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Authority control is a way of associating a unique identifier to articles on Wikipedia. This is useful to disambiguate different items with similar or identical headings, as well as establish a single standard title for an item that is commonly known by two or more titles. When used, authority control data links can be found near the bottom of Wikipedia pages, linking to bibliographical records on worldwide library catalogs. Authority control is often used in biographical articles because it is quite common for more than one person to share the same name. It is commonly used in other subject material as well.
Authority control enables researchers to search more easily for pertinent information on the subject of an article, without needing to disambiguate the subject manually. For example, authority control is used on music articles so that the information in the article can be easily cross-referenced with popular databases.
More generally, authority control is a method of creating and maintaining index terms for bibliographical material in a library catalog, similar to the Dewey Decimal System. The links produced by the authority control template on Wikipedia go to authority control data in worldwide library catalogs. As an example, the Wikipedia authority control information for Alexander Graham Bell looks like this:
| General | |
|---|---|
| National libraries | |
| Art research institutes | |
| Biographical dictionaries | |
| Scientific databases | |
| Other | |
The abbreviations in the box represent the following: International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI); Virtual International Authority File (VIAF); Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN); and Integrated Authority File (GND), Gemeinsame Normdatei in German. WorldCat is a global cooperative union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories.
Supported files
The following authority files are supported on the English Wikipedia:
| Identifier | Section | Wikidata property | Appears as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland Art Gallery | Art galleries and museums | P3372: Auckland Art Gallery artist ID | |
| ACM Digital Library | Scientific databases | P864: ACM Digital Library author ID | |
| Australian Dictionary of Biography | Biographical dictionaries | P1907: Australian Dictionary of Biography ID | |
| Admiralty number | Lighthouse identifiers | P3562: Admiralty number |
|
| Art Gallery of South Australia | Art galleries and museums | P6804: Art Gallery of South Australia creator ID | |
| ARLHS lighthouse ID | Lighthouse identifiers | P2980: ARLHS lighthouse ID | |
| Autores.uy | Biographical dictionaries | P2558: autores.uy ID | |
| Remarks: autores.uy is an author's database, that focus on Uruguayan authors. It was created and maintained by the Uruguayan chapter of Creative Commons. It also provides access to digitized works of the authors in public domain. | |||
| Australian Women's Register | Biographical dictionaries | P4186: Australian Women's Register ID | |
| Norwegian Authority File: Persons and Corporate Bodies | National libraries | P1015: NORAF ID | |
| Remarks: BIBSYS is a supplier of library and information systems for all Norwegian university Libraries, the National Library of Norway, college libraries, and a number of research libraries and institutions. | |||
| Bildindex der Kunst und Architektur | Art research institutes | P2092: Bildindex der Kunst und Architektur ID | |
| Collective Catalog of Bibliographic Authorities of Chile | National libraries | P1890: CCAB ID | |
| BNE authority file | National libraries | P950: Biblioteca Nacional de España ID | |
| Remarks: National Library of Spain (BNE: Biblioteca Nacional de España) is a major public library, the largest in Spain. | |||
| BnF authorities | National libraries | P268: Bibliothèque nationale de France ID | |
| Remarks: Authority data of people listed in the general catalogue of the National Library of France | |||
| BnF authorities | National libraries | P268: Bibliothèque nationale de France ID | |
| Catálogo de autoridades BNMM | National libraries | P3788: BNMM authority ID | |
| International Plant Names Index | Scientific databases | P428: botanist author abbreviation | |
| Remarks: Author citation (botany): standard form (official abbreviation) of a personal name for use in an author citation (only for names of algae, fungi and plants). Links to page at International Plant Names Index (IPNI). | |||
