Editing Authority control (section)

{{short description|Unique headings used for bibliographic information}}
{{For|the Wikipedia information page|Help:Authority control}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}<!--choosing DMY to match non-template use in existing references-->

In [[information science]], '''authority control''' is a process that organizes information, for example in [[library catalog]]s,<ref>Block, R. (1999). ''Authority control: What it is and why it matters''. Retrieved on 27 October 2006.</ref><ref name="tws2NovY111">{{cite web|year=2003|title=Why Does a Library Catalog Need Authority Control and What Is it?|url=http://info.libraries.vermont.gov/LIBRARIES/TSU/Lesson1Authority.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150607071924/http://info.libraries.vermont.gov/LIBRARIES/TSU/Lesson1Authority.htm|archive-date=2015-06-07|access-date=2015-05-22|work=IMPLEMENTING AUTHORITY CONTROL|publisher=Vermont Department of Libraries}}<!-- ... '''However! :'''  if the link [URL] in this footnote is a [[link rot|"dead link"]]<!-- Note: if "dead link" isn't in quotes, this page will throw a false positive on template maintenance script runs. -->, then ... please [feel free to] see the next footnote, which links to a web page ''having the exact same title'' that '''does''' still exist (at a slightly different [[URL]]).Pages across the work refer in their text to 2003 as the most recent year, as no other date is specified.--></ref><ref name="ALT-for-dead-link-footnote">{{cite web|url=http://libraries.vermont.gov/tsu/authorities1|title=Why Does a Library Catalog Need Authority Control and What Is it?|last=Implementing Authority Control Workshop.|year=2016|publisher=Vermont Department of Libraries |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118190310/http://libraries.vermont.gov/tsu/authorities1|archive-date=18 November 2016|access-date=18 November 2016}} <!-- (Note: the "umbrella" URL for the entire "work" ["IMPLEMENTING AUTHORITY CONTROL WORKSHOP"] is [was] http://libraries.vermont.gov/tsu/authorities [as of the "Retrieved" date, shown in the "accessdate" field])   ...but, apparently, this template does not allow a "work-url" field ... nor an embedded hyperlink inside the value of a "work" strucid. Hence, that little "Note" above [got "moved" to, somewhere] in the "location" field. – [[User:Mike_Schwartz]] --></ref> by using a single, distinct spelling of a name (heading) or an identifier (generally [[Persistent identifier|persistent]] and [[Alphanumericals|alphanumeric]]) for each topic or concept. The word ''authority'' in ''authority control'' derives from the idea that the names of people, places, things, and concepts are ''authorized,'' i.e., they are established in one particular form.<ref name="tws2G113">{{cite web|year=2013|title=auctor<!-- not a misspelling-->|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=auctor&searchmode=none|access-date=2013-07-19|work=Online Etymology Dictionary|publisher=Douglas Harper|quote='''author ([[noun|n]])''' ''—'' {{circa}} 1300, ''autor'' "father," from [[Old French|O.Fr.]] ''auctor, acteor'' "author, originator, creator, instigator (12c., [[Modern French|Mod.Fr.]] ''auteur''), from [[Latin|L.]] ''auctorem'' ([[Nominative case|nom.]] ''auctor'') ''... –''<br>'''authority (n.)''' ''—'' early 13c., ''autorite'' "book or quotation that settles an argument," from <abbr title="Old French">O.Fr.</abbr> ''auctorité'' "authority, prestige, right, permission, dignity, gravity; the Scriptures" (<abbr title="12th century">12c.</abbr>; <abbr title="Modern French">Mod.Fr.</abbr> ''autorité''), ''...''}} '''Note:''' root words for both ''author'' and ''authority'' are words such as ''auctor'' or ''autor'' and ''autorite'' from the 13th century.</ref><ref name="tws2G114">{{cite news |url=http://www.memidex.com/authority+control |title=authority (control) |website=Memidex |date=2012 |access-date=February 27, 2022 |quote=Etymology ... autorite "book or quotation that settles an argument", from Old French auctorité... |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930095630/http://www.memidex.com/authority+control |archive-date=September 30, 2019}}</ref><ref name="tws2G115">{{cite news|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/authority?show=0&t=1354895338|title=authority|last=Merriam-Webster Dictionary.|date=2012|access-date=7 December 2012|quote=See "Origin of authority" – Middle English auctorite, from Anglo-French auctorité, from Latin auctoritat-, auctoritas opinion, decision, power, from auctor First Known Use: 13th century...}}</ref> These one-of-a-kind headings or identifiers are applied consistently throughout catalogs which make use of the respective authority file,<ref name="tws2NovY333">{{cite web|url=http://lib.nmsu.edu/depts/techsvs/authoritycontrol.shtml|title=Authority Control at the NMSU Library|year=2007|publisher=New Mexico State University|location=United States|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100604000413/http://lib.nmsu.edu/depts/techsvs/authoritycontrol.shtml|archive-date=4 June 2010|access-date=25 November 2012}}</ref> and are applied for other methods of organizing data such as linkages and [[Cross-reference|cross references]].<ref name=tws2NovY333/><ref name="tws2NovY112">{{cite web |url=https://www.lisbdnetwork.com/authority-control-in-opac/ |title=Authority Control in OPAC |date=October 27, 2018 |website=LIS BD Network |access-date=February 27, 2022 |archive-date=28 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228012132/https://www.lisbdnetwork.com/authority-control-in-opac/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Each controlled entry is described in an authority ''record'' in terms of its scope and usage, and this organization helps the library staff maintain the catalog and make it user-friendly for researchers.<ref name=tws2NovY312/>

