Names of Authors

Author's names are stored in two forms: the Library of Congress form (Lastname, Firstnames, birthyear-deathyear) and the regular form with first name first.

If you are entering a new hymn text, for example, you might click the Add new Hymn text instance link. In the Text Persons section, you would type into the Name box the name exactly as it appears on the page. If there is a phrase such as "and others" given after an author's name, put the phrase in the Notes field.

In the authority box, start typing the name and select the Library of Congress form of the name from the list. This should add the person's authority ID to the field.

If you cannot find the name on the list then click on the "Add new person" link to Add a New Person. See "Adding a new text, tune, or person" under "Common Tasks" below. After adding the person to the database you should be able to type in their name in the authority field or type in their authority ID.

If a page in a hymnal gives birth/death dates for an author, include those dates in the "Name" field. The "Date" field is for the date of authorship of a text.