LIS 415: Information Organization

Contact Information

Instructor: Daniel N. Joudrey
E-mail: joudrey@simmons.edu
Office: P-205B
Phone: (617) 521-2863


Unit 6: Access & Authority Control

The unit describes the process of creating access points for names and titles of works that are represented in information resources; providing consistency in form of access points with references from alternate forms is also explored.

Topics: Choosing primary and secondary access points, Rules for name creation, Authority records, Authority control, Cross-references

  • How are surrogate records made available to users via access points?
  • How can access points be constructed so that all versions of a name will be found together?
  • How do access points affect collocation?
  • How can persons or entities with the same name be distinguished from each other?
  • How can all names used by a person or body, and/or all manifestations of a name of a person or body be brought together?
  • How can all manifestations of the same work be brought together?
  • How does access/authority control affect collocation?
  • What functions does an authority file serve?
  • Why is authority control important for public services?

Required Readings

Taylor, The Organization of Information, Chapter 8

Jeng, "What Authority? Why Control?"

Tillett, "Authority Control State of the Art" http://www.unifi.it/universita/biblioteche/ac/relazioni/tillett_eng.pdf

Borbinha, "Authority Control in the World of Metadata"


Recommended Readings

Articles

Holm, "Authority Control..."

Vellucci, "Metadata and Authority Control"

Wilson, "The Catalog as Access Mechanism: Background and Concepts," pp. 253-268.


Recommended Readings

Web Sites

Tillett, Authority Control on the Web http://www.loc.gov/catdir/bibcontrol/tillett_paper.html

Barnhart, "Access Control Records" (really old, but covers basic concepts) http://www.loc.gov/catdir/bibcontrol/tillett_paper.html

Pitti, "Creator Description: Encoded Archival Context" http://www.unifi.it/universita/biblioteche/ac/relazioni/pitti_eng.pdf

 


Recommended Readings

Books

Taylor, Introduction to Cat & Class, Chapters 6, 7, and 8

Chan, Cataloging and Classification, Chapters 5-6

Harvey & Hider, Organising Knowledge in a Global Society, Chapter 5

Smiraglia, The Nature of "A Work," pp. 35-52.


Vocabulary

  • Access point
  • Added entry
  • Analytical entry
  • Asynchronous responsibility
  • Author
  • Author/title access point
  • Authority control
  • Authority file
  • Authority record
  • Authority work
  • Collocation
  • Corporate body
  • Entry (as opposed to "heading")
  • Heading (as opposed to "entry")
  • LCNAF
  • Main entry (access point)
  • Main entry (record)
  • Paris Principles
  • Primary access point
  • Secondary access point
  • Synchronous responsibility
  • Title entry
  • Uniform title
  • USNAF

Course Outline


Back to the Syllabus
Updated June 16, 2008.