The Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) is an international authority file. It is a joint project of several national libraries and operated by the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC).[1]
Discussions about having a joint international authority started in the late 1990s. After several failed attempts to develop a unique joint authority file, the new idea was to link existing national authorities. This would present all the benefits of a standard file without requiring a significant investment of time and expense in the process.[2]
The project transitioned to being a service of the OCLC on 4 April 2012.[8]
The aim is to link the national authority files (such as the German Name Authority File) to a single virtual authority file. In this file, identical records from the different data sets are linked together. A VIAF record receives a standard data number, contains the primary "see" and "see also" records from the original documents, and refers to the original authority records. The data is made available online and is available for research and, data exchange and sharing. Reciprocal updating uses the Open Archives InitiativeProtocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) protocol.
The file numbers are also being added to Wikipedia biographical articles and are incorporated into Wikidata.[9][10]
Christine L. Borgman groups VIAF with the International Standard Name Identifier and ORCID systems, describing all three as "loosely coordinated efforts to standardize name forms".[11] Borgman characterizes all three systems as attempts to solve the problem of author name disambiguation, which has grown in scale as the quantity of data multiplies.[11] She notes that VIAF, unlike the other two systems, is led by libraries, as opposed to individual authors or creators.[11]
VIAF clustersedit
VIAF's clustering algorithm is run every month. As more data are added from participating libraries, clusters of authority records may coalesce or split, leading to some fluctuation in the VIAF identifier of certain authority records.[12]
German: Westschweizer Bibliothekverbund French: Réseau des bibliothèques de Suisse occidentale Italian: Rete delle bibliotheche della Svizzera occidentale
^O'Neill, Edward T. (12 August 2016). . Authority Data on the Web, a Satellite Meeting of the 2016 IFLA World Library and Information Congress. OCLC. Archived from the original (Video presentation) on 13 July 2018.
^"VIAF: Convenient access to name authority files". OCLC. 20 December 2019.
^Loesch, Martha Fallahay (28 February 2011). "The Virtual International Authority File". Technical Services Quarterly. 28 (2): 255–256. doi:10.1080/07317131.2011.546304. ISSN 0731-7131. S2CID 62694070.
^Morris, Susan R. (September 2003). "Virtual International Authority". Library of Congress Information Bulletin. Library of Congress. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
^. 21 September 2003. Archived from the original on 21 September 2003.
^Murphy, Bob (4 April 2012). "Virtual International Authority File service transitions to OCLC; contributing institutions continue to shape direction through VIAF Council" (Press release). OCLC. Dublin, OH.
^Klein, Max; Renspie, Melissa (7 December 2012). "VIAFbot Edits 250,000 Wikipedia Articles to Reciprocate All Links from VIAF into Wikipedia". OCLC.
^Klein, Maximilian; Kyrios, Alex (14 October 2013). "VIAFbot and the Integration of Library Data on Wikipedia". The Code4Lib Journal (22). ISSN 1940-5758.
virtual, international, authority, file, viaf, international, authority, file, joint, project, several, national, libraries, operated, online, computer, library, center, oclc, screenshot, 2012acronymviaforganisationoclcintroduced6, august, 2003, 2003, example1. The Virtual International Authority File VIAF is an international authority file It is a joint project of several national libraries and operated by the Online Computer Library Center OCLC 1 Virtual International Authority FileScreenshot 2012AcronymVIAFOrganisationOCLCIntroduced6 August 2003 2003 08 06 Example106965171Websiteviaf wbr org Contents 1 History 2 VIAF clusters 3 Participating libraries and organizations 3 1 Libraries added for testing purposes 4 See also 5 References 6 Sources 7 External linksHistory editDiscussions about having a joint international authority started in the late 1990s After several failed attempts to develop a unique joint authority file the new idea was to link existing national authorities This would present all the benefits of a standard file without requiring a significant investment of time and expense in the process 2 The project was initiated by the American Library of Congress LOC the German National Library DNB and the OCLC in April 1998 as a proof of concept that authority records can be linked 3 After extensive testing the VIAF consortium was formed at the 2003 World Library and Information Congress hosted by the International Federation of Library Associations 4 on 6 August 2003 5 6 and by September