Apart from the structured headings constructed from the elements of the main headings and various kinds of subdivisions, there is only one kind of heading that can be created by the cataloguer: the name heading.

What constitutes a name heading?

Name headings are used when some person, place or entity with a proper name (a name beginning with a capital letter) occurs as the subject of a work. You need to make a careful distinction between the person or entity as the subject of the work, and the other ways in which they might be represented in different parts of the catalogue or metadata record; for example, a person may be author, editor or illustrator, and an organization could be a corporate author or a publisher. Only when the document is about the person or organization should a subject heading be made.

Because there are so many possibilities for name headings, LCSH does not routinely include these in the published list of headings, but expects the cataloguer to create them as needed, following certain rules and conventions for their construction. Notable exceptions include prominent historical figures and prolific authors and artists, the latter often serving as pattern headings for others in the same category. The Library of Congress Authorities database (http://authorities.loc.gov/) provides a useful check for practitioners as to the forms of names that have been used there, and can be searched freely online.

There are several different categories of things that can have name headings. I have taken a fairly liberal view of what constitutes a name heading, and Library of Congress would regard some of these technically as title headings (which are used for created works such as works of art or literature). My general policy has been to embrace all those unique persons or objects for which headings can be developed by the cataloguer where they do not exist in the published list; it seems important to address the situation where a heading for such an entity isn't available, and the cataloguer wonders what to do about it. Everything in this chapter, therefore, is indicative of the kinds of subjects where cataloguers can adopt an innovative stance and exercise their own judgement in ‘making up’ a heading, using comparable examples as a model.