What’s in a name: associated costs or authority work for artists’ names
Authority control is both the most expensive and important quality of any library catalog. Controlling headings for artists’ names can be more expensive than other personal names, as more time is required for the necessary research needed to determine the preferred form of name and variants. However, the cost associated with controlling artists’ names can be managed through effective use of reference materials and time. How artist headings are used also suggests that, over time, the initial investment can save a library from expenses associated with future catalog maintenance.
A Status Investigation and Analysis of the Chinese Web-Based Biographical Information Sources
The purpose of this study is to investigate and analyze the status and characteristics of Web-based biographical information sources. Hence, this study examined the current status of Web-based biographical sources in China, Taiwan, Japan, and the U.S. It also conducted a comparative analysis of family names from the subject dictionary and Biography of China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), reference books of China and the Chinese Historical Biographical Database and the China Biographical Database Project (CBDP) of the U.S. Furthermore, the problems related to status investigation and analyses of the Chinese biographical sources were studied. In this study, some suggestions were made to improve the management and usability of those biographical information sources in China and Korea.
A comparison of pre- and post-cataloging authority control
As librarians at Ball State University Libraries prepared to implement the authority control module of its automated system, little information about the dependability of the module or its effectiveness as compared to the active system of providing authority control was available. The head of cataloging decided that it would be advisable to compare the effectiveness of the pre-cataloging authority control procedures in place with the post-cataloging authority control procedures that could be provided through the NOTIS reports. The two systems would be run concurrently during the test period. To test the effectiveness of each form of authority control, the Authority Control Librarian compared the number and type of established headings for which local authority records would be added using the pre-cataloging procedures to the number and type of established headings for which local authority records would be added using the report system, The test, as expected, revealed that in most respects the post-cataloging authority control procedures provide as much or more in the way of authority control than the front-end procedures, and that their uses reduce redundancy and increase efficiency.