it had its own page at the OCLC website 7 The Bibliotheque nationale de France BnF joined the project on 5 October 2007 The project transitioned to being a service of the OCLC on 4 April 2012 8 The aim is to link the national authority files such as the German Name Authority File to a single virtual authority file In this file identical records from the different data sets are linked together A VIAF record receives a standard data number contains the primary see and see also records from the original documents and refers to the original authority records The data is made available online and is available for research and data exchange and sharing Reciprocal updating uses the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting OAI PMH protocol The file numbers are also being added to Wikipedia biographical articles and are incorporated into Wikidata 9 10 Christine L Borgman groups VIAF with the International Standard Name Identifier and ORCID systems describing all three as loosely coordinated efforts to standardize name forms 11 Borgman characterizes all three systems as attempts to solve the problem of author name disambiguation which has grown in scale as the quantity of data multiplies 11 She notes that VIAF unlike the other two systems is led by libraries as opposed to individual authors or creators 11 VIAF clusters editVIAF s clustering algorithm is run every month As more data are added from participating libraries clusters of authority records may coalesce or split leading to some fluctuation in the VIAF identifier of certain authority records 12 Participating libraries and organizations editEnglish Wikipedia entry name Identifier Native language name Location CountryNational Library of Argentina 13 ARBABN Spanish Biblioteca Nacional Mariano Moreno Buenos Aires ArgentinaBibliotheca Alexandrina EGAXA Arabic مكتبة الإسكندرية Alexandria EgyptBiblioteca Nacional de Chile BNCHL Spanish Biblioteca Nacional de Chile Santiago ChileBiblioteca Nacional de Espana BNE Spanish Biblioteca Nacional de Espana Madrid SpainBiblioteca Nacional de Portugal PTBNP Portuguese Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal Lisbon PortugalBibliotheque et Archives nationales du Quebec B2Q French Bibliotheque et Archives nationales du Quebec Quebec CanadaBibliotheque nationale de France BnF French Bibliotheque nationale de France Paris FranceNational Library of Greece EBE Greek E8nikh Biblio8hkh ths Ellados Athens GreeceBibliotheque Nationale du Royaume du Maroc BNRM MRBNR Arabic المكتبة الوطنية للمملكة المغربية French Bibliotheque nationale du Royaume du Maroc Rabat MoroccoBiografisch Portaal BPN Dutch Biografisch Portaal The Hague NetherlandsBritish Library London EnglandDanish Agency for Culture and Palaces Danish Kulturstyrelsen Copenhagen DenmarkDanish Bibliographic Centre DBC Danish Dansk BiblioteksCenter Ballerup DenmarkGerman National Library DNB GND German Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt GermanyInternational Standard Name Identifier ISNI London United KingdomIsrael Museum Hebrew מוזיאון ישראל Jerusalem IsraelIstituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico ICCUSBN Italian Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico Rome ItalyLebanese National Library LNL Arabic المكتبة الوطنية Beirut LebanonLibrary and Archives Canada LAC French Bibliotheque et Archives Canada Ottawa Ontario CanadaLibrary of CongressNACO consortium Name Authority Cooperative Program LCCN Washington D C United StatesNational and University Library in Zagreb NSK Croatian Nacionalna i sveucilisna knjiznica u Zagrebu Zagreb CroatiaNational and University Library of Slovenia Slovene Narodna in univerzitetna knjiznica Ljubljana SloveniaNational Central Library NCLCYT Chinese 國家圖書館 Taipei TaiwanNational Diet Library NDL Japanese 国立国会図書館 TokyoKyoto JapanNational Institute of Informatics NIICiNii Japanese 国立情報学研究所 Tokyo JapanNational Library Board NLB SingaporeNational Library of Australia NLA Canberra AustraliaNational Library of Brazil BLBNB Portuguese Biblioteca Nacional do Brasil Rio de Janeiro BrazilNational Library of Catalonia BNC Catalan Biblioteca de Catalunya Barcelona SpainNational Library of Estonia ERRR Estonian Eesti Rahvusraamatukogu Tallinn EstoniaNational and University Library of Iceland NULI UIY Icelandic Haskolabokasafn Reykjavik IcelandNational Library of Ireland N6I Irish Leabharlann Naisiunta na hEireann Dublin IrelandNational Library of Israel NLI Hebrew הספרייה הלאומית Jerusalem IsraelNational Library of Korea KRNLK Korean 국립중앙도서관 Seoul KoreaNational Library of Latvia LNB Latvian Latvijas Nacionala biblioteka Riga LatviaNational Library of Luxembourg BNL Luxembourgish Nationalbibliotheik LetzebuergFrench Bibliotheque nationale de Luxembourg Luxembourg City LuxembourgNational Library of Mexico BNM Spanish Biblioteca Nacional de Mexico Mexico City MexicoNational Library of the Netherlands NTA Dutch Koninklijke Bibliotheek The Hague NetherlandsNational Library of New Zealand Wellington New ZealandNational