Brown, T. L., comes before
Brown, Thomas, for the same reason that
Brown comes before
Browne.
221. Forenames not generally used should be neglected in the arrangement.
When an author is generally known by one of several forenames he will be looked for by that alone, and that alone should determine the arrangement, at least in a card catalogue. Instances are: Agassiz, (J:) L: (Rudolph), Cleveland, (Stephen) Grover, Collins, (W:) Wilkie, Cook, (Flavius Josephus known as) Joseph, Dobson, (H:) Austin, Doré, (Paul) Gustav. The form should be
Harte, Bret (full name Francis Bret), or Harte, Bret (in full Francis Bret).
Make references whenever the omission of a name will change the alphabetical arrangement, as from Müller, F: Max, to Müller, Max.
But if they are counted in arranging they should be spaced or parenthesized, because when there are several persons with the same family name the spacing or parenthesizing assists the eye in picking out the right one. Thus if we have
Franklin, John, d. 1759,