Creator

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Input guidelines:

Identifying the creator.

• Use the resource as it displays to the user as the primary guide to determining the creator. Examples of creators include author of a text, photographer, musician or musical group performing a musical piece, organization that generates documents, etc.
• If a statement of responsibility cannot be found, but the resource is a component of an official organizational web page or server, use the name of that organization as the creator.
• If the resource is an unsigned or unmarked physical object or artwork with a reliably documented provenance, use the creator name given in the documentation.  Record the source of the information in the Note element.
• If no statement of responsibility is present on the resource or its documentation, leave the creator element blank.

Using the metadata entry form.

• Use the dropdown list in the creator name field of the metadata entry form to select "individual" for a personal name or "organization" for a corporate name.  Then click the "expand" icon to open the relevant portion of the form.

Formulating the creator name.

• If possible, consult an authority file such as Library of Congress Authorities or a locally developed utility for determining the correct form of the name.
• Place alternate forms of the name and birth and death dates associated with the name in the creator information field.
• Multiple creators may be recorded in multiple occurrences of the creator field.  Place the creators in the order in which they appear on the resource, but the most important creator (if there is one) should occur first.
• Input each section of a personal name in the metadata entry form:  last name, first name (or initial if that is all that is known), middle name (or initial if that is all that is known). 
  • If the first and middle names are not known, enter just the last name.
  • If the creator has more than three names, place the additional names in the middle name.  For example, Mary Smith McCrory Jones would be entered as Last: Jones  First:  Mary  Middle:  Smith McCrory. 
  • If the creator has a hyphenated last name, include the entire string in the last name.  For example, James A. Donahue-Smith would be entered
    as Last:  Donahue-Smith  First:  James  Middle: A.
• Input corporate names in the "organization name" box of the metadata entry form. Corporate names should be listed in hierarchical order, with the highest level agency or body at the beginning and the lowest at the end.  Separate the elements of the hierarchy with periods.  If a hierarchy is unclear, record the name as it appears on the resource. Preface names of government agencies, with the name of the country or state.
• In the case of a long group or organization name that includes subordinate units, the name may be shortened by eliminating some of the hierarchical parts not considered necessary for uniquely identifying the body in question. For example, to enter the CIA as an author, use the form of the name as given in Library of Congress Authorities, United States. Central Intelligence Agency instead of the full hierarchical name United States. National Security Council. Central Intelligence Agency.
• Names of other organizations (e.g. non-government or single level bodies) should follow the form used in the resource.

Providing additional description.

• For each creator, assign a creator role from the dropdown list in the metadata entry form.  Creator roles are defined in the controlled vocabulary document.
• Place any additional known information, formatted for public view, in the creator information field.

Related elements.

• If the creator and the publisher are the same, repeat the name in the Publisher element.
• Individuals or organizations with lesser responsibility for creation of the intellectual content of the resource should be recorded in the Contributor element instead of the creator element. Some examples of contributors are collector, donor, secondary editor, etc.

Examples:

Personal (individual) names.

Creator name: [Last] Bentley [First] Henry [Middle] Lewis
Creator role:  Author
Creator information:  [Authorized form of name] Bentley, H. L. (Henry Lewis)

Creator name:  [Last] Jones [First] Mary [Middle] Smith McCrory
Creator role:  Correspondent
Creator information:  [Authorized form of name] Jones, Mary Smith McCrory, 1819-1907.  [Variant name] Mary Jones.  [Biographical information] Wife of the last president of the Republic of Texas.

Creator name:  [Last] Kleine [First] William [Middle] C.
Creator role:  Artisan
Creator information:  [Biographical information] W. C. Kleine was a furniture maker and realtor working in Gonzales, Texas around 1907.  His historic home stands at 620 College Street, Gonzales, Texas.
Note: Creator name taken from original bill of sale accompanying the furniture.

Creator name:  [Last] Koch [First] Augustus
Creator role:  Artist
Creator information:  [Authorized form of name] Koch, Augustus, fl. 1871-1880.

Creator name:  [Last] Marable [First] Matthew [Middle] M.
Creator role:  Photographer
Creator information:  [Biographical information] Born 1854 in Georgia.  Worked as photographer in Pilot Point, Texas in late 19th Century.  This information comes from: Haynes, David, Catching Shadows: A Directory of Nineteenth-Century Texas Photographers, Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1993.

Corporate (organization) names.

Creator name:  Duer, Stump and Company
Creator role:  Photographer
Creator information:  Tax records indicate the company operated in Collin County, Texas in 1873.  Additional dates of operation are not known.  Duer may be W. T. Duer.  This information comes from: Haynes, David, Catching Shadows: A Directory of Nineteenth-Century Texas Photographers, Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1993.

Creator name:  Texas.  Secretary of State.
Creator role:  Author
Creator information:  State agency located in Austin, Texas.

Creator name:  Unesco
Creator role:  Author
Creator information: [Variant forms of name] U.N.E.S.C.O.; United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization; Organisation des Nations Unies pour l'éducation, la science et la culture

Creator name:  U.S.  Navy Department.  Naval History Division.
Creator role:  Author
Creator information:  Federal agency located in Washington, D.C.

Creator name:  University of North Texas.  School of Library and Information Sciences.
Creator role:  Author
Creator information:  Located in Denton, Texas.  Program accredited by the American Library Association.  Web site http://www.unt.edu/slis/ .