Authority Control in the 21st Century: An Invitational Conference
Authority Control in the 21st Century: An Invitational Conference
International Conference on Cataloguing Principles, Paris, 9-18 October, 1961
The aim of the Conference (1) was to define principles on which international as well as national cataloguing rules could be based. The Statement of Principles reached at the Conference were approved by the delegates representing their national cataloguing associations. This is considered the beginning of international work on standardization of cataloguing procedures.
The Principles were concerned with the choice and form of headings in main and added entries, and cross-references in catalogues. Two sections stipulate the choice of form of uniform heading:
In the first part of the Meeting (2) various interpretations of the Paris Statements of Principles in the national cataloguing rules designed since 1961 were discussed. The discussion was led by Eva Verona, who had prepared the digest of comments. E. Verona was encharged with the task of preparing the annotated edition of the Statement of Principles which would include a survey of various solutions adopted or under discussion in various cataloguing rules.(3)
In order to advance international uniformity in relation to the choice of uniform heading, it was decided that the commentary should encourage the use 'wherever possible of the original forms of names and titles, rather than the forms used in the language of the country in which the library is located'.(4)
Other problematic areas in relation to the choice and form of a heading that were recognized as needing further comment in the annotated edition were: treatment of an author who wrote under different names for different types of material, change of name by a living author, works issued by dignitaries which, although appearing under their personal names, carried a collective authority, original forms of cities and states, nature of entries under states for laws, constitutions, etc., works produced by several authors, transliteration according to a standard international system, with an exception of ancient Greek names which may be written in the Latin form.
The Principles of Universal Bibliographic Control
The principles that address explicitely the problem of authority data will be cited here. As part of the long term programme of UBC, a resulution was passed that national bibliographic agencies accept 'responsibility for establishing the authoritative form of names for its country's authors, both personal and corporate, and authoritative lists of its country's authors, personal and corporate'.(5)
International Conference on National Bibliographies, Paris, 1977
In the thirteenth recommendation of the Conference it was stipulated that a national bibliographic agency 'should maintain an authority control system for national names, personal and corporate, and uniform titles, in accordance with international guidelines'.(6)
International Rules for Structuring Authority Forms and Authority Lists
With the aim of pursuing Universal Bibliographic Control in the field of name authorities, IFLA issued various rules and lists to help cataloguers in creating the uniform headings for names and titles emanating from different countries, belonging to different language and cultural traditions, and embodied in national cataloguing rules. They are the following:
The commentary to the Paris Statement of Principles edited by Eva Verona and assistants in line with decisions taken at the Copenhagen meeting, exposes problematic areas in establishing uniform headings in different cataloguing rules.
This annotated edition, beside the mentioned and some other issues, highlights the problem of inconsistency in the use of the term 'author', which definition was refused to be inserted into the Statement. The definitive text of the Statement thus includes terms 'personal author' and 'corporates body' which replaced the term 'corporate author' (Introduction). Moreover, in the comment to Section 8: Single Personal Author it is made clear that the entire Statement does not give a definition of the term 'personal author'. Thus, definitions of the term in post-Paris cataloguing rules and revisions vary: author is 'a person who creates the text of a work' (draft vocabulary of cataloguing terms that was circulated before the Paris Conference) in Czech, Germ/Work, NF and Yug and 'a person who creates a work or is responsible for its intellectual content, arrangement or form' (Basic Vocabulary of Cataloguing Terms, revised text) in AACR, Bulg, Norw, Sov/St and Span.
