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.
Using the Web for Name Authority Work.
While many catalogers are using the Web to find the information they need to perform authority work quickly and accurately, the full potential of the Web to assist catalogers in name authority work has yet to be realized. The ever-growing nature of the Web means that available information for creating personal name, corporate name, and other types of headings will increase. In this article, we examine ways in which simple and effective Web searching can save catalogers time and money in the process of authority work. In addition, questions involving evaluating authority information found on the Web are explored.
An analysis of eight RLIN-members' authority-controlled access points for purposes of speeding copy cataloging work flow
The authority-controlled headings in a random sample of cataloging records from eight RLIN-member libraries were examined to determine the extent to which they either matched the forms as established in RLIN's on-line authority files or, in cases where no headings existed in the files, had been formulated according to AACR2R principles and LC guidelines. The primary purpose of the study was to add libraries to a preferred list kept by the Monograph Cataloging Section of the New York Public Library and used to speed its copy cataloging work flow. The way that the Section uses this list was described.