This file is used to control the way in which author names are handled by the various programs. In particular:
The basic format of a record is:
primary name~type~description~secondary name(s)~dates~source(s) of information~conditional flags
where:
The record types fall into two categories:
Note that record type 70 is a special case that probably should be a major type but, for pragmatic reasons discussed below, currently isn't.
Note also that, in the US, the file is named PSEUD.ALL and contains a number of additional, automatically-generated, record types which are used by the US programs.
There are currently eight major record types:
This is the core record type and defines the way in which the author's name will be displayed in the indexes (effectively the "official" name). In this case the description field contains the official name and comes in one of three styles:
- omitted completely: this means that the primary name is used instead
- specified but with a leading space: this means that the data in the description field should be used instead of the primary name
- specified without a leading space: this means that the primary name should be used but the data in the description field should be appended to it
Further details of how the description field should/may be specified are given below.
For this data type, the secondary name(s) field should not be used and the dates field (if specified) contains the author's dates as discussed below.
If an author wrote under multiple, legal, names then a 00 record should be used for the most common/well-known name with alternate names listed on 08 records.
This record type is used to consolidate variant forms of an author's name into a single entry in the author index. This should only be used where the variances are small (e.g. "Joe Haldeman" and "Joe W. Haldeman" as mentioned above)—if the author's surname or first names are completely different then it should be treated as a pseudonym (or married name as appropriate). The description should contain the text "converts to: ", the secondary name(s) the standardised version of the name (i.e. the one specified as primary name in the associated 00 record) and the dates should be blank.
A particular instance of this consolidation is where an author originates in a country that doesn't use the Roman alphabet (e.g. Russia or China) and where there have been multiple transliterations of their name into the Roman alphabet. In this case, a 00 record should be created for the most common (or most authoritative) transliteration with a 90 record listing the other possibilities and 04 records to consolidate all the variations (possibly with 25 records to direct the user to the appropriate entry), as in:
Belayev, Alexander~00~~~(1884-1942)~
Belayev, Alexander~90~Name also given as Aleksandr Beliayev, Aleksandr Beliaev, and Alexander Belyaev.~
Belyaev, Alexander~25~see under~Belayev, Alexander~This record type is also used to "force" a particular ordering in the author indexes. Thus, for example, convention suggests that "Ady, Mrs. Henry" should appear under "Ady, H" rather than "Ady, M" so an 04 record is used to translate "Ady, Mrs. Henry" to "Ady, Henry, Mrs." and the associated 00 record uses the description field to translate it back again. Similarly, convention dictates that an author who has a surname and honorific but no first name (such as "Craik, Mrs.") should be listed at the beginning of the list of authors with that surname rather than treat the honorific as a first name. This is achieved by using an 04 record to translate "Craik,␢Mrs." to "Craik,␢␢Mrs." (with an 00 record to translate it back again) and the doubled space ensures the entry is in the correct place.
This record type is used to handle "common" mistakes in the way an author name is represented so as to ensure they are handled correctly in the indexes. The secondary name(s) contains the corrected version of the name, the dates should be blank, and the description field contains a flag that starts ERR which defines the type of error it is. Currently supported types are:
- ERR_TYP: Common typographical error for an author's name (e.g. Talmadge Powell instead of Talmage Powell). These should be corrected in the source data file with a note added to say the name was given incorrectly (as discussed in the style guide).
- ERR_CAP: This handles "capitalisation errors", particularly with regard to surname prefixes such as "de" and "van" (e.g. "Du Chalieu, R." instead of "du Chalieu, R."). These should simply be corrected in the source data file without comment.
- ERR_STR: This handles "structural errors" where a name might be converted to internal format in various ways (e.g. "de Ford, Miriam Allen" instead of "deFord, Miriam Allen "). These should simply be corrected in the source data file without comment.
Note that, if a name format contains both capitalisation and structural errors a pair of ERR_CAP and ERR_STR records will be used with the former converting to a name format that may be the primary name for an instance of the latter.
