One way:

If your data is in column A starting in row 2 then in any unused column
in row 2 enter the formula:
=IF(LEFT(A2,4)="The ",MID(A2,5,256),
IF(LEFT(A2,2)="A ",MID(A2,3,256),
IF(LEFT(A2,3)="An ",MID(A2,4,256),A2)))

Copy this down as far as needed and then select all your data and sort
on this new column.

Hope this helps
Rowan

jds217 wrote:
Hi ...

I work in a public library and frequently export lists of books from
our online catalog to Excel, so that I can manipulate the data in
various ways.

My problem in sorting in Excel is this: Our library catalog excludes
words like "The" "A" or "An" at the beginning of a title when sorting.
Excel, however, does not.

Is there any way I can sort on a field in Excel and have it ignore
certain words at the beginning of a string?

Thanks!