NACO: E-mailing Authors/Publishers
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Princeton University Cataloging Documentation

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E-mailing authors/publishers

When information is not available from the item in hand to break a conflict between two personal names, consider e-mailing the author or the publisher for information to break the conflict.

E-mail the publisher for a birth date or middle name or initial, or to get the author's e-mail address.

E-mail the author for a birth date or middle name or initial.

Send your request for information one time only, to avoid the appearance of harassment. If you receive no reply within a reasonable amount of time, make the name non-unique.

Sample e-mail messages:

To a publisher:

I am a cataloger at Princeton University Library and I am cataloging "A great book" by Jane Doe. Because there is another Jane Doe in the Library of Congress name authority file, I need additional information to distinguish the two people.

Can you provide a date of birth or middle name or initial for the author of "A great book", or forward my message to her so she can choose what she wants me to know?

This information will be used to establish a national authority record for Jane Doe's name and will set the form of her name used on all bibliographic records created by libraries in the U.S. and other countries.

Thank you for your help.

Your Name Here
Catalog Division
Princeton University Library


To an author:

Dear Mr. Jones,
I am a cataloger at Princeton University Library, and I am cataloging "Your new novel". Because there is another David Jones in the Library of Congress name authority file (author of "Technical stuff", 1984), I need additional information to distinguish you from the other David Jones. Will you provide your date of birth or middle name or initial?

This information will be used to establish a national authority record for your name and will set the form of your name used on all bibliographic records created by libraries in the U.S. and other countries.

Thank you for your help.

Your name here
Catalog Division
Princeton University Library