E. Verona further comments that 'differences resulting from these definitions are particularly noticeable in the rules which differentiate between publications to be entered under the name of a personal author and those to be entered under the name of a corporate body, in the rules for publications containing a work which has been produced under editorial direction, and in the rules for collections'. (14)
More recent discussions on this issue (1991-1993) within IFLA Standing Committee on Cataloguing were published in the notes form under the title 'Problems and prospects of linking various single-language and/or multi-language name authority files'. (15)
In these notes the Committee proposes a review of the problem, pointing to some aspects for investigation. These aspects are:
To sum up: The principle of Universal Bibliographic Control for name authority files is to encourage that the receiving agency uses original forms of names and titles established by the national bibliographic agency. However, already in the process of establishing uniform headings by national bibliographic agencies approaches are taken that show divergence from the agreements reached at the Paris Conference. The aspects of this problem elaborated in the commentary to the annotated editon of the Statement of Principles, and by the IFLA Standing Committee on Cataloguing point out that variants in uniform headings can be broadly grouped into those that are conditioned by the principles on which national cataloguing rules are based, like definition of an author, and those that are conditioned by the language and national bibliographic traditions. This unevenness in applying the Paris Statement of Principles has direct impact on the acceptance of uniform headings by receiving national bibliographic agencies.
Questions: Is it realistic to expect that national bibliographic agencies would change their attitudes in this question or at least lessen to the lowest degree the instancies of 'variants' in order to cooperate on an international scale?
Under the mentioned circumstances, it is obvious that an international standard authority data number (ISADN) must be defined in such a way as to accomodate linguistic and national variants in the accepted form of heading. (16)
Is it the design of an ISADN that should cater for these instances, or should it be some kind mechanism or procedure within an international authority data system?
Do we need a new Paris Conference?
IFLA Working Group on an International Authority System was set up during the IFLA General Conference in Strbske Pleso, the Check Republic in 1978 'to establish principles for the creation of authority files and procedures to facilitate international exchange of authority information'. (17) The terms of reference and a set of recommended tasks were drawn up. The terms of reference were defined as threefold:
Guidelines for Authority and Reference Entries
Guidelines for Authority and Reference Entries, (18) issued in 1984 are considered the answer to the first objective set out in the terms of reference. They define a set of elements to be included in the authority entry, reference entry, and general explanatory entry, assign an order to the elements, and specify a system of punctuation for the entry in print and micro-print form. Three types of authorities are defined: headings for personal names, headings for corporate bodies, including conferences and territorial authorities; and uniform titles for anonymous classics.
The specifications of the guidelines, however, are confined to the structure of the entries, they 'make no attempt to specify the form or structure of uniform headings or references per se, nor do they prescribe punctuation to be used within the defined element'. The specifications pertaining to the form of the heading should be made, were applicable, according to other IFLA documents, and national cataloguing rules.
However, national cataloguing rules do not address the creation of authority entries, that is, they do not stipulate the content, i.e., entities and elements that identify them, and structure of authorty entries, as well as relations within the given catalogue. The plea for such rules was pronounced by Eva Verona (19) and Pat Oddy (20), and explicitely emphasized by Francois Bourdon.
The question is, Will the content and relations of authority entries that are valid within the catalogue for which they are originally made be applicable to the content of records and system of relations in the target catalogue?
UNIMARC/Authorities: Universal Format for Authorities
UNIMARC/Authorities, issued in 1991(21), (22), relates to the second objective defined in terms of reference. The format follows the Guidelines in defining data elements and structure of authority and reference entries for recording in machine-readable form.
The format defines content designators (tags, indicators subfield identifiers) for the same entities as Guidelines with the addition of uniform titles for works by individual authors and topical subjects.
In the same manner as the guidelines, UNIMARC does not define the content of authority and reference records but refers this problem to the application of IFLA standards and national cataloguing rules. However, in the preface to the format one can read that data elements of the format were not considered to be definitive and that additions to the format would depend on the model for an international authority system to be worked out.
Furthermore, the format does not give direction as to What is the subject of international exchange? i.e., does not explicitely say that only national authors and titles are subject to the international exchange. UNIMARC does not code national authors and titles. How is this exchange performed in relation to national bibliographic records? What is the role of a national bibliographic agency in receiving the records? The format defines that each national bibliographic agency will be responsible for the conversion of authority records into UNIMARC/Authorities for transmission to other national agencies and that it will receive machine-readable records in the UNIMARC/Authorities format from other national agencies. But there is no mention of what are the agency's responsibilities as to the content of the records. How are the records from external sources integrated into national files? What kind of ajustments to the content of exchanged records is needed?