Thisrecord type is used to link one legal name of an author (specified as the primary name) to the core name for the author (specified as the secondary name). Typically the dates field should be left blank, but may be used to specify the period during which the name was used. The description should be one of:
- "maiden name of" when an author is better known under their married name
- "married name of" when an author is better known under their maiden name (or under a name from a different marriage)
- "former name of" when an author changed their name and is better known under their later name
- "later name of" when an author changed their name and is better known under their earlier name
- "given name of" when an author is better known under a different name (such as a title or a working name)
Note that, in all cases, these records are only necessary if the author published under both names (otherwise name changes can be documented in the 00 records with cross-references via 25 records) and will only appear in the indexes themselves if the index contains data under both names.
11: Pseudonym for unknown author(s)
This is used when the primary name is known to be a pseudonym, but the real author's name is unknown. The description should contain the text "pseudonym", the secondary name(s) should be blank and the dates field should either be blank or should contain floreat dates. A 90 record may be used to give further information on the pseudonym.
This is used when the primary name is known (or believed) to be a pseudonym of one or more (known) authors. The description should normally contain the text "pseudonym of" with the author name(s) listed in the secondary name(s)" field. Typically the dates field should be left blank, but may be used to specify floreat (or even "fake") dates for the pseudonym as discussed below. If there is some doubt about the attribution, the description may contain either "probably a pseudonym of" or "possibly a pseudonym of", depending on the degree of uncertainty. A 90 record may be used to give further information on the pseudonym.
Note that, if there are multiple authors, this record type is only used if the pseudonym was only ever used by the authors writing together. If the pseudonym was sometimes used singly and sometimes jointly by the authors then a type 15 record should be used instead.
This is used when the primary name was used by a variety of authors, typically writing for a particular "house". The description should contain the text "house pseudonym", the secondary name(s) may, optionally, be used to specify the names of authors known to have written under the house name, and the dates field should either be blank or should contain floreat dates. A 90 record may be used to give further information on the pseudonym.
If there is some doubt about whether a name is or is not a house name then a 00 record should be used instead with a 90 record explaining that the name might be a house name.
This is used when the primary name is used by two or more authors, either singly or in collaboration. The description should contain the text "joint pseudonym of" with the author name(s) listed in the secondary name(s) field, and the dates field should either be blank or should contain floreat dates. A 90 record may be used to give further information on the pseudonym.
There are nine supplementary record types:
This record type is only used with core name records (types 00) for which real dates have been specified when it is desirable (for validation reasons) to specify an alternate set of floreat dates corresponding to the dates the author was actually published. The most common cases where this is used are:
For this record type only the date field is valid and it must be specified, as a floreat date, as discussed below.
This record type may be used with pseudonym and alternate name records (types 08, 11, 12, 13, or 15) where multiple, similar, variants of a pseudonym/alternate name are used which need to be consolidation in the author index (e.g. "R.S. Smith" and "Robert S. Smith" might be consolidated as "R(obert) S. Smith" rather than have two separate entries. For this record type only the description field is valid and it must be specified, in the same format as for 00 records as discussed below.
This is typically used to ensure that different authors with the same name (i.e. those with a numeric suffix, as discussed in the section on author names) are sorted into chronological order rather than just by the order of their numeric suffix - thus allowing "new" authors to be added at the end of the list even if they flourished before others of the same name. The description should contain the text "sort as" with the "sort name" listed in the secondary name field, and the dates field should be blank. Thus, for example, we might have:
Smith, John #1~00~~~(1910-1980)~
Smith, John #2~00~~~(1950- )~
Smith, John #2~07~sort as: ~Smith, John #3~
Smith, John #3~00~~~(1945- )~
Smith, John #3~07~sort as: ~Smith, John #2~In exceptional cases this type may also be used to define how a non-standard name should be sorted.
There should at most one 07 record for each major record, and the secondary name must not duplicate the primary name of another major record unless that is also redirected with an 07 record.
Note that this type has not yet been implemented.
This is used to link various names used by one author when the "real" author name is unknown. The description should contain the text "also as" with the associated author name listed in the secondary name(s) field, and the dates field should be blank. Typically these records will stand alone, but they may be associated with 00 records if some information is known about the author.
Note that, strictly speaking the link will be generated from the secondary name(s) to the primary name but as the records must always be specified in identical pairs it doesn't really matter. Note also that the links will only be displayed in an index if the index contains data for both primary and secondary names.
