How to add a second author, so that it shows up in the author field

How can I add a second author, so that they show up together in the author field? I understand that I can add a secodn author in the "Other author" field, but then they don't show up in the list view of all books.

Each book is supposed to only have one primary author, even if they are co-authored. You can choose which author to put there, but it will show one author.

Before we had the Other Author section, people did squish both authors into the primary author slot. However, this created problems with combining the books properly. It also created author combination issues, so it is strongly discouraged.

If you put both into the primary author field, you still won't get both authors showing where they would belong in alphabetical order. Each entry shows up once in your catalogue.

You also would not get either author page when you click on your author. You might get a combined author page with just your copy on it until someone combined it with a normally entered copy. After that, you would just get an empty author page.

If you use Other author and confirm it on the work page, the book will show up on both author pages and you will be able to see what else the two authors have written.

BTW This is also the way Library of Congress works. https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/search?searchCode=GKEY%7C*&searchType=0&re...

Adding the co-author through "other authors" will put in on their author page. I find it unfortunate that clicking "you have (n) books by this author" won't find it, but it will show in several other search options.

As MarthaJeanne says: "If you use Other author and confirm it on the work page, the book will show up on both author pages"

The full mechanics of it
1. Edit your book to include the second name in the "Other Authors" box.
2. Return to the book work page and scroll down to the Other Authors and open it to edit. The name you've put in may already show as there and confirmed or there and needing confirmed. If neither, you can add it, using the same format in your own copy (last name, first name).
3. Scroll back up to the bottom box on the right column and Recalculate title/author.

>5 2wonderY: If you have entered it and it doesn't show up already, click on recalculate from members' books. This brings up any other authors that don't already show.

Others have explained that this is not the right way to do things, and that using Other Authors is correct, but nobody has yet pointed out that you can add Other Authors as a column for your catalog view so that it will show up correctly. (You can look at my catalog using the Member style and see an example.)

>7 lorax: I didn't know that. Thanks!

I wrote a perl script to look at the work pages to see if I had any "other authors" that were not confirmed on the work page. Is there any official way of doing this?

>7 lorax:: Thank you. I forgot about that option.

>5 2wonderY: 2wonderY Thanks for the step-by-step guide, but what do you mean by "book work page "? The "Work details" page has no author at all...

>11 halloleo:

https://www.librarything.com/work/71245 - this is the "book work page" for a specific book (the first on my list - good enough for a demonstration).

Scroll down and find "Other authors". Then follow the rest of the instructions :)

>7 lorax: lorax The idea with a extra column is cool. -How can i create a Member style?

>12 AnnieMod: Thanks!

halloleo (#13):

The idea with a extra column is cool. -How can i create a Member style?

Up at the top of your catalog view, in the toolbar, there's a section called "Style" with five choices (A-E):



These are your viewing styles. They're all customizable. Click on the "Settings" button to access the edit menu:



Here you can drag and drop options from the right menu (not shown in this screenshot) and rearrange columns. To set a member's preferred style, choose the "Default style for visitors" at the bottom - since your library is private this part isn't as important for you, but for people with public catalogs this lets us set how we want non-logged-in viewers to see our catalog. (Logged-in LT members see others' catalogs using whichever viewing style they currently have selected, though the preferred option is always available as "Member" in the toolbar. (You don't see it in the screenshot because I'm viewing my own catalog there).

>9 bnielsen: No....I wish there was!

>15 lorax:: Wow, thanks for the so detailed answer!!!

>16 norabelle414: Thanks for confirming that.