Names

Overview

Name authorities are useful tools for creating keywords for your digital collections. Authorities create consistent terminology that allow for stable search/item retrieval, clear definitions for concepts, and classification of subjects within a domain. These terms create a shared vocabulary that is repeated across many institutions' search systems, creating consistent search.

The following guide provides an introduction to common authorities used, how to apply them to collections records, and alternative resources when major authorities do not have adequate terms. If you have more questions about the content or this guide, please contact Devon Murphy at devon.murphy@austin.utexas.edu

Anatomy of a name

Example

For this name, we have both the preferred term, a persistent identifier to the term, and additional biographical knowledge about the person.

Clicking on any of these images will take you to the complete record in the Library of Congress Name Authority File.

How to Use Them

Name terms are used to describe people, organizations, conferences/meetings, and titles that are the subject of, mentioned in, or associated with a collections item. To choose name terms, first review the collections item.

Consider:

• Are there names in the item that are the focus of the item? 

• Are there specific historical or cultural names in the item?

• Are there individuals or groups in the item that have historically been marginalized? 

• How are these groups described currently in their community or area of scholarship? If an individual, how do or did that person describe or identify themselves?

  • NOTE: In some cases, individuals or groups may not be able to be named whether due to privacy and safety concerns or due to lack of sufficient information. In these circumstances, refer to the resources in the Alternative Thesauri/Resources section or the Recording Womens' Names tab for more information.

When choosing subject terms, consider:

• Adding terms that describe the most common and/or most important names.

• Being specific and concise with term choice. Avoid narrow terms "University of Texas. Alexander Architectural Archives--History."

• Consider breaking compound terms apart and putting parts into their respective fields.

• Highlighting names (individuals, groups, etc.) that have been systematically marginalized (ex. using womens' full names instead of Mrs. Last Name)

• Using names that are used by the individual and/or members of that community and/or scholars. See the alternative thesauri below for more information.

• If the individual or group cannot have their name widely shared, consider alternative options (ex. not adding to a public record, not adding to record at all.)

• Adding only 1-5 terms to lessen visual load on the user.

• Using the preferred name first, unless it is inappropriate for the context (ex. a variant term has the most updated form.) 

Where to Find Them

The following list contains a set of the most common thesauri and controlled subject vocabularies, as well as a few that are used for specific material culture contexts. Best practice is to find terms in these larger resources first before looking for an alternative or creating one's own term.

Alternative Thesauri/Resources

If you can't find the term you need in the thesauri and controlled vocabularies above, or if the terms listed are not appropriate (outdated, not reflective of current scholarship, etc.), consider using some of the resources below. You can also create your own term (guide forthcoming.)

Using Names in UT Sites

Table of Contents

Works Cited

Harpring, Patricia. 2010. Introduction to Controlled Vocabularies: Terminology for Art, Architecture, and Other Cultural Works. Edited by Murtha Baca. Los Angeles, CA: J. Paul Getty Trust. 

Hjørland, Birger, and Claudio Gnoli. 2016. “ISKO Encyclopedia of Knowledge Organization.” Subject (of Documents). ISKO. 2016. 

IFLA Working Group on Functional Requirements and Numbering of Authority Records (FRANAR). 2013. Functional Requirements for Authority Data: A Conceptual Model. Berlin/Munich:  De Gruyter Saur. 

Policy and Standards Division, Library of Congress. 2016. “Library of Congress Subject Headings: Module 1.4.” Library of Congress. 2016.