This is used to link a name that a user might look up in the index to the name it is actually listed under and is typically used for names like "Father Gregory" where it is unclear where it will be indexed, or for the birth name of authors who only ever published under a married name (or similar). The description should contain the text "see under" with the associated author name listed in the secondary name(s) field, and the dates field should be blank.
The link will be generated from the primary name to the secondary name and will only be displayed in an index if the index contains data for the secondary name. There should never be any data in the index for the primary name—if there is, then an alternative record type (typically 08) should be used.
This is used to link one author to another where there is a possible link, described in an associated 90 record. The description should contain the text "see" with the associated author name listed in the secondary name(s) field, and the dates field should be blank. The link will be generated from the primary name to the secondary name and will only be displayed in an index if the index contains data for the secondary name.
As discussed in the section on author name formats there are many occasions where two (or more) different authors have exactly the same name, and this is handled by suffixing the name with a numeric suffix preceded by a # symbol (e.g. Adams, George #2). The purpose of the 70 record is to identify what variants exist and to provide hints as to which variant should be used in which situation.
The description should contain the text "ambiguous name", the secondary name(s) should be blank, and the dates should contain the hints in a format such as:
Adams, George~70~ambiguous name~~#1 WdAwk 1880s; #2 CFI 1940s; #3 PNT 1970s; #4 1936-? Hubin novels 1990s~
Note that, while the contents of the dates field is relatively free-form the first character should be "#" if all variants of the name have a numeric suffix, but not if the core variant (i.e. Adams, George in this case) is also valid (this is common where the usages are overwhelmingly associated with one author)—in the former case there should be no associated major record for the core name.
This record has no effect on the generation of indexes themselves, but is used for validation purposes and as a guideline when adding new variants to the file.
This is used to hold any internal notes that might be useful when maintaining the data file (e.g. to expand on sources of information). The description contains the internal notes and the secondary name(s) and dates fields should be blank. There may be multiple 80 records for a given author—as they are never displayed it doesn't matter what order they are in.
This is used to hold any external notes that should be displayed when the associated author appears in an index. The description contains the external notes and the secondary name(s) and dates fields should be blank. There may be multiple 9x records for a given author but they should be numbered in display order so that the data can be sorted without loss of information. By default the external notes are displayed on the separate "biographical notes" page, but the last three 9x values are reserved for special cases:
97: Used for notes that should be displayed with the author name in the main indexes, typically when clarifying the information about a pseudonym, as in:
Halliday, Brett~97~originally a personal pseudonym of Davis Dresser, but later used as a house pseudonym for "Mike Shayne" stories.
98: Reserved for use in CF4 for reference notes.
99: Used for index-specific notes that relate to the stories listed in that index (currently only used in CF4).Note that external notes can contain embedded hyperlinks using the same format as on Book Note Records. This is particularly useful on 97 records which contain a reference to another author.
Alternatively, if the information about the author is held on an external site (e.g. an "about" page on the author's website or a Wikipedia page) a single 90 record may be specified with an '@' as the first character of the description followed by the URL, as in:
Masters, John~90~@bearalley.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/john-masters.html~
Note that this format may be used together with 97, 98, and 99 records but not with any other 9x records.
