Bibliographic Utilities: Authority Fields in MARC RECORDS

Scope

• Verifying the correctness of subject headings, authors, and titles (these are "access points" to records) in local MARC records is vital to ensuring that end-users can successfully search a library catalog to find the materials that they need.

Authority Heading Fields

• Authority Types	Authority Heading	See CrossRef	See Also CrossRef	Primary Fields
  Name Headings (MARC Fields)
  Personal names	100	400	500	100  600  700  800
  Corporate  names	110	410	510	110  610  710  810
  Meeting    names	111	411	511	111  611  711  811
  Uniform    titles	130	430	530	130  440  630  730 830
  Subject Headings (MARC Fields)
  Topical Terms	150	450	550	650
  Geographic Names	151	451	551	651
  Genre/Form Terms	155	455	555	655

• Consequently, libraries must review each addition to its catalog for compliance with records in standard authority databases, such as the Library of Congress Subject Headings, NACO (the name authority component of the Library of Congress's Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC)), SACO (the subject authority component of the PCC)
• Usually, the authority records in OCLC and RLIN are sufficient, but this is not always the case. Problems include:
  • There are always new authors,
  • Titles fmay vary or the same item
  • Evolving subject headings.

Process (Note: This is NOT creating new subject headings.)

• Check the fields in a record that are searchable access points subject to authority control.
• Determine the following:
  • Are all the appropriate headings present in the record?
  • Are any headings inappropriate for the local catalog?
• Add or remove headings as needed.
• Analyze each heading:
  • Is the heading have the correct form?
  • Does the heading require a cross-reference from a different heading?
• Check an authority file for an authority record to help resolve any questions with any heading.
• Add the authority record to your catalog if appropriate.
• Determine if the heading that you are going to add conflicts with any other headings in your records.
• Check any edits that you have made to any heading and record.

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