Family Names and the Cataloger

Abstract

The Joint Steering Committee for the Revision of the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules has indicated that the replacement for the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd ed., to be known as Resource Description and Access, will allow the use of family names as authors and will provide rules for their formation. This paper discusses what a family name describes; examines how information seekers look for family names and what they expect to find; describes the ways in which family names have been established in Anglo-American cataloging and archival traditions; asks how adequately the headings established under these rules help users find such information; and suggests how revised cataloging rules might better enable users to identify resources that meet their needs.