| Biografisch Portaal | Biographical dictionaries | P651: Biografisch Portaal van Nederland ID | |
| Remarks: Dutch project with material for 40,000 digitized biographies, including former colonies of the Netherlands. | |||
| Name and Title Authority File of Catalonia | National libraries | P9984: CANTIC ID | |
| Canadian Coastguard Lighthouse ID | Lighthouse identifiers | P3920: Canadian Coastguard Lighthouse ID |
|
| NACSIS-CAT | Scientific databases | P271: CiNii Books author ID | |
| Remarks: CiNii is a bibliographic database service for material in Japanese academic libraries. It is maintained by the National Institute of Informatics. | |||
| Commonwealth War Graves Commission database | Other | P1908: CWGC person ID | |
| Dictionary of Australian Artists | Art research institutes | P1707: DAAO ID | |
| Dansk Fyrliste | Lighthouse identifiers | P4038: Danish List of Lights and Fog signals ID |
|
| Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani | Biographical dictionaries | P1986: Biographical Dictionary of Italian People ID | |
| DBLP | Scientific databases | P2456: DBLP author ID | |
| Dictionary of Irish Biography | Biographical dictionaries | P6829: Dictionary of Irish Biography ID | |
| The Stuttgart Database of Scientific Illustrators 1450–1950 | Art research institutes | P2349: Stuttgart Database of Scientific Illustrators ID | |
| Deutsche Biographie | Biographical dictionaries | P7902: Deutsche Biographie (GND) ID | |
| Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine | National libraries | P4613: Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine ID | |
| Faceted Application of Subject Terminology | Other | P2163: FAST ID | |
| Finnish List of Lights | Lighthouse identifiers | P4143: Finnish List of Lights ID |
|
| Find New Zealand Artists | Art research institutes | P6792: Find NZ Artists ID | |
| GND ID | National libraries | P227: GND ID | |
| Remarks: Authority data on people, corporations and subjects from the German National Library (DNB) | |||
| Google Scholar | Scientific databases | P1960: Google Scholar author ID | |
| Grammy Awards artist ID | Other | P7303: Grammy Awards artist ID | |
| Historical Dictionary of Switzerland | Other | P902: HDS ID | |
| Remarks: Historical Dictionary of Switzerland is an encyclopedia on the history of Switzerland. | |||
| World Athletics Database | Other | P1146: World Athletics athlete ID | |
| Remarks: The IAAF athlete database lists information about sport of athletics competitors. | |||
| OPAC SBN | National libraries | P396: SBN author ID | |
| Remarks: Central Institute for the Union Catalogue (ICCU: {{lang|it|Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico}}) is an Italian government agency created to build a single catalog of all the libraries in the nation. It manages National Library Service ({{lang|it|Servizio bibliotecario nazionale}}). | |||
| Information Center for Israeli Art | Art research institutes | P1736: Information Center for Israeli Art artist ID | |
| Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine | Other | P9070: Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine ID | |
| International Standard Identifier for Libraries and Related Organizations | Other | P791: ISIL | |
| Remarks: Libraries, museums and archives, decentralized database. | |||
| International Standard Name Identifier | General | P213: ISNI | |
| Remarks: ISNI is a method for uniquely identifying the public identities of contributors to media content such as books, TV programmes, and newspaper articles. Please take care not to confuse ISNI and ORCID identifiers. | |||
| National Library of Israel Names and Subjects Authority File | National libraries | P8189: National Library of Israel J9U ID | |
| Joconde | Art research institutes | P347: Joconde work ID | |
| KANTO | National libraries | P8980: KANTO ID | |
| KulturNav | Art research institutes | P1248: KulturNav-ID | |
| Remarks: KulturNav is a Norwegian cloud-based software service, allowing users to create, manage and distribute name authorities and terminology, focusing on the needs of museums and other cultural heritage institutions. The software is developed by KulturIT ANS and the development project is funded by the Arts Council Norway. | |||
| Library of Congress Authorities | National libraries | P244: Library of Congress authority ID | |
