group discussion

We recently had a request to change the author for the Book of Mormon from Joseph Smith to "Various authors." I also took a look at other sacred texts, such as the Bible and Koran, and found that authorship doesn't seem to follow any rhyme or reason. Various, anonymous, King James version, etc.

Librarians, please weigh in on what you think would be the most appropriate and informative way to handle these kinds of texts.

thanks!

I would be hesitant to change it. OCLC lists Joseph Smith as the author. These types of books should probably be addressed on a case by case basis. Most seem to be listed as having editors or publishers and those, of course, should be noted.

I agree with Miriam, as this should be addressed on a case by case basis. For Bibles, I think the safest bet would be to go with the names of the editors. If there are none, then it's a toss between "anonymous"/"various" or, my personal preference, the name of the publisher/the national/local bible society that was responsible for producing the version in view, especially in the case of modern non-English Bible translations.

I really don't know what to put as the author of old English versions like the KJV/AV :)

Certainly a case by case basis is the way to go. As for the Book of Mormon, since Joseph Smith only translated it, he shouldn't be listed as the author any more than Charles Wilbour, who translated Les Miserables, should be listed as the author of that work in place of Victor Hugo. Of course there are those who believe Joseph Smith wrote it instead of translating it as he claims, but I believe GR should avoid that kind of religious controversy and go with the stated claim of Joseph Smith. In the interest of full disclosure, I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons), so my opinion could reasonably be considered biased.