Contributor

Input guidelines:

Identifying the contributor.

• Use the resource as it displays to the user as the primary guide to determining the contributor. Examples of contributors include collector, donor, transcriber, printer, etc.
• If the resource is an unsigned or unmarked physical object or artwork with a reliably documented provenance, use the contributor name given in the documentation.  Record the source of the information in the Note element.
• Collector or donor names may be taken from documentation associated with the resource at the owning repository.
• If no statement of responsibility is present on the resource or its documentation, leave the contributor element blank.  

Using the metadata entry form.

• Use the dropdown list in the contributor 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 contributor 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 contributor information field.
• Multiple contributors may be recorded in multiple occurrences of the contributor field.  Place the contributors in the order in which they appear on the resource, but the most important contributor (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 contributor has more than three names, treat the additional names as the middle name. For example, Mary Smith McCrory Jones would be entered as Last: Jones First: Mary Middle: Smith McCrory.
  • If the contributor 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 a donor, 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 contributor, assign a contributor role from the dropdown list in the metadata entry form.  Contributor roles are defined in the controlled vocabulary document.
• Place any additional known information, formatted for public view, in the contributor information field.

Related elements.

• Input entities responsible for digitizing an existing resource in the Institution element instead of the contributor element.
• For the person, agency, or organization primarily responsible for creating the intellectual content of the resource, use the Creator element instead of the contributor element.  Some examples of creators are author, editor, sculptor, photographer, composer, etc.

Examples:

Personal (individual) names.

Contributor name:  [Last] David [First] C. [Middle] Dorman
Contributor role:  Collector
Contributor information: The Mary Smith McCrory Jones Collection was purchased by the University of Houston Libraries in 1970 from C. Dorman David.
Note: Contributor name and information come from printed finding aid accompanying the Mary Smith McCrory Jones Collection.

Contributor name:  [Last] Goin [First] Bouncer
Contributor role:  Collector
Contributor information:  Bouncer Goin is a local historian with a special interest in Cherokee settlement in the Aubrey, Texas area.

Contributor name:  [Last] Hartman [First] Cathy [Middle] Nelson
Contributor role:  Donor
Contributor information:  Cathy Nelson Hartman is Head of the Digital Projects Department at the University of North Texas Libraries and a Fellow of the Texas Center for Digital Knowledge.  Her postal address is: P.O. Box: 305190, Denton, Texas 76203-5190. She can also be reached by phone: (940) 565-3269, fax: (940) 565-2599, and e-mail: chartman@library.unt.edu.

Contributor name:  [Last] Jones [First] Mary [Middle] Smith McCrory
Contributor role:  Recipient
Contributor 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.

Contributor name:  [Last] Salzedo [First] Carlos
Contributor role:  Transcriber
Contributor information:  [Authorized from of name] Salzedo, Carlos, 1885-1961; [Interpretation of role] supposed transcriber.

Corporate (organization) names.

Contributor name:  Duer, Stump and Company
Contributor role:  Printer
Contributor 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.

Contributor name:  Texas.  Secretary of State.
Contributor role:  Donor
Contributor information:  State agency located in Austin, Texas.

Contributor name:  Unesco
Contributor role:  Donor
Contributor 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

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

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