Does de Waal go under d or w?!

[Daisies246]

Anoraky question, I know! The books on my bookshelf are in alphabetical order by author, and I’m wondering whether to put a book by Kit de Waal under d or w. Any thoughts?!

In the Netherlands (or indeed any country that uses de, der, van, van de etc frequently), you would file under W, otherwise nearly all your books would be in the v category!

I find in this country though often you would find them filed as v. Not helpful.

Waal. It's the Dutch version of le or von. If they're Dutch-American it's often changed to DeWaal though, then it's under D

I’d go W on the basis that de means of - eg Marquess of Queensbury would go under Q not O

I guess you need a librarian...

Fwiw my chemistry text books list de Broglie under d, van der Waal under v etc.

de Val goes under D in a library 10+ years of library shelving here

Unless of course it's non fiction

Here is part of a cheat sheet

It would be under W in our school library......

Under W in my library too.

D as it's part of the surname. Like du Maurier goes under D. By contrast, Frances Hodgson Burnett goes under B. My books are in alphabetical order by surname too!

Er I think Hodgson was part of the author's surname, it was her maiden name!

My child has a classmate with this surname and the classmate is listed under D in the register.

I would look under W for that author. I've always understood its similar to "of" and you wouldn't put that under O

I wouldn't attribute intelligence or appreciation of foreign languages to a school data system!

I always thought it depended on whether the de/du/von etc was capitalised or not. If it is, it goes under that letter. If it's not, it goes under the other.

I'm a linguist AND a librarian and I would put it under W for all the reasons given above!

@MissCherryCakeyBun what sort of library do you shelve in?

Where would you put Daphne du Maurier?

I think MissCherryCakeyBun's lists show that in English, 'de', 'van' etc are simply considered to be part of the surname. There isn't a true analogy with 'of' - that appears in British titles but I've never seen an actual surname including it.

@JanglyBeads a large county library among others in the uk

I need to consult my colleague who moved from LA to school!

Former Librarian here. I would put it under W.