The use of an authority file for personal and corporate names is recommended, for example, Library of Congress Name Authorities, and the Union List of Artists Names. This category records the relationship between Creator and the described work. Distinguishing the specific role played by the creator is critical, particularly when multiple individuals or groups participated in the creation of the work. Whereas it may be sufficient to note the role generically as artist for the creator of a watercolor sketch, a print may have been created by multiple individuals, including a designer, engraver, and publisher. A structure may have an engineer, architect, stonemason, landscape architect, interior designer, etc.
Role distinguishes the contribution made by the creator to the work.
It allows the researcher to locate all instances when an artist acted in one capacity as compared to another. For example, a researcher may want to locate all works for which Rembrandt acted as etcher as distinct from all instances when he was a painter. The use of a controlled vocabulary is recommended, for example, the Agents Facet of the Art and Architecture Thesaurus. A work may have been created over a span of time or may have multiple dates associated with the varying stages of its design, manufacture, production, performance, construction, or alteration. An example is Lorenzo Ghiberti's bronze doors for the Baptistery in Florence, which were completed twenty-three years after he designed the winning entry in the competition in 1401.