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Persian Cataloging Page

Persian NACO Manual: Table of Contents

Name Headings Persian names, like any other Arabic alphabet names, are deeply influenced by the Arabic language. Yet, they often contain some non-Arabic elements such as affixes which differentiate them from Arabic names. In establishing Persian names in the NAF one cannot ignore the fact that Persian names exist in their unique form and must be dealt with differently than Arabic names.
Determining Persian form vs. Arabic Form	Types of Persian Surnames
Modern Authors Modern authors are active in the 20th century (22.22A1). Our rule of thumb is to treat authors living during any part of the 20th century as modern. An author whose life has spanned both the 19th and 20th centuries may be treated as classical if it can be determined that they were primarily active during the 19th century.	Choice of Entry Dates with "or"
Classical Authors A classical author is active prior to the 20th century. Any author who died before 1900 is treated as classical. An author whose life has spanned the 19th and 20th centuries may be treated as modern it it is determined that they were primarily active during the 20th century.	Choice of Entry Choice of Additional Elements in the Name Dates for Classical Authors References Dates with "or" Surnames derived from place-names
Citation of Source	Titles Dates Citing author's title of the item in the 670
Reference sources required for Persian cataloging

Types of Persian Surnames

Persian personal names may have single or multiple surname elements and appear in title pages as follows:

1. Surnames with affixes.
   Examples: Bahramzadah, Aryanpur, Kiyanfar, etc. (-zadah, -pur, -far are affixes)
2. Compound surnames.
   Examples: Darya Bandari, Shariat Panahi, Mushfiq Kashani
3. Arabic names: If the author is modern and writes predominantly in Persian, he/she must be romanized according to the Persian romanization table and entry should follow Arabic NACO guidelines.
   Example: Ruh al-Amini al-Baghdadi.

Modern authors are those active in the 20th century (22.22A1). Our rule of thumb is to treat authors living during any part of the 20th century as modern.

Authors whose life spanned both the 19th and 20th centuries may be treated as classical if it can be determined that they were primarily active during the 19th century.

Choice of Entry for Modern Authors

There are various name-comprising elements in Persian title pages. The first or the last element in the t.p. is not always the true surname for Persian authors. [See AACR2: Names in the Arabic alphabet, 22.22 and 22.22B]
In establishing Persian multi-element surnames we need to determine which element or combination of elements qualify as the appropriate surname. If the surname is a multi-element surname (names with affixes) or a compound name (names with word components) enter the name heading as follows:

1. Surname with affixes: name elements must be kept intact in the main heading entry.

   Example:	Hushang Nur Niya (as on t.p.) Main heading entry: Nurniya, Hushang (not Nur Niya, Hushang)
   Example:	Farrukh Jafar Pur (as on t.p.) Main heading entry: Jafarpur, Farrukh (not Jafar Pur, Farrukh)

2. Compound surnames: must be kept intact with one space between the various elements of the name.

   Examples:

   Ahmad Darya Bandari (as on t.p.); Hasan Qarakhani Bahar Main heading entry: Darya Bandari, Ahmad (not Bandari, Ahmad Darya) Main heading entry: Qarakhani Bahar, Hasan (not Bahar, Hasan Qarakhani)

What is a Classical Author?

A classical author is one active prior to the 20th century. Any author who died before 1900 is treated as classical.

Authors whose life spanned the 19th and 20th centuries may be treated as modern it it is determined that they were primarily active during the 20th century.

Choice of Entry for Classical Authors

The choices of entry element for Persian classical authors remain the same as for Arabic classical authors. The main entry element may be any of the various elements of a name -- khitab, kunyah, ism, patronymic, laqab, or nisbah. "Determine this from reference sources" (22.22B1). If the author is very well known or if the classical person is not an author, reference sources such as the Encyclopaedia Iranica, Encyclopaedia of Islam, Encyclopaedia Britannica may be consulted and their data (dates, etc.) quoted in headings as they appear. In general, consult at least one reference source aside from the piece in hand as follows:

1. If the author is found in Fihrist-i mustanad, choose the element(s) in the entry-heading as the main heading entry element.
2. If the author is not found in Fihrist-i mustanad, consult Storey or any other reference source. If the author is not found in any other reference source than Fihrist-i mustanad, use the entry element(s) as found and provide references as appropriate.
3. If the author is not found in any reference sources, choose as the main heading entry element a surname in the following order:
   1. Takhallus.
   2. Phrases marked ma'ruf bih, mashhur bih, etc.
   3. Any unusual surname (not derived from a place name or madhhab).
   4. A surname derived from a place name (Isfahani).
   5. A surname derived from a madhab (Shafii)
4. If there are no surname elements present, enter under the ism and father-patronymic in direct order.
   Note: In citing a second or third reference source, quote the name in full.

Add to the ism and father-patronymic if any available. Per 22.22C1, if the entry element is not the ism or a patronymic derived from the father, include these in the heading "unless they are not customarily used in the name by which the person is known" (i.e., unless his name is well-known and short like that of Hafiz, Sadi, etc.) [disregard example in 22.22]. "Include an additional name, descriptive epithet, or term of honour that is treated as part of the name if it aids in identifying the individual" (22.22C1).

LC practice is to add additional names very seldom, apparently in accordance with the statement in 22.22C1, "Generally omit other elements of the name, particularly patronymics derived from anyone other than the father."

Dates for Classical Authors

Examples of many situations and treatments can be found in the NAF. A few rules seem to define current LC practice, as deduced from communications to us.

1. If the piece in hand or reference source gives only Miladi dates, transcribe the years as given.
2. Unless day and/or month are cited, whether in the piece in hand or in an outside reference source, a Hijri year is always to be transcribed in a heading as a choice of two Miladi years connected by "or" (except when a Hijri year falls entirely within one Miladi year). This practice is to be followed even if the piece in hand or reference source provides the Hijri date with a "corresponding" single Miladi date, as LC considers such correspondences, unless accompanied by days and/or months, to be mere "guesses."
3. If the piece in hand and a reference source disagree on an author's dates, consult a third source (i.e., a second reference source) if available. If no third source can be found, or if the information from the third source does not "break the tie," cite all three sources and give the dates in the heading in a compromising form, using "?," "ca.," "fl.," "Xth cent." and Xth/Yth cent." as outlined in 22.17. A single "fl." year given by a reference source does not justify the use of any date in the heading, unless to resolve a conflict with another heading.

References

Per 22.22B1, "refer from any part of the name not used as entry element if there is reason to believe that the person's name may be sought under that part." LC seldom makes such references. Only three types are (almost) always made:

1. Refer from the heading for a classical author in direct order, not including elements which do not appear in the heading even if they are found in the piece in hand (i.e., they do not necessarily refer from the form in the piece in hand, though this is cited in full in a 670).
2. If the heading consists solely of ism and patronymic, refer from the patronymic.
3. Refer from non-standard romanizations found in the piece at hand, choosing the entry element for the reference (if possible) to correspond with the entry element in the heading. Do not make direct or other references from non-standard romanizations.

The citation of these dates depends on how the number is read in words -- the words necessary to read the number are represented by the numerals, e.g.:

1799 or 1800 1800 or 1801 (not 1800 or 1) 1902 or 2, 1902 or 3, etc. 1810 or 11 (not 1810 or 1), 1811 or 12, etc. 1819 or 20 1821 or 2, 1822 or 3, etc.

Surnames derived from place-names:

When not vocalized, this type of name should be romanized according to the spelling for the place in Muin.

Citing sources

Titles:	In the 670 for the piece in hand cite only the title(s) immediately preceding the name. In case of Muslim religious authors cite only the highest titles earned by the author during his lifetime. Titles should be capitalized according to the following list: Always in caps: Shaykh Imam Hujjat al-Islam Ayat Allah Sayyid Ustad
Dates:	The 100 field always has Miladi dates (see section on dates),the 670 for the piece in hand always transcribes dates from the item, giving both Hijri and Miladi dates if both appear.
Vols.:	670s for booksets must always cite which volume(s) the information is taken from. Once a volume has been cited, any later page numbers refer to that volume unless another volume number is cited. v. 1, t.p. (xxx xxx xxx) p. 3 (xxx xxx) v. 3, p. 7 (xxx) NOTE: the first two sets of info. are from v. 1. v. 1-3, t.p. (xxx xxx xxx) NOTE: all info. must appear on the title pages of all three volumes.
Complex page numbering:	When a book has more than one set of page numbers, the citation must indicate which group of pages is being cited: p. 3, 1st group (xxx). NOTE: the 300 has "3, 465 p." The cover is cited as "cover"; the back cover as "p. 4 of cover."

Citing author's name of the item in hand in the 670, if necessary:

If the work has a nondistinctive title and is entered under a different name from the 1xx field, cite the entry element of that name in full, followed by abbreviated forms for the other elements in that name. A single letter in Arabic which is romanized using two latin characters should be abbreviated using both characters (i.e., "Sh." or "Kh."). Ibn is abbreviated with a lower-case "b". Names with a definite article are abbreviated using the article and the first letter (i.e., "al-Hasan" is abbreviated as "al-H."). All letters retain their diacritics. There are no spaces between abbreviated letters except preceding names with definite articles:

Examples:

Baghdadi, M.b. al-H. Ibn al-Lamish, A.b.Kh.

Persian names referred from other teams:

Search the name as it appears on the item, as well as in an Arabized or Persianized form for LC in RLIN and in the NAF. If it is not established in either form, establish it as follows:

Classical names:

Follow the guidelines for establishing the name from reference sources as you would any classical name, and make appropriate references from the forms found on the item.

Modern names:

If the name appears somewhere on the item in Persian, it may be established from the Persian form if appropriate (i.e., if there is evidence that the person writes primarily in Persian or if the book is about a Persian person). If the name only appears in a romanized form, it must be established as it appears*. In this case, an arbitrary reference may be made from what the most likely Persian form would be. [*Unless the name is significant enough to be found in modern reference sources in either English or Persian (i.e., Who's who in Iran, etc.). The heading and dates from the reference source may be used.]

Reference sources required for Persian cataloging:

1. Fihrist-i mustanad-i asami-i mashahir va muallifan (Tehran, 2536). (for classical authors)
2. Fihrist-i mustanad-i asami-i muassasat va sazmanha-yi dawlati-i Iran (Tehran, 1989).
3. Muin, Muhammad Farhang-i Farsi (Tehran, 1963). (for romanization)
4. Storey, C. A. Persian literature (London, 1970). (for classical authors)

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