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Hi All, As with Sherman Clarke, recording this information has not bothered me, either. However, as Liz Miller points out, it could be used for ID theft, as could all the information we record. Since the students are placing this information in their vita (sometime online and publicly accessible) then it would appear we are not increasing their vulnerability, but the info we record is widely available via LC Authorities and is consolidated there in numerous records. My first reactions are that I think that in the future I will refrain from including details that are not needed to break a conflict: for example, place of birth. Birth date (routinely we only include year, or month/day/year) is usually going to be enough. I think the maiden name is something I'll generally omit as well. If the student hasn't published under that name by the time of the thesis, then she (or he) probably will not. Name changes will occur for some of them, sure, but the effect in our work would be minimal I think and is a small problem that we encounter occasionally anyway. It's an interesting question. It seems the exposure or risk is very small, but being pro-active for our patrons required, and it is also very little work once a policy decision is made. Other thoughts? Daniel -- Daniel CannCasciato Head of Cataloging Central Washington University Brooks Library *Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.* - - Isaac Asimov