{{umbrella|Author}}
Depending on the '''source''', the main form or reference term of the author is recorded in the description. There are two possibilities:
# The personal author has the source-indication 'title page'
# The personal author has the source-indication 'document' or 'external'
In the first case, the variant form present on the title page is taken. This reference term is then attached to the thesaurus record of the author in question. In the second case, the main form of the author is taken. The reference term found in the work may be important however, e.g. for the identification of another work. That is why such 'additional reference terms' are recorded as much as possible in the people thesaurus, but without linking them to the description. The variant name forms serve as extra search terms which can be of help in arriving at the correct author.
Both the main form and the reference terms of an author are saved in the people thesaurus. For creating a new author in this thesaurus, the following rules apply:
# The main form is representative for the author
# Authors with the same name must be distinguishable
The preferred main form is that name by which an author is '''generally known''', either by the frequency of the name or by the tradition. The main form may, if necessary, be altered: main forms remain arbitrary. In principle, STCV follows the common rules in Brocade for creating new main forms.
The reference terms or '''variant name forms may never be deleted or altered''': they refer to variants present in publications. Altering a reference term automatically alters the author indication in all descriptions where that reference term is used. If a reference term in a description needs to be altered, either an existing (suitable) reference term is chosen or a new reference term is created and then linked to the description.
For creating a new main form, the following rules apply:
# The order of the name is noted as: last name, particles, first name (+ potential Roman numeral)
# Indications such as 'junior', 'senior', 'rhetor', 'philosophus', 'widow' and zo on are entered as an extension to the name
# Additional distinguishable information is entered in the biographical scope note
# For classical authors, the name by which the author is best known comes first (for example Tacitus, Publius Cornelius; Vergilius Maro, Publius)
# For medieval authors, the first name remains first (for example Thomas a Kempis; Balduinus Avennensis)
Whenever possible, each person in the thesaurus is given a biographical scope note. These notes are purely meant for '''internal use'''. The biographical scope contains the following elements:
# Biographical elements such as the monastic order (abbreviations according to Herwig OOMS, ''Repertorium universale siglorum ordinum et institutum religiosorum in ecclesia catholica'', Brussel, 1959), the worldly name, the profession
# Date of birth and date of death
# Place of birth and place of death
# Source for this information
All reference terms belonging to a specific author are saved in the thesaurus. '''Reference terms are never altered, only added to'''. For transcribing the reference term, the following rules apply:
#The variant form is cited; descriptions such as 'eenen priester der soc. Jesu' [a priest of the order of Jesuits] retain the article 'eenen' [a].
#Punctuation and spaces are retained. So, too, a comma meant as a semicolon or a colon meant as an abbreviation mark (e.g. 'Joan: Bapt: Clouwet').
#Abbreviations of titles such as 'b.on' or 'sermes.' follow the transcription rules for titles when being recorded as an indication of the author.
#Capital letters at the start of a name (first name and last name) are retained, other capitals are reduced to lower case. Loose particles (e.g. 'vande', 'vander', 'der', 'a' etc.) are always noted in lower case. Names that are fully in lower case (e.g. engravers on the title page), receive a capital letter for at the beginning of the first and last name. The particles never receive capitals.
#The actual ligatures æ, œ, Æ and Œ are transcribed as such. Other ligatures are resolved.
#The combination of 2 V's is retained, both in upper and in lower case. When the combination 'VV' or 'vv' is meant to suggest 'W' or respectively 'w' by re-cutting one of the letters, the letter is noted as 'W' or respectively 'w'.
#Variant letter forms are not distinguished. The long ſ is displayed as a normal 's' and ß as 'ss', also in German.
#Abbreviations are generally retained. A number of common abbreviations indicated by a ''titulus'' are resolved between square brackets: 'vandê' becomes 'vande[n]', 'VÂ' becomes 'va[n]'.
#The gothic (blackletter) capitals I/J and U/V are always read and reduced as I/i and V/v.
#Cursive is not distinguished.
#The author's name, usually in the genitive on the title page of Latin and Greeks works, is changed to the nominative. Sometimes Latin names in their nominative form already have a genitive ending (e.g. 'Balduinus Avennensis' for 'Boudewijn of Avesnes').
#Additional formulas, mottoes, devices, functions, birth places and indications of occupation or profession are neglected.
*Find the person you need in the authority records, click on the specific record and select 'bewerk' [edit]
*If the record is frozen, unfreeze it by checking 'Bevries/ontdooi dit record' [freeze/unfreeze this record] and clicking on 'registreer' [register]
*Under 'Lidmaatschappen' [Memberships]:
**leave everything as is (do NOT uncheck anything)
**check STCV if this is not already checked
*Under 'Relaties' [Relations]:
**leave everything as is
**add extra relations when possible
*Main form:
**leave as is
**select when needed
*Reference terms:
**leave as is
**select the one you need
**create a new one if needed (see transcription rules + enter 'STCV' for lidmaatschap [membership])
*Biographical scope note: add extra information when possible; otherwise leave as is
*click 'registreer' [register]
*check 'Bevries/ontdooi dit record' [freeze/unfreeze this record] and, again, click on 'registreer' [register]<br>
'''All authority records used by STCV should be frozen at all times!'''
{{See also|Brocade - personal authors}}
If you are sure there is no existing authority record available, you may create a new authority record for a personal author.
*Go to http://anet.be/menu/auth, select a new record for 'P - persoonsnaam' and click on 'Start'
*Under 'Lidmaatschappen' [memberships]: check 'STCV'
*Under 'Relaties' [Relations]: add relations when possible
**Geographical: e.g. 944.92 (France: people)
**Chronological: e.g. 92.17 (Biography: 1600-1699)
**Profession: e.g. 27.92 (Christianity: people)
*Main form:
**create a main form following the rules
**Add English and French versions when relevant/possible ('Verwoording E' and 'Verwoording F')
*Reference term:
**create the reference term you need following the transcription rules
**enter 'STCV' for lidmaatschap [membership]
*Biographical scope note: if you have found information, add it here
**'Begindatum' [year of birth] and 'Einddatum' [year of death]
**'Beginplaats' [place of birth] and 'Eindplaats' [place of death]
**'Bron' [source] when possible e.g. link to CERL Thesaurus
*click on 'registreer' [register]
*check 'Bevries/ontdooi dit record' [freeze/unfreeze this record] and, again, click on 'registreer' [register]<br>
'''All authority records used by STCV should be frozen at all times!'''
{{See also|Brocade - personal authors}}