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W.E.B.
Du Bois Library Cataloging Manual
AUTHORITY CONTROL (GENERAL)
In the Innopac system we do not need authority records for every heading used in bibliographic records. For name, subject, and uniform title headings we need only those authority records that have cross references or important notes that help to distinguish one heading from another. For those headings that do not require authority records, the form used in Innopac is the authorized form. For series headings, however, we do need an authority record for every heading used. Because the cross references in an authority record function only in the file (author, title, or subject) in which the authority record is indexed, we need versions of the authority record in each file in which the heading is used. Thus, for example, if the heading for a personal name exists in the database both as an author and as a subject, we need an authority record in each file.We have contracted with Blackwell North America (BNA) to provide us with authority records for current cataloging. Every month we extract from Innopac a tape of our bibliographic records, including those with CAT DATES later than the last date included in the previous extract and up to approximately two months before the current date. It will take approximately three to four months from the time a cataloged bibliographic record enters Innopac to get authority records for the headings on that record. BNA will provide authority records for all name, series, subject and uniform title headings found in the Library of Congress authority file if they have cross references or notes. Normally, we do not have to do any authority work on headings in the LC authority file that do not require local editing. Procedures for dealing with authority records that do not exist in the LC authority file, that require local editing, or whose cross references the cataloger feels should be in the database immediately, are discussed in related authority documents.
BNA maintains a file of authority records that they have sent us in the past, either as part of the initial database cleanup, or as part of the ongoing authority service. They use this file to avoid sending us duplicate authority records and to send us quarterly notifications of changes that the Library of Congress has made to records that we have received from BNA. Therefore to ensure the integrity of BNA's file, we should not delete authority records from Innopac without informing BNA of the deletions. Likewise to ensure the integrity of our file, we should keep track of authority records downloaded from OCLC or copied from one Innopac file to another so that they can be easily found and deleted when we receive the same record from BNA.
When BNA sends us the quarterly notifications of changes to our authority records, the old records are deleted manually and the new versions of the records are added by tapeload. In order to preserve information in authority records that has been added locally, we will insert a note in a 667nn field of the authority record saying LOCALLY EDITED in capital letters. A printout of the record will be made before it is deleted and the locally added information transferred to the new record after it is loaded.
All conflicts between headings should be reported to the appropriate section of the Authority Unit for investigation and resolution. The Authority Unit is divided into name, uniform title, series, and subject sections. Conflicts should be reported on record correction forms either directly to the appropriate authority section or to the appropriate Record Corrections Coordinator, who will forward the forms to the authority section. Conflicts that involve many records should be reported on the white correction forms with a general description of the problem.
Copyright
2000 University of Massachusetts, Amherst