| Remarks: See Wikipedia:Authority control#LCCN for formatting instructions | |||
| Lexicon istoric retic | Other | P886: Lexicon istoric retic ID | |
| Remarks: {{lang|rm|Lexicon Istoric Retic}} (LIR) is a two volume version with a selection of articles published in Romansh. | |||
| Electronic Union Catalogue of Latvian Libraries of National Significance | National libraries | P1368: National Library of Latvia ID | |
| Fari e Segnalamenti | Lighthouse identifiers | P3863: Italian Navy Lighthouses and Beacons ID | |
| MarineTraffic Lighthouse ID | Lighthouse identifiers | P3601: MarineTraffic Lighthouse ID | |
| Mathematical Reviews | Scientific databases | P4955: MR Author ID | |
| MusicBrainz artist ID | Other | P434: MusicBrainz artist ID | |
| Remarks: MusicBrainz is an open music encyclopedia that collects music metadata and makes it available to the public. | |||
| MusicBrainz area ID | Other | P982: MusicBrainz area ID | |
| MusicBrainz instrument ID | Other | P1330: MusicBrainz instrument ID | |
| MusicBrainz label ID | Other | P966: MusicBrainz label ID | |
| MusicBrainz place ID | Other | P1004: MusicBrainz place ID | |
| MusicBrainz release group ID | Other | P436: MusicBrainz release group ID | |
| MusicBrainz series ID | Other | P1407: MusicBrainz series ID | |
| MusicBrainz work ID | Other | P435: MusicBrainz work ID | |
| Mathematics Genealogy Project | Scientific databases | P549: Mathematics Genealogy Project ID | |
| Remarks: Mathematics Genealogy Project is a web-based database for the academic genealogy of mathematicians. | |||
| National Archives Identifier | Other | P1225: U.S. National Archives Identifier | |
| Remarks: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records. | |||
| National Central Library | National libraries | P1048: NCL ID | |
| Remarks: National Central Library is the national library of Taiwan, Republic of China. | |||
| Web NDL Authorities | National libraries | P349: NDL Authority ID | |
| Remarks: Authority data listed in the catalog of the national library of Japan. Search also available via VIAF. | |||
| NGA number | Lighthouse identifiers | P3563: NGA lighthouse ID | |
| National Gallery of Victoria | Art galleries and museums | P2041: National Gallery of Victoria artist ID | |
| Czech National Authority Database | National libraries | P691: NKCR AUT ID | |
| Remarks: National Library of the Czech Republic ({{lang|cs|Národní knihovna České republiky}}) is the central library of the Czech Republic. | |||
| Libraries Australia Authorities | National libraries | P409: Libraries Australia ID | |
| Remarks: NLA Trove's People and Organisation view allows the discovery of biographical and other contextual information about people and organisations. Search also available via VIAF. | |||
| data.nlg.gr | National libraries | P3348: National Library of Greece ID | |
| Korean Authority File | National libraries | P5034: National Library of Korea ID | |
| National Library of Romania | National libraries | P1003: National Library of Romania ID | |
| Norwegian List of Lights | Lighthouse identifiers | P4055: Norwegian List of Lights ID |
|
| NSK | National libraries | P1375: NSK ID | |
| data.bibliotheken.nl | National libraries | P1006: Nationale Thesaurus voor Auteurs ID | |
| Online List of Lights | Lighthouse identifiers | P3223: Online List of Lights ID | |
| ORCID iD | General | P496: ORCID iD | |
| Remarks: Authority data on researchers, academics, etc. The ID range is a subset of the ISNI range. For free text links (for example when mentioning a person on page which is not about them), it is also possible to use {{tl|ORCID}}. Authors—including Wikipedia editors—may obtain an ORCID by signing up at orcid.org/register. Please take care not to confuse ORCID and ISNI identifiers. | |||
| Photographers’ Identities Catalog | Art research institutes | P2750: Photographers’ Identities Catalog ID | |
| Remarks: PIC is a photographer's database. It is maintained by the New York Public Library. | |||
| MAK | National libraries | P7293: PLWABN ID | |
| Portuguese lighthouse identifier | Lighthouse identifiers | P4423: Portuguese lighthouse ID |
|
| National Library of Poland | National libraries | P1695: NLP ID (old) | |
| Publons | Scientific databases | P3829: Publons author ID | |
| ResearcherID | Scientific databases | P1053: ResearcherID | |