T. Delsey reports that 'in the preliminary model developed by the Working Group on an International Authority System, the central facility was performing a kind of clearinghouse function for the redistribution of authority entries that had been adapted to meet the language requirements of a particular catalogue. ... A model of this sort would be an optimization of the basic principle of economy that underlines the UBC concept. Short of achieving the ideal where a single authority entry gains universal acceptance in its original form, the clearinghouse model ensures as far as possible that changes necessitated by linguistic differences are made only once for each language, and are then shared by all agencies having the same language requirements. (23)
Moreover, functions of authority entry records within the automated authority file which is linked in an online system to the bibliographic one, should be investigated. (The functions of an authority file which does not have this particular direct link could be different. Online search is performed, in this case, via bibliographic file not via authority one.) Particularly, the change of functions in relation to manual authority files, relations that exist among records within the automated authority file, the influence of online retrieval techniques on the content of authority entry records, the methods or procedures in establishing authority entry records. (24)
To cite T. Delsey's opinion on implementation of UNIMARC/Authorities by national bibliographic agencies from the aspect of bilateral exchange of authority data: 'When one looks more closely at the complexities of authority control on an international scale, one soon realizes that an infrastructure more sophisticated than that supporting simple bilateral exchange is required.' (25)
Francoise Bourdon: International Cooperation in the Field of Authority Data
F. Bourdon's study (26) is the most complete research done so far into the problems that stand in the way of an effective international exchange of authority records.
It is a follow up of a study, also done under the auspices of IFLA, entitled Management and Use of Name Authority Files (personal names, corporate bodies and uniform titles): Evaluation and Prospects by Marcelle Beaudiquez and Francoise Bourdon. (27) In the survey of 15 automated authority files containing names of persons, corporate bodies and uniform titles for anonymous classics the authors note that they cover more or less the same items without paying special attention to national authors. The report suggests that the failure of international cooperation on authority data is due to the fact that the division of labour defined by UBC has been tacitly ignored, and that there is a lack of precision in the terminology in the field of authority data.
The aim of Francoise Bourdon's study International Cooperation in the Field of Authority Data: An Analytical Study with Recommendations was to 'identify the current obstacles to the international exchange of authority data, whether in manual or automated form, and to submit recommendations to IFLA to be ratified and thus to contribute to international cooperation in this area'.
By analysing international standards F. Bourdon concludes that they show the gaps in regard to the definition of the typical content of authority records that are intended to be re-useable outside the context in which they were created. This failure resulted from a lack of clarity in the aims of international standardization, and the lack of identification of the different functions of an authority file in an automated environment.
F. Bourdon identifies two types of authority files, whether manual or automated, according to their function. Management name authority files are 'designed simply to ensure the formal management of name access points to a given catalogue', that is, additional elements to headings function as means to distinguish between uniform headings of bibliographic items described in a particular catalogue. These files can be used 'effectively with constant reference to the catalogue on which they are dependent'. Therefore, they are not suitable for the exchange of authority data.
Identification of entity which is the subject of the authority record is the characteristic of the second type of authority files, i.e., identification name authority files. The presence of different types of notes in addition to management functions in authority records makes this type of authority file independent from the catalogue, and therefore applicable for re-use in a new context. These files are most suitable for international exchange.
Viewing this problem in the environment of international exchange of data, F. Bourdon raises the following questions: what elements make up an authority, which elements are re-usable, how much an authority heading should be modified to fit into the structure of a target catalogue, and what digree of difference can be tolerated between headings in a catalogue before its consistency suffers? The problem is that national cataloguing rules do not address these questions, since in general they do not even mention such files.
Taking all these into consideration, F. Bourdon gives recommendations and proposals for a working schedule. General policy is defined first and it concerns the application of the principles of UBC:
In this last recommendation F. Bourdon analyses centralized and decentralized international system of authority data that could be organized to facilitate the re-use of the reference authority data established by national bibliographic agencies. The author gives more arguments for a centralized system.
