Authority Record
Determining When to Create an Authority Record
Gathering Information for Creating Authority Records
General Information
To create a new heading, route the supporting information to the Cataloging Coordinator or another Manuscript Unit archivist who is authorized as a NACO cataloger.
Determining When to Create an Authority Record
When deciding whether to request that a NACO record be created or updated, some factors to consider include:
- prominence of the individual, family, or corporate body
- extent and richness of their materials at Beinecke
- potential research interest
- the existence of collections created by the same person, family, or corporate body at other institutions
- the need to break a conflict with an existing name authority record
- the need to add updated information to an existing record, such as adding a death date.
In case of doubt, consult the Cataloging Coordinator.
To request that a NACO record be created or updated, add all relevant information to the spreadsheet on the Manuscript Unit Sharepoint or contact the Cataloging Coordinator.
Tracing names with no authority record existing or required:
- Create the heading in accordance with RDA and in a form that does not conflict with existing authority records.
Searching and Using Headings
Validation Preferences:
In the Voyager cataloging module, under Options>Preferences>Validation, check all boxes under Headings:
- Name
- Title
- Name/Title
- Subject
- Subdivision
Checking subdivision will result in validation of each subdivision separately from the full heading: when saving the record, the authority validation box will identify these subdivisions as invalid, meaning that they are not valid headings by themselves. Verify that all subdivisions are used correctly, and then continue with saving of the record.
Gathering Information for Creating Authority Records
No additional local guidelines.