| Remarks: An identifying system for scientific authors. The system was introduced in January 2008 by Thomson Reuters. The combined use of the digital object identifier with the ResearcherID allows for a unique association of authors and scientific articles. | |||
| Répertoire International des Sources Musicales | Other | P5504: RISM ID | |
| RKDartists | Art research institutes | P650: RKDartists ID | |
| Remarks: RKDartists is an online database using a controlled vocabulary currently containing around 200,000+ names and other information about artists. Names in RKDartists may include given names, pseudonyms, variant spellings, names in multiple languages, and names that have changed over time (e.g., married names). | |||
| RKDimages | Art research institutes | P350: RKDimages ID | |
| Russian State Library | National libraries | P947: RSL ID (person) | |
| Remarks: Russian State Library ({{lang|ru|Российская государственная библиотека}}) is the national library of Russia. | |||
| Scopus | Scientific databases | P1153: Scopus author ID | |
| Remarks: SciVerse Scopus is a bibliographic database containing abstracts and citations for academic journal articles. It covers nearly 19,500 titles from over 5,000 international publishers, of which 16,500 are peer-reviewed journals in the scientific, technical, medical, and social sciences (including arts and humanities). | |||
| LIBRIS | National libraries | P906: SELIBR ID | |
| Remarks: Authority data from the National Library of Sweden | |||
| SIKART | Art research institutes | P781: SIKART ID | |
| Remarks: SIKART is a biographical dictionary and a database on visual art in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is published online by the Swiss Institute for Art Research (SIAR). | |||
| SNAC | Other | P3430: SNAC ARK ID | |
| Structurae | Other | P454: Structurae structure ID | |
| Structurae | Other | P2418: Structurae person ID | |
| IdRef | Other | P269: IdRef ID | |
| Remarks: Authority data of people listed in the general catalogue of the University Documentation System of France. Also available from English-speaking catalog (search author, click one book, click author name, take PPN= value of the URL) | |||
| Terminologia Anatomica | Scientific databases | P1323: Terminologia Anatomica 98 ID | |
| TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi | Other | P7314: TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi ID | |
| Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Collections Online | Art galleries and museums | P3544: Te Papa agent ID | |
| Theaterlexikon der Schweiz | Other | P1362: Theaterlexikon der Schweiz ID | |
| Remarks: {{lang|de|Theaterlexikon der Schweiz}} (TLS) is an encyclopedia about theatre in Switzerland. It was developed by the Institute of Theatre Studies of the University of Berne. | |||
| Trove | Other | P1315: NLA Trove people ID | |
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | Other | P6213: UK Parliament identifier | |
| Remarks: UK parliament member data | |||
| Union List of Artist Names | Art research institutes | P245: Union List of Artist Names ID | |
| Remarks: ULAN is an online database using a controlled vocabulary currently containing around 293,000 names and other information about artists. Names in ULAN may include given names, pseudonyms, variant spellings, names in multiple languages, and names that have changed over time (e.g., married names). | |||
| USCG Lighthouse ID | Lighthouse identifiers | P3723: USCG lighthouse ID | |
| US Congress Bio identifier | Other | P1157: US Congress Bio ID | |
| Remarks: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress is a biographical dictionary of all present and former members of the United States Congress and its predecessor, the Continental Congress. Also included are Delegates from territories and the District of Columbia and Resident Commissioners from the Philippines and Puerto Rico. | |||
| opac.vatlib.it | National libraries | P8034: Vatican Library VcBA ID | |
| Remarks: Vatican Library document data | |||
| VIAF ID | General | P214: VIAF ID | |
| Remarks: International authority data from the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) | |||
| Vitaskrá | Lighthouse identifiers | P3993: Vitaskrá ID |
|
| WorldCat Identities | General | P7859: WorldCat Identities ID | |
| VIAF ID | General | P214: VIAF ID | |
| zbMATH Open | Scientific databases | P1556: zbMATH author ID | |
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