Good points, Gary. Here at UH we do not try to have authority records for all our thesis authors; we would like to  have authority records for them, if we see that there are alternate names requiring cross references, or are aware of conflicts, but we do not do the authority work even for those names in all cases.

My impression is that the authorized form in an authority record is based on usage (the form found in actual bibliographic items). For most theses, that is the form found on the thesis, often the only work ever “published” by the author. So that is the authorized form to use. If we learn that the author has a “preferred” form that is different, a cross reference can be made from that to the authorized form, but will not be the authorized form until other works are published with that form, at which point the authority record can be changed.

We are moving (slowly) to EDTs. I hope that required information about the author, including a birth date, will be included, but do not know if that will be the case.

Jack Hall

Manager of Cataloging Services

Linguistics Librarian

University of Houston Libraries

Houston, TX 77204-2000

phone: 713 743 9687

fax: 713 743 9748

email: [log in to unmask]

From: Program for Cooperative Cataloging [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Gary Oliver
Sent: Tuesday, October 05, 2010 9:04 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [PCCLIST] Theses name hdgs.(headings) -- birthdates?

Mr. Hall and others

As an aside, I wonder if the old prescription to use a full, formal name in TDs and ETDs is loosening?

My institution's policy is full legal name.

I am amazed at the number of institutions that create authority records for authors of theses or dissertations.  Just last week I made a duplicate authority record for a speaker at an annual lectureship series at my institution because his preferred usage was radically different from the required full legal name required by the degree granting institution.  I never imagined that an authority record would have been made for an author whose only work was a thesis or dissertation.

I made an appointment with the assistant to the graduate dean to ask if a blank could be put on the library reproduction permission form that asks for the preferred name.  The assistant completely understood the problem because the name by witch everyone knows her is a nickname.  She thought it was a good a idea.  So beginning with the next round of theses and dissertations, I will be making authority records for our graduates, based on their preferred usage.

I appreciate hearing all this from all of you.

Gary Oliver
Abilene Christian University
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