[[Cataloger]]s assign each subject—such as author, topic, series, or corporation—a particular unique identifier or heading term which is then used consistently, uniquely, and unambiguously for all references to that same subject, which removes variations from different spellings, [[transliteration]]s, [[pen name]]s, or [[pseudonym|alias]]es.<ref name="tws2NovYfuf">{{cite news|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/policy-and-planning/authority-control|title=Collection description policy|last=National Library of Australia.|date=n.d.|access-date=23 January 2020|quote=The primary purpose of authority control is to assist the catalogue user in locating items of interest.|archive-date=13 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113135458/http://www.nla.gov.au/policy-and-planning/authority-control|url-status=dead}}</ref> The unique header can guide users to all relevant information including related or [[collocation|collocated]] subjects.<ref name=tws2NovYfuf/> Authority records can be combined into a database and called an '''authority file''', and maintaining and updating these files as well as "logical linkages"<ref name="tws2NovY877">{{cite news|url=http://www.authoritycontrol.com/book/export/html/4|title=Authority Control at LTI|date=2012|url-status=dead|publisher=LTI|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215130251/http://www.authoritycontrol.com/book/export/html/4|archive-date=2013-12-15}}</ref> to other files within them is the work of librarians and other information catalogers. Accordingly, authority control is an example of [[controlled vocabulary]] and of [[bibliographic control]].

While in theory any piece of information is amenable to authority control such as personal and corporate names, [[uniform title]]s, series names, and subjects,<ref name=tws2NovY111/><ref name="ALT-for-dead-link-footnote"/> library catalogers typically focus on author names and titles of works. Traditionally, one of the most commonly used authority files globally are the [[Library of Congress Subject Headings|subject headings from the Library of Congress]]. More recently, links to or titles of the articles and categories of [[Wikipedia]] emerged to function as an authority file due to the popularity of the encyclopedia, where each article or category is a notable topic or concept similar to other authority files.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

As time passes, information changes, prompting needs for reorganization. According to one view, authority control is not about creating a perfect seamless system but rather it is an ongoing effort to keep up with these changes and try to bring "structure and order" to the task of helping users find information.<ref name=tws2NovY312 />