{{umbrella|Author}}
Names of authors cited in Greek on the title page are also recorded in Greek in the description and therefore '''transcribed in Greek characters''' for the reference term in the people thesaurus. An additional reference term is also created with a transliteration of this Greek variant into the Latin alphabet. The spelling of the main form is given in the '''common Latin form''' for this author's name.<br>
{{See also|Greek character set and transliteration}}
For names of authors in other languages with an alphabet that is different than the common Latin or Greek (Hebrew, Arabic, cyrillic, etc.) the variant form or reference term for the author is transcribed to the Latin alphabet. The name in the original alphabet could potentially be added as an additional reference term. The main form is given in the common western form of the author's name.
Unlike the STCN, in STCV the variant form of the title page is always recorded, even if that only mentions the function.
<blockquote>'''''Example'''''<br>
Main form: Filips IV [king of Spain]<br>
Reference term: le roy d'Espaigne</blockquote>
A pseudonym of which the actual author's name is known, is always cited as a reference term in the description and therefore added as a reference term to the thesaurus record of the '''author's actual name'''.
<blockquote>'''''Example'''''<br>
Main form: Scribani, Carolus<br>
Reference term: Clarus Bonarscius<br>
Reference term: C.B.</blockquote>
An unresolved pseudonym with a name structure is cited as a reference term in the description but in this case it is a reference term of the main form of the '''unidentified pseudonym''', which is treated here as a normal name. The situation is further explained in the biographical scope note.
<blockquote>'''''Example'''''<br>
Main form: Snot, Piet<br>
Reference term: Piet Snot</blockquote>
Is the author's name '''hidden behind an indication that cannot be treated or conceived as a personal name''', such as initials, letters or other characters, qualifications, etc., then this is always recorded as a variant form or reference term to the record of the person identified as the author. If the author indication '''cannot be identified''', it is recorded as a reference term to an unidentified main form. Descriptions such as 'een priester der societeyt Iesu' [a priest of the Jesuit Society] or 'eenen minderbroeder' [a Friar Minor] are edited for the main form to 'Priester S.J.' [priest S.J.] or 'priester O.F.M.' [priest O.F.M.]. For other descriptions, the spelling in the main form is also modernised and if there is an article at the front, that is neglected. So, for example, will the reference term 'eenen liefhebber der waerheydt' [a lover of truth] be classed under the main form 'Liefhebber der waarheid' [Lover of truth]. Note that such main forms always start with a capital letter. This is not always the case for reference terms.
If the title page gives a misleading or false author's name, there are two possibilities: either the false author's name is due to a '''mistake''' (for example a printing error), or it is a '''deliberate''' mystification.
The false author's name is added as a reference term to the '''main form of the actual author'''. The function-indication is 'primary author' (aut), with as source 'title page'. In a general note, the mistake is clarified.
The actual author publishes their work deliberately under the name of another, existing person. The '''mystification''' is known from sources or research. The false name is added as a reference term to the main form of the false author. The function-indication is 'dubious author' (dub). Furthermore, the '''actual author''' is added as a second author in the description with as function 'primary author' (aut) and as source-indication 'external'. A general note reads:
<blockquote>'Mystification; the real author is [...]'</blockquote>
If the '''actual author is not known''' but it is clearly a mystification, the general note reads:
<blockquote>'Mystification; the real author is unknown'</blockquote>
Normally, all authors mentioned on the title page are recorded. The problem in the choice of information to record, is therefore more a choice of which title page rather than which authors. The following cases are distinguished:
<ol><li>Different titles of more than one author are united in one edition under a common title. Of course, that one common/joint title is recorded, regardless of whether that title is sufficiently significant or not. All authors are recorded.</li>
<li>Different titles of more than one author are united in one edition, with the authors' names and the different titles on the title page and the authors and titles are ''not presented equally''. Only the most prominent title is recorded in the title field. The other titles, if they are deemed sufficiently significant, may be mentioned in a note of the type 'with'. All authors are recorded. The link between authors and titles is clear from the notes and/or the digital image of the the title page.</li>
<li>Different titles of more than one author are united in one edition, with the authors' names and the titles ''presented equally''. The first title is recorded in the title field of the description. This 'mother description' contains all the authors. The other titles are each recorded separately in new descriptions, the so-called 'daughter descriptions', which contain only the authors and titles relevant to that part. Between mother and daughter descriptions, a relation is made of the type 'includes' (incl) or 'included in' (inclin).<br>
{{See also|Different titles presented equally on the title page}}</li>
<li>Different titles of more than one author are united in one edition but the authors of smaller parts are not mentioned on the (main) title page: it concerns separately named, dependent parts to be mentioned in a note of the type 'with'. In that case, the additional authors are recorded as a main form with as source-indication 'document'. They are also recorded in the free text field of the note of the type 'with'.</li></ol>
In the online-database of STCV, the use of a headword or entry for anonymous works does not present itself. Anonymously published works that can be attributed with certainty to an author, receive the main form of that author in the author field, with as source-indication 'external'. Less certain '''attributions''' to an author are only given in a general note; attributions that are rather dubious could, at most, end up in a cataloguing remark.
The same reference term (usually a '''vague author indication''') may obviously refer to different main forms, depending on the identification of the wording.
|+'''''Examples'''''
!Title page||colspan="2"|Reproduction in the people thesaurus
|rowspan="2"|Een priester der Societeit Iesu||main form||Priester S.J.
|reference term||een priester der societeit Iesu
|rowspan="2"|Een priester der Societeit Iesu||main form||Smidt, de, Aegidius
|reference term||een priester der societeit Iesu
|}
Mottoes or devices present besides the author's name on the title page or '''not recorded''' in the description. If they might be able to help the identification of anonymous works or pseudonyms, they might be added in a general note.