At its simplest, this field simply contains a space followed by the author's full name, with the "additional" pieces in brackets, as in:
Aaron, Chester~00~ Aaron, Chester (Norman)~~(1923- )~
Abarbanell, J. R.~00~ Abarbanell, J(acob) R(alph)~~(1852-1922)~
If an author is also known by a nickname in addition to his formal name, this should be specified after the full name and enclosed in quotation marks, as in:
Bishop, Christopher James~00~ Bishop, Christopher James "Jamie"~~(1971-2007)~
Major degrees and honorifics like Dr., M.D., & Ph.D., should be preserved when they're included in a majority of the author's appearances, such as a medical column, science column, as in:
Berglund, J. W., Ph.D.~00~ Berglund, J(erry) W., Ph.D.~~(1941- )~
Brown, John #2~00~ Brown, Dr. John~~(1810-1882)~
although lesser degress, honours, medals, etc. are generally not listed. When an author sometimes has a title, rank or other honorific associated with their name, this should be specified inside square brackets, as in:
Adye, John~00~ Adye, [Major General Sir] John~~(1857-1930)~
Square brackets are also used to indicate additional information such as an author's married name or their original birth name (if different). If this is just to be appended to the core name then the field simply contains the data in brackets with no leading space; if both an expanded name and an additional note is required, the latter should be added after the full name and separated from it by two spaces, as in:
Adair, Hazel #2~00~[born Hazel Joyce Willett]~~(1920- )~
Asbury, Helen~00~␢Asbury, Helen (Hahn)␢␢[Mrs. Herbert Asbury]~~(fl. 1928-1933)~
Brandon, John G.~00~␢Brandon, John G(ordon)␢␢[born John Gordon Joyce]~~(1879-1941)~
Brett, Mary Helena Wilson Fortune~00~[Mrs. Fortune]~~({c}1833-{c}1910)~
Similarly, square brackets can be used to indicate an author's full name where it is not a direct expansion of their usual name, although in this case the name is prefixed with "i.e.," as in:
Asimov, Gertrude~00~[i.e., Gertrude Asimov Blugerman]~~(1917-1990)~
Kuhlhoff, Peter~00~␢Kuhlhoff, Pete␢␢[i.e., Elbert Herman Kuhlhoff]~~~
Where relevant, author dates appear in the dates field of a record and are identified by being enclosed in "()"—anything in this field which is not inside the "()" is ignored. This field is used for validating data entries and hence must follow fixed rules:
Note that there will always be some dates that don't fit neatly into the above format (e.g. Aesop who was known to be around in the 6th Century B.C.) and these should be enclosed in "[]" so that the parsing program can ignore them.
There is also a special format used
for a small number of names whereby a valid floreat date is enclosed in square
brackets – this indicates that the date should be displayed even in indexes
that generally suppress floreat dates.
In general there is no need for dates to be specified on the 12 record, as they will be picked up automatically from the 00 record for the "real author". Thus:
Aagaard, Vincent~12~pseudonym of~Babcock, Dwight V.~
Babcock, Dwight V.~00~ Babcock, Dwight V(incent)~~(1909-1979)~
will be displayed as:
AAGAARD, VINCENT; pseudonym of Dwight V. Babcock, (1909-1979);
Similarly, if the pseudonym is used by multiple authors (either together, on a 12 record, or "jointly", on a 15 record) dates for each author will be displayed after the associated author name. Note that, even if we only have floreat dates for an author who only ever wrote under a pseudonym, it is still good practice to specify those dates on the author record, as that is the record which will be updated with real dates if they are located.
There are times, though, when it is useful to specify dates for use of the pseudonym itself, particularly if the pseudonym was only used for a small part of the author's life, or when there are multiple authors with widely differing dates and the pseudonym was only used for a particular period. In this case, floreat dates can be specified on the pseudonym record such that, for example:
Aagaard, Vincent~12~pseudonym of~Babcock, Dwight V.~(fl. 1930-1935)~
Babcock, Dwight V.~00~ Babcock, Dwight V(incent)~~(1909-1979)~
will be displayed as:
AAGAARD, VINCENT (fl. 1930-1935); pseudonym of Dwight V. Babcock, (1909-1979);
There are also extreme cases where a pseudonym has been given a fake bibliography, including birth and death dates, and these may be indicated in the same way, as in:
Trout, Kilgore~12~pseudonym of~Farmer, Philip Jos^e'~(1907-1981)~20thSF; ESF; RR~
which is then displayed as:
TROUT, KILGORE (1907-1981); pseudonym of Philip José Farmer, (1918-2009)
Note that, if an author is indirectly credited by specification of their initials alone or by a descriptive phrase of the form "The Author of XXX" then no entry should be created in the names control file as the linkages are generated automatically by the index generation programs. Where initials are concerned this obviously only applies if they actually are the author's initials and are being used simply as a shorthand. Where an author explicitly adopted a pseudonym consisting of initials (typically not their own) then a pseudonym record should be used in the normal way.
In addition to PSEUD.CVT there is an, optional, supplementary file that is used by various programs associated with names: