Showing papers on "Authority control published in 1986"

Authority Control: An Alternative to the Record Group Concept

Abstract: Current archival practice in the United States grew out of the early experiences of the National Archives. These experiences, based upon the principles and practices of generations of European archivists, resulted in the related concepts of "record group" and "archival hierarchies." This article argues that the record group concept leads to practices that fail to provide adequate access to archival holdings; it should be replaced by an archival model based upon authority control.An authority control-based system focuses upon record-generating entities; it consists of descriptions of the histories and functions of organizations and of the administrative relationships between them. The authority control system is an intellectual construct, susceptible to emendation as institutions evolve, as functions change, and as administrative structures are altered. The authority control system is a dynamic system that places each record-creating agency into an administrative hierarchy while also maintaining a record o...

Subject authority control and syndetic structure ― myth and realities. An inquiry into certain subject heading practices and some questions about their implications

Abstract: An examination of subject heading practices in the card catalogs of libraries in one New York State county and an analysis of selected subject headings found that only the largest libraries were able to provide any kind of subject authority control. Furthermore, not even the largest libraries were able to provide the "See Also" references upon which the Library of Congress assignment of subject headings is based. Changes in LCSH headings resulted in great confusion and a dispersal of resources in the smaller libraries. Is this situation typical of practices at other libraries in other parts of the United States? If so, the implications could be very serious. The study offers no answers, but raises important questions.

Online catalogues in North America: an overview

Abstract: OPACs currently in operation in North America fall into three categories: (1) turnkey systems (e.g. CLSI and Geac); (2) marketed, locally developed systems (e.g. NOTIS, VTLS); and (3) home‐grown systems (e.g. LCS at Ohio State University). Significant developments centre around linking systems, authority control, telecommunications, and the provision of information not usually found in traditional library catalogues. The paper includes an interesting differentiation of and discussion on linked systems versus integrated systems with good arguments for the former, plus examples. OPACs have become increasingly common in the past two years, although they are mostly still seen as replacing the card catalogue, but with greater search capabilities, and possible connections to circulation or status information. A few are becoming gateways to more specialised information about stock and status, and to more general information on other libraries' holdings. Even fewer, as yet, include information about non‐book material or have access to external databases. The true power of the online catalogue is seen as a lens for exploring a much larger bibliographic universe than any one library could ever hope to contain.

MARCON II: information control on a microcomputer

Abstract: MARCON II combines sophisticated retrieval capabilites with text‐oriented database support for entering and editing records. Potential applications are numerous, including management of archival collections requiring extensive descriptive information. Authority control is provided through an optional thesaurus system.

Auto-Graphics' AGILE II

Abstract: AGILE II is a full service utility providing shared cataloging in eight MARC formats with access to local data, database management, inter library loan, electronic mail, subject searching, authority control and other features. The adoptation of AGILE II and the MARC format to support community (agency and program) information suggests imaginative applications for similar systems. Two sidebars discuss installations of AGILE II.

The status of name authority control in the cataloging of original art objects

Abstract: Authority control, the mechanism for assuring consistency in the choice and form of a heading (be it name, subject or title) has, with the advent of major automated bibliographic networks been of increasing concern to librarians since the 1970s.1 Name authority control, the subject of this paper, is perhaps nowhere more crucial than in the cataloging of art objects, where the attribution of an artist is paramount, yet also fraught with diffi culties. Putting aside the issue of connoisseurship (a problem in itself), once the attribution of an art work has been determined, the museum registrar, curator, slide librarian or archivist must, like the bibliographic librarian, decide how to enter the artist's name in their files. Should, for example, the infamous fountain/urinal by Marcel Duchamp be entered under the name of Duchamp or under the pseudonym signature which appears on the piece: R. Mutt? Should contemporary artist H. C. Westerman be cataloged with the initials H. C. as he is commonly known, or under his full name Horace Clifford as taken from the reference source Who's Who in American Art?2 Is Stanton MacDonald-Wright to be indexed under MacDonald or Wright; Guy P?ne du Bois under P?ne or du Bois? And, finally, what is to be done with the photographer Ivan Dmitri, who when working as an etcher signs his prints Levon West? Given the difficulties of incomplete, inconsistent, and variant signatures, problems compound?d by the prolific nature of most artists, some form of authority control seems imperative if museum catalogs are to succeed in serving their dual functions of identification and collocation, i.e., to identify a particular object within the collection and to identify all other works done by that same artist in the collection.

DYNIX automated library systems

Abstract: DYNIX is an integrated library system that supports cataloging, authority control, circulation, public access, and serials functions. The system is built around a common relational database with integrated report generation. Designed for the Pick operating system, DYNIX can be run on a wide variety of computers. The system operates in both multi‐branch and multi‐type library settings.