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Research : Activities : VIAF (The Virtual International Authority File)

VIAF (The Virtual International Authority File)

A joint project with the Library of Congress, the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France, VIAF explores virtually combining the name authority files of all three institutions into a single name authority service.

As of the fall of 2009 there are 18 personal name authority files from 15 organizations participating in VIAF.

Impact

The goal of this project is to facilitate research across languages anywhere in the world by making authorities truly international.

OCLC is conducting this research because we have proven software for matching and linking authority records for personal names. This software will be used to match the authority records from The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek (dnb) and the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) to the corresponding authority records from the Library of Congress (LC).

Once the existing authority records are linked, shared OAI servers will be established to maintain the authority files and to provide user access to the files. Users then will be able to see names displayed in the most appropriate language. For example, German users will be able to see a name displayed in the form established by the dnb, while French users will see the same name as established by the BnF, and American users will view the name as established by LC. Users in their respective countries will be able to view name records as established by the other nations, thus making the authorities truly international and facilitating research across languages anywhere in the world.

Outputs

Virtual International Authority File (PPT:325K/25 slides). ALA Annual Conference, 24 June 2006, New Orleans, Louisiana (USA)

Team Members




Most recent updates: page content 11 August 2009, prototype 16 October 07.

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This activity is part of ResearchWorks. Use of our prototypes is subject to OCLC's terms and conditions. By continuing past this point, you agree to abide by these terms.

Try the online demo

VIAF virtually combines the name authority files of participating institutions from around the world into a single name authority service that is truly international.

Project lead: Thom Hickey (Co-Lead), Ed O'Neill (Co-Lead)