AUTHORITY CONTROL:
A BASIC GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Compiled from various sources

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AACR2

the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, 2nd edition, used since January, 1981 as the basic guideline for cataloging practice in libraries.

Authority control

the consistent use and maintanence of the forms of names, subjects, uniform titles, etc. used as headings in a catalog. Since this process creates a link between bibliographic records and the authority file, authority control provides the underlying structure of the catalog.

Authority file

a set of authority records listing the chosen form of a heading and its appropriate cross-references. Types of authority files include name authority files, series authority files, and subject authority files.

Authority record

a record which shows a heading in the form established for use in the catalog; lists the cross-references to be made to and from the heading; and cites the sources consulted in establishing the heading.

Authority work

the process of determining the form of a name, title, or subject concept that will be used as a heading on a bibliographic record; determining cross references needed to that form; and determining relationships of this heading to other authoritative headings.

Automated authority control

the use of a computer to manage large portions of the process of authority control.

Bibliographic record

a catalog record corresponding to a book or other item in the library's collection.

Catalog

a file of bibliographic records which describes a set of resources contained in library's collection. The catalog may include other types of records as well, such as authority records and on-order records.

Chronological Subdivision

a subdivision showing the period or span of time treated in a work or the period during which the work appeared.

Corporate body

an organization or group of persons that is identified by a particular name and that acts as an entity. Examples of types of corporate bodies include: associations, institutions, business firms, non-profit enterprises, governments, government agencies, religious bodies, local churches, and conferences. For example: Paul Smith's College.

Cross-reference

an alternate heading which directs the user to either the established form of a heading or to related headings. See also: SEE ALSO reference; SEE reference.

Establish

to create a new heading in accordance with AACR2. This includes the checking of all appropriate files for the correct form of the heading and the creation of an authority record.

Form Subdivision

a division of a subject heading which brings out the form of the work. For example, in the headings ...

Internet (Computer network)--Periodicals
Library technicians--Bibliography
Adirondack Mountains (N.Y.)--Film catalogs

... the italicized portions are form subdivisions. See also: Chronological subdivision; Geographic subdivision; Subject subdivision; Topical Subdivision

Geographic qualifier

the name of a larger geographic entity added to a local place name. For example, in the headings ...

Cambridge (Mass.)
Toledo (Spain)

... the italicized portions are geographic qualifiers. See also: Qualifier.

Geographic subdivision

a subdivision which limits a topical subject heading to a specific geographic location. For example, in the headings ...

Women--Peru
Libraries--New York (State)--Buffalo
Music--Quebec (Province)--Quebec

... the italicized portions are the geographic subdivisions. See also: ; Form subdivision; Indirect subdivision; Subject subdivision; Topical Subdivision

Global change

in an online system, the changing of every occurrence of a specified string of characters in a catalog, i.e., using one command to change all representations of a heading from one form to another form.

Heading

the form of an entry, i.e., the word(s) or phrase(s) chosen to provide an access point to the bibliographic record in the catalog or database.

Index

a list of entries in a prescribed order compiled by the online system.

Indirect subdivision

the use of a local place name, in a topical subject heading, as a subdivision of a larger jurisdiction. This larger jurisdiction is usually the name of the country, or, in the case of the U.S. and Canada, the state or province respectively. For example, in the headings ...

Kickboxing--Italy--Rome
Military base conversion--Colorado--Denver
Closeout merchandise--Ontario--Toronto

... the italicized portions are the indirect subdivisions. See also: Geographic subdivision.

Inverted heading

a phrase heading in which the word elements are reversed in order to put the most important word first. For example:

Smith, Janice
Cities and towns, Medieval

Integrated system

a system under the control of one computer that supports two or more library functions (circulation, acquisitions, cataloging, serials control, online public access catalog, etc.) by sharing common files and programs, all of which can be accessed on a single terminal.

Keyword searching

natural language searching of significant words in specified fields of a bibliographic record.

LCNAF

Library of Congress Name Authority File, which is the authority file for the Library of Congress. Most libraries in the U.S. base their authority work on this file which is available on-line on OCLC and RLIN.

LCRI See: RI.

Local subdivision See: Geographic subdivision; Indirect subdivision

MARC

machine readable cataloging. Cataloging which has been tagged for input into a database according to internationally agreed upon standards.

Monographic series

a group of monographs with a collective title in addition to their individual titles. The individual items may be numbered (a "numbered series") or not numbered (an "unnumbered series"). The collective title is generally found on the title page, the half-title page, or the cover of each monograph.

NACO

National Coordinated Cataloging Program, formerly the Name Authority Cooperative Program, in which name authority headings created at libraries throughout the U.S. are submitted to LC for inclusion in its name authority file (LCNAF). See also: LCNAF.

NAF See: Name Authority File

Name Authority File

a file containing records which show the form in which personal names, corporate bodies, uniform titles, and jurisdictional geographic headings have been established; indicate the cross-references made to those headings, and cite the sources consulted in establishing the heading. See also: Authority control; Authority file; Authority record; Authority work

Numbered series See: Monographic series.

OCLC

an online utility used by many libraries for cataloging purposes, headquartered in Dublin, Ohio.

Pattern heading

a subject heading which serves as a model of subdivision for headings in the same category. Subdivisions listed under a pattern heading may be used whenever appropriate under other headings in the same category. For example, SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM, 1564-1616 is the pattern heading for literary authors; PIANO is the pattern heading for musical instruments.

Period subdivision See: Chronological subdivision.

Qualifier

a term (enclosed in parentheses) placed after a subject heading for the purpose of distinguishing between homographs (words which are spelled the same but have different meanings) or for the purpose of clarifying the meaning of the heading. For example:

Atlas (Missile)
Atlas (Vertebra)
Socks (Cat)

Also a term (enclosed in parentheses) placed after name headings for purposes of amplifying the headings or distinguishing between similar headings. For example:

Smith, John Q. (John Quincy) National Museum of American History (U.S.)

See also: Geographic qualifier.

Reference See: Cross-Reference.

RI

Library of Congress Rule Interpretation. An explanation or commentary by LC on any of the rules of AACR2.

RLIN

Research Libraries Information Network, an on-line utility which many libraries use for cataloging purposes, headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

SEE ALSO reference

a reference from a valid heading to another, related valid heading. See also: Cross-Reference.

SEE reference

a reference from a term of name not used as a heading to one that is used. See also: Cross-reference.

Subject heading

a word or phrase describing some aspect of the subject content of a work. Topical subject headings are assigned using the latest edition of Library of Congress Subject headings and according to LC practice. Personal, corporate, or geographic names are used as subject headings in their current AACR2 form.

Subject subdivision

a further refinement extending a subject heading by indicating one of its aspects--form, place, period, or topic. For example, in the headings ...

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Characters--Fairies
Seneca Indians--Treaties
Hiking--New York (State)--Lake Placid

... the italicized portions are all subdivisions. See also: Chronological subdivision; Form subdivision; Geographic subdivision; Indirect subdivision; Topical Subdivision

Tag

a coded number or group of letters used to identify an item of information on a MARC bibliographic record. For example: In a MARC authority record, the tag 400 identifies a cross-reference tracing for a personal name heading

Topical subdivision

a subdivision which represents an aspect of the main subject other than form, place, or period. For example, in the headings ...

Libraries-- Automation
Agriculture--Accidents

... the italicized portions are topical subdivisions. See also: Chronological subdivision; Form subdivision; Geographic subdivision; Subject subdivision

Truncation

in database searching, the inputting of part of a search term in order, for example, to retrieve all terms with a common root or both the singular and plural forms of a word.

Uniform title

the particular title by which a work that has appeared under varying titles is identified for cataloging purposes. It may be the "official" name of a work that has appeared under various names (e.g., David Copperfield), the original title of a translated work (e.g., Chanson de Roland), or a collective title (e.g., Works). It may be subdivided by part (e.g., Bible. N.T.), by date (e.g., Selections. 1978), or by language (e.g., Tender is the Night.French).

Unnumbered series See: Monographic series.

Validation

the process of checking a new heading against authority file headings and references to determine whether the heading has already been established, and to verify spelling and content designators if it has been established.

Ellen Greenblatt(ulcreg@acsu.buffalo.edu)