# /programs/ourwork/renovating/leveragevocab/idresource.htm

originally: http://www.oclc.org/programs/ourwork/renovating/leveragevocab/idresource.htm

# Prototype a Cooperative "Identities Hub" The problem: Information sufficient to distinguish people and organizations with similar names is widely dispersed. Identification requires not just a name but information providing a context for the person or organization. Identifying the creators or personal/corporate subjects of works is needed across research communities—libraries, archives, museums, digital library production, institution repositories, etc.—as well as by users in the Web networked environment. The most costly component of library technical services is authority work, yet national authority files provide scant information to distinguish authors with same or similar names. The LC/NACO authority file, for example, is designed for librarians, and the practice of distinguishing between authors by birth dates is less informative than many kinds of users would expect. Each national library has its own authority file; many museums have a name authority on local artists, which supplements their use of ULAN (Union List of Artist Names). However, ULAN and biographical databases are limited in scope. The archival community requires more context for corporate bodies and state and government agencies than is typically provided in national library authority files. Institutional repositories struggle with uniquely identifying the authors of the works submitted. Article authors are often cited in a variety of ways that differ from established forms in authority files. The current LC/NACO contributor model has severe limitations, both in who is enabled to add and edit authority records and the rules that constrain what information can be entered (even if the cataloger knows more information).The intellectual work that librarians who are not NACO contributors do in the course of creating bibliographic records is untapped. The expertise in archival and museum communities is not reflected. Scholars have expertise to contribute to more clearly differentiate creators of works and do so within the Web environment. There is no one resource that illustrates the history and works by and about persons and corporate bodies which may be known by a variety of names depending on location. Researchers need a tool to support discovery of publication "pedigrees" (to establish authority and relevance of a title)—and the ability to disambiguate publisher names. Institutions need to manage names across resources, units, and domains. Objectives: Bring together information about creators now hidden within library, archival, and museum contexts, using a social networking model. Broaden the view of "authority work" beyond NACO contributors. Increase metadata creation efficiency. Make it easier for users to identify works by or about the same creator regardless of language or discipline. Expose information about personal and corporate bodies beyond the confines of library, archival, and museum silos and bring them into the "network flow". ### Working Groups Networking Names Advisory Group |
For more information Karen Smith-Yoshimura Program Officer smithyok@oclc.org