8.1. Name authority concepts and problems

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1 Overview Name authrity cntrl 8.1. Name authrity cncepts and prblems The Rules, Standards, and Authrity Cntrl mdules prvided a fundatin fr understanding name authrity cntrl. By way f review, all authrity cntrl... is a slutin t the variability f language maintains cnsistency f terms in selected access pints by authrizing, standardizing, r cntrlling data fr unifrmity and uniqueness shws relatinships between authrized terms and their variants r related terms imprves precisin and recall in infrmatin retrieval by imprving the likelihd f exact matches between search terms and database terms This mdule prvides mre detail abut cmpnents f a name authrity cntrl system, hw name authrity is used, and the kinds f prblems it slves. Understanding these cncepts is a step tward implementing a simple name authrity cntrl system in yur Infrmatin Organizatin Prject (IOP). Name authrity cntrl cncepts Name authrity cntrl fcuses n names f peple and rganizatins. Mst names are values fr physical attributes f infrmatin bjects, such as authr, illustratr, perfrmer, r publisher. Name access pints may be treated differently than ther physical descriptin access pints, hwever, in that the data are nt always taken directly frm the infrmatin bject. In fact, they may be ttally different frm the data fund in/n the infrmatin bject! Take, fr example, the authrized name "Twain, Mark, " The chances are that n matter which f Twain's bks yu examined, yu wuld never find his name in this exact frm. This is called an authrized name heading r authrized name r established name, which means that the name des nt exist in the natural language f the dcument, but rather has been specially created.

2 SLIS 5200 / Name authrity cncepts / p. 2 Fr an access pint under name authrity cntrl... The data entered in the field are nt simply transcribed frm the infrmatin bject. An authrized name heading has been established as a mechanism fr access. The authrized name heading is characterized by uniqueness: nly ne authrized heading per persn r rganizatin unifrmity: all headings have a similar structure and cmpleteness (i.e., rder f entry, date f birth, etc.). The term heading in authrity cntrl is a hldver frm library card catalgs. Traditinally, three r mre cpies f each catalg card were created fr filing in three physical sectins f the catalg: authr, title, and subject. At the tp f each card, a catalger wuld type the authr's name, the title, r the subject. We still use the terms subject heading and name heading, at least in library catalgs. The authrized name heading r authrized name is recrded in a name authrity recrd alng with variant frms f the name. The variant frms f the name serve the same purpse as lead-in r nnpreferred terms in a subject thesaurus: they direct the searcher t the authrized name. Name authrity recrds are cllected in a name authrity file. This is a separate database frm the main database file fr an infrmatin retrieval system. Often the name authrity file is linked t the main database file, which is then set up t prmpt smene wh enters a variant name t use the authrized name instead. An advantage f a name authrity system is that it can be applied t multiple access pints r fields in the main database. In ther wrds, mre than ne name field can be put under cntrl f the same name authrity file. This is handy if the same name may appear in mre than ne field. Fr example, a persn may be bth authr and illustratr, r a crpratin may be bth authr and publisher. Occasinally the same name may appear as bth authr and subject, as in a persn's autbigraphy r a crpratin's annual reprt. A vital cmpnent f a name authrity cntrl system is the rules fr establishing the authrized name heading and fr handling variant frms f the name. Fr library catalging, Angl-American Catalguing Rules (AACR) prvides the standard. AACR helps catalgers determine which frm f a name is authrized, hw t spell the name, hw t handle peple's titles (e.g., Queen, President), and ther imprtant cnsideratins. Hw name authrity cntrl wrks The name authrity file, again, is a separate database that serves t supprt the main database r infrmatin retrieval system. Technical users (catalgers, indexers, recrd creatrs) fllw rules that tell them when t cnsult the name authrity file t find authrized names t enter in main database recrds. The data value entered in a recrd field may be entirely different frm that fund n the infrmatin bject. The prcess is illustrated n the next page.

3 SLIS 5200 / Name authrity cncepts / p. 3 Infrmatin bject Main database file Name authrity file Recrd creatr (catalger, indexer) needs t enter data in a name field... RecrdID RecrdDate Title Authr??? Subject 1. Cnsults Recrd Cntent and Input Rules The Regulatrs by Richard Bachman Finds name in/n infrmatin bject accrding t chief surce f infrmatin Reads input rule saying t find authrized name in name authrity file 2. Ges t name authrity file, searches fr name, and retrieves name authrity recrd 3. Enters authrized name in main database recrd RecrdID RecrdDate AuthrizedName VariantNames SurcesUsed Stephen King Richard Bachman RecrdID RecrdDate Title Authr Subject Stephen King A separate task fr technical users is t update and expand the name authrity file. This is why the name authrity file has its wn set f rules n hw t establish authrized names. In additin t helping technical users, the name authrity file shuld help end users find apprpriate frms f names t search. Users ften knw the name f a persn r rganizatin assciated with the infrmatin bjects they want. They may nt knw, hwever, that the persn r rganizatin uses ther names r has changed names. If each main database recrd cntains nly the name that appears n the bject it represents, users must think f all the pssible names in rder t get high recall in retrieval. Cnversely, if each recrd cntains nly ne name regardless f what appears n the bject, users need knw nly that ne name. The technical slutin fr helping them find the ne authrized name is autmatic crss referencing by linking the main database t the name authrity file.

