LC/NACO name authority record

A name authority record is the library record used to identify you as an author and distinguish you from other people with the same or similar names. It includes an authorized access point, the standardized form of your name used in library catalogs that follow Library of Congress practice. The record helps libraries connect your books to the right person, so if it is wrong, incomplete, or confused with another person, your books can be associated with the wrong author or become harder to find together. Most new authors won't have a name authority record until a library has a reason to create one, and that's normal. Authors can't create or directly edit their own LC/NACO authority records, so the practical step for every publishing route is to search and check. Traditionally and hybrid published authors may be able to get help through their publisher's library-facing staff, while self-published authors will generally need to work through a library or cataloger that participates in NACO. Search every name you publish under and keep enough identifying information handy for a cataloger to distinguish or correct your record if needed.

A name authority record establishes the one authorized form of a person's name that library catalogs use, and records the variants, birth year, and other details that keep two people with the same name apart. Records for personal names live in the Library of Congress/NACO Authority File, which is built jointly by the Library of Congress and the institutions in the Name Authority Cooperative Program (NACO).

The public search interface is Library of Congress Authorities at authorities.loc.gov (opens in a new tab), which lets anyone search names, subjects, and titles. The same data is also published as linked data at id.loc.gov (opens in a new tab).

The heading under which your books are filed in library catalogs that follow Library of Congress practice, and whether your work is kept separate from another author with a similar name. The authorized form flows into Cataloging in Publication data, WorldCat records, and, through the Virtual International Authority File (VIAF), into other national files.

Search for your name first. If a record exists, check that the form of the name and any dates are right and that it is not merging you with someone else. If you write under more than one name, check each.

You cannot create or edit a record yourself. Records are made by trained catalogers at participating institutions, usually when they catalog a book by you. If no record exists and one would help, or an existing one is wrong, ask a cataloger at a NACO library (many university and large public libraries participate) or the publisher's library-facing staff. Provide the facts they need: full name, the form you publish under, birth year if you are willing to share it, and the titles you have written. The Program for Cooperative Cataloging publishes a guide on how catalogers contact authors, so expect them to ask.

Most new authors will not have a record until a library catalogs the book, and that is normal.

1. Go to authorities.loc.gov (opens in a new tab) and choose a name search.
2. Enter your name as it appears on the book, last name first, and open the matching heading.
3. Confirm the authorized form, any dates, and the works cited in the record's notes are yours and only yours.
4. Record the authority record identifier (it begins with n or no) on your identity sheet, and repeat the search after each new book.

An authority record is not an ISNI and not a VIAF cluster. ISNI is a separate identifier you can request through a registration agency; VIAF is an aggregation that links this record with records from other countries. None of the three is a profile you claim, and none replaces Amazon Author Central or Goodreads. It is also not a copyright record and says nothing about ownership.