F. Bourdon further argues that the success of an international authority system to the exchange of authority data implies 'the existence of an international consensus to define and use an ISADN (International Standards Authority Data Number) for each entity which forms authority record'. The aim of this number is to identify the entity of the authority record unambigously on an international scale unimpeded by barriers of language. It should not be attributed to the authority form but to the whole of the identification authority record drawn up by the national bibliographic agency which is responsible for the author in question. F. Bourdon further proposes the following method for the construction of such a number.
It should be an 'intelligent' number: it must indicate the organization which established the authority record to which it refers, the nationality of the entity which it represents, the language in which the author publishes most often, and whether the authority record is provisional or not. In addition, record number in a given system can be included. This sort of number can be constructed automatically by a computer system. For example:
frBN fr fre 123456 * frBNfrfre2506
In the conclusion, F. Bourdon proposes the following work to be carried out on standardization:
The creation and functions of an international authority data number was the subject of various studies. (28)
IFLA UBCIM Programme has answered to these recommendations and some other suggestions (29) by organizing a meeting of experts to consider the feasibility of creating an international authority data system and ISADN. The meeting will take place at the British Library in May this year.
(1) International Conference on Cataloguing Principles, Paris, 9th-18th October, 1961. Report. London : Clive Bingley, 1969.
(2) International Meeting of Cataloguing Experts, Copenhagen, 1969 : Report. // IFLA Annual 1969.
(3) Statement of Principles adopted at the International Conference on Cataloguing Principles Paris, October, 1961. Annotated ed. with commentary and examples by Eva Verona assisted by Franz Georg Kaltwasser, P.R. Lewis, Roger Pierrot. London : IFLA Committee on Cataloguing, 1971.
(4) Report of the International Meeting of Cataloguing Experts, Copenhagen, 1969. // Libri 20(1970)1, p. 110.
(5) Anderson, D. Universal bibliographic control : a long term policy, a plan for action. Pullach, Muenchen: Saur, 1974, p. 47.
(6) International Conference on National Bibliographies, Paris, 1977. Final report. Paris : Unesco, 1978.
(7) Names of persons : national usages for entry in catalogues / by the IFLA International Office for UBC. 3rd ed. London : IFLA International office for UBC, 1977.
(8) Form and structure of corporate headings / recommendations of the Working Group on Corporate Headings ; approved by the Standing Committees of the IFLA Section on Cataloguing and the IFLA Section on Official Publications. London : IFLA International Office for UBC, 1980.
(9) Verona, E. Corporate headings : their use in library catalogues and national bibliographies. London : IFLA Committee on Cataloguing, 1975.
(10) Anonymous classics : a list of uniform headings for European literatures / ed. by R.C. Hewett. London : IFLA International Office for UBC, 1978.
(11) List of uniform titles for liturgical works of the Latin Rites of the Catholic Church / recommended by the Working Group on Uniform Headings for Liturgical Works. 2nd rev. ed. Munechen: Saur, 1981.
(12) Names of states : an authority list of language forms for catalogue entries. London : IFLA International Office for UBC, 1981.
(13) List of uniform headings for higher legislative and ministerial bodies in European countries / compiled by the USSR Cataloguing Committee. 2nd ed. London : IFLA International Office for UBC, 1979.
(14) Statement of Principles. P. 24.
(15) Problems and prospects of linking various single-language and/or multi-language name authority files: notes ... / prepared by Eeva Murtoma and Eugenie Greig. // International cataloguing and bibliographic control 23 (1994) 3, pp. 55- 58.
(16) Delsey, T. Authority control in an international context. // Cataloguing and Classificaton quarterly 9(1989)3, pp. 13-28.
(17) Delsey, T. IFLA Working Group on an International Authority System: a progress report. // International cataloguing 9(1980) January/March, pp. 10-12.
