Authority control is a term used in library and information science to refer to the practice of creating and maintaining headings for bibliographic material in a catalog. Authority control fulfills two important functions. First, it enables catalogers to disambiguate items with similar or identical headings. For example, two authors who happen to have published under the same name can be distinguished from each other by adding middle initials, birth and/or death (or flourished, if these are unknown) dates, or a descriptive epithet to the heading of one (or both) authors. Second, authority control is used by catalogers to collocate materials that logically belong together, although they present themselves differently. For example, authority control enables a catalog to index all manifestations of a given book (including translations) together.
Although theoretically, any piece of information on a given book is amenable to authority control, catalogers typically focus on authors and titles. Subject headings fulfill a function similar to authority records, although they are usually considered separately.

Authority Control in the 21st Century - Conference proceedings of an invitational conference held by OCLC March 31 - April 1, 1996. Includes full-text of the papers presented at the conference.
Authority Control: A Basic Glossary of Terms - A glossary of terms used when discussing authority control. Provided by staff at the University of Buffalo Libraries.
Authority Tools for Audio-Visual Catalogers - Annotated list of online and print resources which have proven useful in performing authority control for audiovisual materials.
Catalog of Uncataloged Titles - Service that helps you locate information not usually cataloged in bibliographic sources that may contain the information you need. View a record that includes contact information for the publisher and cost.
ISBN Check - Form for checking International Standard Book Numbers for correct length, format, checksums and check digits.
Meta Description: [ An online form which checks an International Standard Book Number for correct format/checksum and offers correct alternatives for incorrect ISBNs. ]
Library of Congress Authorities - Includes subject, name, title and name/title authority records created by or for the Library of Congress. Permits free downloading in MARC format.
Meta Description: [ The Library of Congress Authority file includes subject, name, title and name/title authority records created by or for the Library of Congress. ]
The Union List of Artist Names - The ULAN currently contains some 200,000 names representing approximately 100,000 individual artists (or creators, including performance artists, and decorative artists) and architects, cumulated from nine participating Getty documentation projects. The entire ULAN is available free of charge, allowing a search for artists or architects and retrieve their variant names, biographical information, and bibliographic citations.
Meta Description: [ Union List of Artist NamesĀ® (ULAN) is a structured vocabulary of artist names and biographical information. ]
Web World of Authority Control - Bibliography listing that includes tools, thesauri, Library of Congress sites, articles, workshops, journals, ALA committees, listservs, libraries, and vendors that deal with authority control or may be helpful in establishing authorities. This list is an attempt to help Authority Control Librarians and other librarians to do authority work easier and faster. Created and maintained by subject authorities librarians at Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University.
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