Hi Linda,
 
Use ULAN if possible to determine the preferred spelling of the last name.  Of course there will always be the oddballs - I will never forget that at a museum where I worked once upon a time, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was in the database as "van der Rohe", when, in fact, the whole last name is "Mies van der Rohe".  It doesn't follow logic, thus look to an authority or establish it for yourselves for names not found in an authority listing.
 
Cheers on a cold New York afternoon!
 
Suzanne
-----Original Message-----
From: Linda Pulliam [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 4:50 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Constituent Module: von, van, de, and other particles

If you have a moment, would you please let me know where your organization enters this information? Do you use the last name field or the middle name field?
 
Staff here are of two minds about where it belongs depending on the life dates of the artists and their nationalities. Inconsistencies are leading to searching problems and the creation of duplicate constituent records.
 
Linda Pulliam
Manager of Collections Information
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston