This document discusses authority control in Moldovan university libraries. It summarizes issues with merging 7 library catalogs into a shared union catalog, including problems with homonyms, synonyms, and duplicate records. The document outlines solutions like using qualifying information like dates and occupations to distinguish between authors with the same name. It also discusses establishing uniform subject headings to ensure all items on the same topic are collocated. Overall, the document argues that authority control is essential for accurate searching and differentiates high-quality library catalogs from other information systems.

1. The authority control -
quality assurance of the electronic union catalog
Irina GANGAN
Adela NEGURĂ

2. Authority files and authority control in the
moldovan libraries
1990’s - have started library automation in the Republic of Moldova by
implementation of integrated library systems. Each library tried to create
and use their own name and subject authority files in local databases;
2014 - 7 university libraries initiated a cooperative partnership in the MISISQ
Tempus Project;
2015 – was founded LibUnivCatalog - the shared union catalog of university
libraries of Moldova. 7 databases were converted to MARC 21 format
and merged into Aleph integrated library system. The development of this
informational product is based on cooperative cataloging technologies -
a new experience for moldovan catalogers.

3. Authority control vs. library catalog quality
„Authority control is the backbone of the library catalog”
Hester Marais
Authority control ensures the quality of the library catalog by providing
consistency in the use of name and subject entries.
Benefits of Authority Control
• Guarantee that users find the particular work they are looking for
• Guarantee that users find all the works of the author or subject they are
looking for
• Increases precision and recall in searching
• Reduces large result sets

4. LibUnivCatalog: merging databases problems
7 merged library catalogs into one system: problems and solutions
• single name representation for different authors with the same name
(homonymy);
• multiple name representation for the same author (synonymy);
• inappropriate grouping of works by different authors linked to the same
authority record;
• multiple bibliographic records for the same type of item (duplicated
records) etc.
As the joint database has grown,
the authority control is more necessary than ever

5. One heading - 4 different persons
(homonymy)
4 different authors published under the same name
The heading Batîr, Dumitru - linked together 88 bibliographic records

6. Disambiguation framework
Principle of unique headings
Qualifying information is used to break conflicts between persons with identical
heading forms:
$d - dates of birth and death (only for famous personalities)
100 1_$a Eminescu, Mihai $d (1850-1889)
$q - fuller form if known
100 1_$a Martines, Eduardo J. $d (Eduardo Jose)
$c - other suitable term to distinguish between individuals (occupation, academic
degree etc.)
100 1_$a Batîr, Dumitru $c chemist 100 1_$a Batîr, Dumitru $c medicine
38 bib. records 20 bib. records
chemistry, nickel, halogen human anatomy, locomotor system
(the author could be identified by suggestive words from the title)
100 1_$a Batîr, Dumitru ??? 30 bib. Records
(bibliographic research will continue to identify the author)

7. Multiple headings representing the same entity
(synonymy)
The author Ţîrdea Teodor
was reprezented by 10 different
headings:
1. Ţîrdea, Teodor N.
2. Ţîrdea, Teodor Nicolae
3. Ţîrdea, Teodor
4. Ţîrdea, Tudor Nicolae
5. Ţîrdea, T.
6. Ţîrdea, F. N.
7. Ţârdea, Teodor N.
8. Ţârdea, Teodor
9. Cyrdâ, Feodor Nikolaeviců
10. Цырдя, Федор Николаевич

8. Principle of uniform headings
Problem solving steps:
1. establishing the authoritative form
of the heading
- the name that appears most frequently
in the persons’ works
- the name that appears most frequently
in the reference sourses
- the latest name
2. creating cross- references „seen
from” and „see also”;
3. eliminating duplicate headings;
4. collocating all bibliographic
records to established heading

9. Subject authority control
Searching by subject headings is the most precise way to search in library
databases.
Authority control ensures that all items about the same topic have uniform
headings.
In the context of cooperative cataloging, each library has defined its own
subject indexing policy, adapted to the needs of its users, based on
controlled vocabularies: MeSH, Agrovoc, EuroVoc, Lives-Ro,
RAMEAU models.
The Scientific Medical Library manages its own authority file, based on
the MeSH (Medical Subject Headings), for univocally representing the
contents of medical information resourses.

10. Subject authority control
Aleph is a flexible and multifunctional library integrated system, that
offers possibilities to manage authority files, by creating headings,
cross-references and connections between authorized, unauthorized
terms, and the bibliographic database.
More cross-references, including multilingual variants, mean more
access possibilities for users. It allows the user to search the catalog in
three languages: russian, english, romanian.
Using any of these
terms, the user will
get all the resources
owned by the library
on this subject.

11. Conclusions
• Authority files contribute to good quality catalogs
• Authority control is essential for accurate and effective searching in
information systems
- users will get the information they need
- users won’t get unrelated information or miss any information
• In fact, authority control differentiates the library catalog from other
information systems, enhancing users' confidence in information
resources created by libraries
• Authority control is value that librarians can add to library catalogs
• Authority work is difficult and time-consuming (and thus expensive)
• Although authority control is expensive, unsuccessful searches could
prove to be even more costly

12. Thank you for your attention!