Library of Norway BIBSYSW2Z Norwegian Nasjonalbiblioteket Trondheim NorwayNational Library of Poland NLP Polish Biblioteka Narodowa Warsaw PolandNational Library of Russia NLR Russian Rossijskaya nacionalnaya biblioteka Saint Petersburg RussiaNational Library of Scotland Scottish Gaelic Leabharlann Naiseanta na h AlbaScots Naitional Leebrar o Scotland Edinburgh ScotlandNational Library of South Africa Afrikaans Staats Bibliotheek der Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek Cape TownPretoria South AfricaNational Library of Sweden SELIBR Swedish Kungliga biblioteket Sveriges nationalbibliotek Stockholm SwedenNational Library of Wales Welsh Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru Aberystwyth WalesNational Library of the Czech Republic NKC Czech Narodni knihovna Ceske republiky Prague Czech RepublicNational Szechenyi Library NSZL Hungarian Orszagos Szechenyi Konyvtar Budapest HungaryPerseus Project PERSEUS Medford Massachusetts United StatesRERO Library Network of Western Switzerland RERO German Westschweizer BibliothekverbundFrench Reseau des bibliotheques de Suisse occidentaleItalian Rete delle bibliotheche della Svizzera occidentale Martigny SwitzerlandRepertoire International des Sources Musicales RISM Frankfurt GermanySysteme universitaire de documentation SUDOC French Systeme universitaire de documentation FranceSyriac Reference Portal SRP Nashville Tennessee United StatesSwiss National Library SWNL German Schweizerische NationalbibliothekFrench Bibliotheque nationale suisseItalian Biblioteca nazionale svizzeraRomansh Biblioteca naziunala svizra Bern SwitzerlandNarodowy Uniwersalny Katalog Centralny NUKAT pl NUKAT Polish Narodowy Uniwersalny Katalog Centralny PolandUnion List of Artist Names Getty Research Institute ULANJPG Los Angeles California United StatesUnited States National Agricultural Library NALT Beltsville Maryland United StatesUnited States National Library of Medicine Bethesda Maryland United StatesVatican Library BAV Latin Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana Vatican CityCultuurconnect Bibnet nl and LOCUS Dutch Vlaamse Centrale Catalogus Brussels BelgiumWikidata WKP Berlin Germany InternationalLibraries added for testing purposes edit English Wikipedia entry name Identifier Native language name Location CountryLithuanian National Library LIH Lithuanian Lietuvos nacionaline Martyno Mazvydo biblioteka Vilnius LithuaniaNational and University Library of Slovenia COBISS SIMACOB Slovene Narodna in univerzitetna knjiznica NUK Ljubljana SloveniaSee also editAuthority control Faceted Application of Subject Terminology FAST Integrated Authority File GND International Standard Authority Data Number ISADN International Standard Name Identifier ISNI Wikipedia s authority control template for articlesReferences edit Kelley Michael Schwartz Meredith 2012 VIAF service transitions to OCLC Library Journal 137 8 Media Source Inc 16 nbsp O Neill Edward T 12 August 2016 VIAF Origins Authority Data on the Web a Satellite Meeting of the 2016 IFLA World Library and Information Congress OCLC Archived from the original Video presentation on 13 July 2018 VIAF Convenient access to name authority files OCLC 20 December 2019 Loesch Martha Fallahay 28 February 2011 The Virtual International Authority File Technical Services Quarterly 28 2 255 256 doi 10 1080 07317131 2011 546304 ISSN 0731 7131 S2CID 62694070 Morris Susan R September 2003 Virtual International Authority Library of Congress Information Bulletin Library of Congress Retrieved 5 January 2021 Agnew Grace 2008 Digital Rights Management A Librarian s Guide to Technology and Practise Chandos Publishing p 180 ISBN 978 1 84334 125 3 OCLC 62715356 Virtual international authority file OCLC Projects 21 September 2003 Archived from the original on 21 September 2003 Murphy Bob 4 April 2012 Virtual International Authority File service transitions to OCLC contributing institutions continue to shape direction through VIAF Council Press release OCLC Dublin OH Klein Max Renspie Melissa 7 December 2012 VIAFbot Edits 250 000 Wikipedia Articles to Reciprocate All Links from VIAF into Wikipedia OCLC Klein Maximilian Kyrios Alex 14 October 2013 VIAFbot and the Integration of Library Data on Wikipedia The Code4Lib Journal 22 ISSN 1940 5758 a b c Borgman 2015 p 260 Hickey Thomas B Toves Jenny A July 2014 Managing Ambiguity In VIAF D Lib Magazine 20 7 8 Corporation for National Research Initiatives doi 10 1045 july2014 hickey ARABN National Library of Argentina VIAF Profile viaf org Retrieved 30 September 2023 Sources editBorgman Christine L 2015 Big Data Little Data No Data Scholarship in the Networked World MIT Press ISBN 978 0 262 32786 2 OCLC 900409008 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to VIAF nbsp Wikidata has the property nbsp VIAF ID P214 see uses Official website nbsp VIAF at OCLC Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Virtual International Authority File amp oldid 1212992583, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
