Uniform title main entries are used for several different categories of materials for cases where the employment of an author's name for the main entry is neither possible nor appropriate. The three primary types of materials for which uniform title main entries are devised include:

• religious works (e.g., the Bible, the Koran, the Talmud);
• anonymous works (particularly classics such as Beowulf, Chanson de Roland, Mother Goose, and the Three Little Pigs); and
• publications or productions such as serials, radio and television programs, motion pictures, etc.

The purpose of the uniform title is to provide access to different editions of a particular work, regardless of the variations of a title that may have been used. For example, the library patron interested in finding all the editions of Mother Goose tales will find that a wide variety of titles have been used, some of which don't even include the words "Mother Goose." Some of the titles utilize familiar phrases such as "To market, to market." Others are depicted by various languages. Without a common thread characterizing these editions, the patron may not find all of them.

In many cases, the uniform title is used as a main entry. However, it can also be employed as a subject heading (630 field), a uniform title added entry (730 field), or a series added entry (830 field).

The decision to use a uniform title is left to the cataloger. AACR2, Chapter 25, provides guidelines for devising uniform titles. Specifications for the searching, display, and filing of uniformtitles require many of the same considerations as those for other types of entries. One traditional approach to the use of a uniform main entry has consisted of leaving the actual title on the title page untraced. Given the relative ease with which entries can be computer generated and filed, catalogers are increasingly providing access by both uniform title and the title-page title.