4 SLIS 5200 / Name authrity cncepts / p. 4 Name variatin prblems Names are particularly prblematic because they vary in s many ways. Barbara Tillett, a senir member f the Library f Cngress staff wh deals with catalging, has spent much f her career addressing issues f bibligraphic cntrl, especially issues f name authrity cntrl. She enumerates a list f pssible variatins f a given name, categrized as equivalent r alternative. Equivalence relatinships 1. Orthgraphic relatinships a. Spelling variatins b. Transliteratins c. Translatins d. Punctuatin variatins e. Capitalizatin variatins 2. Wrd rder relatinships a. Inversins b. Permutatins 3. Fullness relatinships a. Full name b. Abbreviatin c. Initialism d. Acrnym Alternative names 1. Synnyms a. Pseudnym b. Byname c. Names with titles d. Official name (fr a psitin) e. Religius name f. Changed name 1) Persns 2) Crprate bdies 3) Cnferences 4) Gegraphic places (Tillett, 1989, p ) The names f sme peple present mre f a challenge than thers, like this authr: Ellisn, Harlan Cheech Beldne Ellisn, Harlan Jay Clyde Mitchell Harlan Ellisn Harlan White Lee Archer etc. These variatins include chice f names (real r pseudnym), entry rder (first name r last name first), and fullness (Harlan r Harlan Jay). In fact, Harlan Ellisn has sme 25 pseudnyms r bibligraphic identities. Which shuld be the authrized name heading? What abut internatinal names, and names transliterated frm nn-rman scripts? Library f Cngress authrizes the name Peter Ilich Tchaikvsky, but this name is transliterated frm Cyrillic characters. Mre than 40 variants are listed, including Caikvskis, Chaikvskii, Csajkvszkij, Czajkwski, Tchaikvski, Tjajkvskij, Tsjaïkvskiej, and Tsjaikvsky! And these are examples f last name. Hard t believe this is the same persn, isn't it? Hw abut entry rder? Is it always last name first? N, nt at all in an internatinal cntext. Entry rder varies cnsiderably frm ne cuntry r culture t the next (see Waugh, 1998). A large prtin f prfessinal authrity wrk invlves finding answers t just these srts f questins. Catalgers dcument the surces f authrized names in their name authrity recrds. This research makes authrity wrk ne f the mst time-cnsuming and expensive parts f the catalging prcess!

5 SLIS 5200 / Name authrity cncepts / p. 5 Name authrity slutins Name authrity cntrl experts have develped slutins t establish ne name fr an individual entity. T d this, they... Establish a unique authrized frm fr each persn, rganizatin, etc. by... Standardizing which f several frms f a name fr a persn r rganizatin t use Standardizing the spelling and frm f a name fr a persn r rganizatin Prvide crss references between authrized and variant (nnauthrized) frms f the name. This prcess requires a set f rules fr establishing authrized names, including: Chice f name: ne f tw r mre alternative names Chice f the frm f name: ne f tw r mre alternative frms Fullness: beynd first and last names, include middle name r middle initial, title? Language: use riginal native language and script f persn described r use language f system users? Spelling: which spelling f transliterated r changed name t use? Chice f entry element: which part is listed first fr srting (e.g., Ray vn Dran? vn Dran, Ray? Dran, Ray vn)? The result shuld be a set f names that are bth unique and unifrm. Uniqueness means that n tw authrized name headings are exactly alike. But what if tw peple's names are exactly alike? One way library catalgers have ensured uniqueness is by adding qualifying data t the name heading, such as birth and death dates, as in: Smith, Jhn, Smith, Jhn, Unifrmity means the names adhere t the same frmat fr fullness, spelling, entry rder, etc. Unifrmity itself helps searchers because they knw what t expect frm ne recrd t the next. As a check n uniqueness and unifrmity, try an authr search in the UNT Libraries catalg fr "Smith, Jhn." Hw many entries are there? What kinds f qualifying data? Hw many crss references? Hw unifrm are the entries? In sme cases, fr very cmmn names, unifrmity may be smewhat sacrificed fr the sake f uniqueness. That's why the entries (mre than 100 f them!) include: Smith, Jhn, Smith, Jhn A., Rectr f Baldck Smith, Jhn C., Smith, Jhn Christpher, Smith, Jhn, Guitarist

6 SLIS 5200 / Name authrity cncepts / p. 6 Summary Authrity cntrl is ne f the value-added services that librarians and ther infrmatin prfessinals prvide. It can lead t increased precisin and recall in infrmatin retrieval. It remves the burden n searchers t think f all pssible variant frms f names and gives searchers sme cnfidence that all relevant items are retrieved. Library catalgs shw the pwer f authrity cntrl that is lacking in sme abstracting and indexing databases and the Wrld Wide Web. Authrity wrk is expensive: it requires time t research alternative names and fllw all the rules fr establishing names. This mdule takes the first step tward creating a name authrity cntrl system by explaining the basic principles. The mst imprtant task is setting up rules fr establishing authrized frms f names. The majr gals are uniqueness and unifrmity f the authrized frms. Fr purpses f the IOP, guidelines fr implementing a name authrity file and fr writing rules are cvered in the next mdule. Cites & sites Tillett, B. B. (1989). Cnsideratins fr authrity cntrl in the nline envirnment. In Tillett, B. B. (Ed.). Authrity cntrl in the nline envirnment: Cnsideratin and practices. New Yrk: Hawrth Press. Waugh, A. (1998). Representing peple's names in Dublin Cre. Retrieved Octber 8, 2005 frm All SLIS 5200/4200 curse materials are cpyrighted and may nt be cpied, revised, r distributed in any frm r venue, beynd their use by students fr purpses f fulfilling curse requirements, withut prir permissin f the authrs r the University f Nrth Texas.