page. Of course, the actual title was “Genealogical Records of _____ County.” In the regular collection, spines, covers, and book jackets are not to be trusted! I usually photograph the cover (with spine and call #), the title page, and verso (back of the title page, where you will usually find the publication date.
Thanks for the tip! I would add to take that photo plus title page and verso before taking any other pictures. If practiced consistently then one can figure out the source of a photo of data once arriving home.