VIAF

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VIAFWorldCat Identities

• T Hickey
• OCLC Research
• ELAG 2008

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Virtual International Authority File

• Joint project of LC, DNB, BnF, and OCLC
• Goals
• Reduce costs of authority work
• Allow searching and display in local version of a
  name
• Links names from national library authority files
• Now personal names
• Soon geographic
• Not subjects (topicals)
• Publicly available
• Plan to expand participation

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The Problem

• A person may have the same established form in
  both authority files
• Different people may be assigned the same
  established form
• Different forms of the name may be established
  for the same person
• An particular person may not be established in
  both files

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VIAF
VIAF

• 7.5 million personal name authority records
• 25 million bibliographic records
• 1.2 million links between files

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Klaus Müller
Jurgen 1959 Dec 12
Jurgen 1943
Klaus W.
Klaus W
Klaus-Jurgen 1930
Jurgen 1943
Klaus-Detlef
Jurgen 1936
Klaus-Detlef
Jurgen 1959
Klaus 1933
Gerd Dr.
Klaus Bertram
Karl-Heinz
K.H. (Karl Heinz)
Karl-Heinz 1933
Klaus Otto Wilhelm
Karl-Heinz 1958
Klaus Peter
Klaus O. W. 1965-1990
Klaus 1944
Klaus-Peter
Peter 1950
Peter 1950
Klaus Peter 1945
Klaus-Peter 1954
Klaus Peter 1950
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Jürgen Müller 1959 Dec. 12
Klaus-Jürgen Müller 1930
Jürgen Müller 1943
Jürgen Müller 1943
Klaus Müller 1957
Jürgen Müller
Klaus Jürgen Müller 1930
Jürgen Müller 1936
Jürgen Müller 1936
Klaus Müller
Klaus Müller 1955
Jürgen Müller 1959
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http//viaf.org/
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WorldCat Identities

• Every name in WorldCat
• 25 million pages
• Depends on
• VIAF
• Name control
• FRBR matching at the work level
• Sources
• WorldCat
• 100 million bibliographic records
• 1,200 million library holdings, 20,000 libraries
• VIAF
• Wikipedia

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Thank you

• T. Hickey
• http//orlabs.oclc.org/viaf/LCn82054463
• http//worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n82-54463
• ELAG
• 2008