(18) Guidelines for authority and reference entries / recommended by the Working Group on an International Authority System ; approved by the Standing Committees of the IFLA Section on Cataloguing and the IFLA Section on Information Technology. London : IFLA International Programme for UBC, 1984.
(19) Verona, E. Pravilnik i priru~nik za izradbu abecednih kataloga. 2. dio : Katalo`ni opis. Zagreb : Hrvatsko bibliotekarsko dru{tvo, 1983.
(20) Oddy, P. Name authority files. // Catalogue & index (1986) 82, pp. 1 i 3-4. Cited in F. Bourdon, Op. cit.
(21) UNIMARC/Authorities : Universal Format for Authorities ; recommended by the IFLA Steering Group on a UNIMARC Format for Authorities ; approved by the Standing Committees of the IFLA Section on Cataloguing and Information Technology. Muenchen: Saur, 1991.
(22) Willer, M. UNIMARC/Authorities Format. // UNIMARC and CDS/ISIS: Proceedings of the Workshops Held in Budapest, 21-22 June 1993 and Barcelona, 26 August 1993 / edited by Marie-France Plassard and Marvin Holdt. - Muenchen: Saur, 1994.
Willer, M. UNIMARC/Authorities: a new tool towards standardization. // UNIMARC with CDS/ISIS Workshop / IFLA General Conference, Barcelona, 26 August 1993; UBC/UNIMARC: a seminar on Universal bibliographic Control and UNIMARC, Lietuvos Nacionalnie Martyno Mazvydo Biblioteka, Vilnius, 2- 4 June 1994, Lithuania; UNIMARC Workshop 'Crimea '95', Jevpatoria, Ukraine, 12-16 June 1995.
(23) Delsey, T. Authority control in an international context. p. 26.
(24) Watson, M. R. and A. G. Taylor. Implications of reference structures for authority work in online environments. // Information technology and libraries 6(1987)1, pp. 10-19.
Weintraub, T. S. Personal names variations: implications for authority control in computerized catalogs. // Library resources and technical services 35(1991)2, pp. 217-228.
Younger, J. A. After Cutter: authority control in the twenty-first century. // Library resources and technical services 39(1995)2, pp. 133-141.
(25) Delsey, T. Authority control in an international context. p. 23.
(26) Bourdon, F. International cooperation in the field of authority data : an analytical study with recommendations. Muenchen: Saur, 1991.
(27) Beaudiquez, M. i F. Bourdon. Management and use of name authority files (personal names, corporate bodies and uniform titles) : evaluation and prospects. Muenchen: Saur, 1991.
(28) Poncet, J. Authority files in machine systems. // The interchange of bibliographic information in machine readable form / R.E. Coward and M. Yelland, eds. London: Library Association, 1975. Pp. 96-98.
The International MARC Network: bibliographic study. London: IFLA International Office for UBC, 1977.
Malinconico, S. M. The library catalogue in a computerized environment. // The nature and future of the catalogue / ed. by M. J. Freedman and S. M. Malinconico. Phoenix, Ariz.: Oryx Press, 1979. Pp. 46-68.
Delsey, T. Authority control in an international context, pp. 23-27.
Heymans, F. How human-usable is interchangeable? or, Shall we produce catalogues or babelographic towers? // Library resources and technical services 26 (1982) 2, pp. 156-169.
Problems and prospects of linking various single-language and/or multi-language name authority files, pp. 56-57.
(29) UNIMARC/CCF : proceedings of the Workshop held in Florence, 5-7 June 1991 / IFLA/Unesco ; ed. by Marie-France Plassard and Diana McLean Brooking. Muenchen: Saur, 1993.
Seminar on Bibliographic Records: proceedings of the Seminar held in Stockholm, 15-16 August 1990 / ed. Ross Bourne. Muenchen: Saur, 1992.
See also: International cataloguing and bibliographic control, 25 (1996) for report from the IFLA International Seminar 'Authority Files: Their Creation and Use in Cataloguing', St. Petersburg, October 3-7, 1995.
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