Duplicate Authority Records

By Rich Murray
4 min

Scope: Discusses expectations and best practices for addressing duplicate authority records in the name authority file (NAF)

Contact: @Rich Murray

Unit: Resource Description Department

Date last reviewed: May 1, 2024

Date of next review: May 1, 2025

 

We often run into duplicate authority records in the course of our work. While we cannot delete or merge records in the NAF ourselves, we can (and should) report these to the NACO team at the Library of Congress. However, we do have to do a bit more than just email them the control numbers and tell them “these are dupes.” Here are the steps to take when you have identified duplicate authority records.

  1. DIY. Remember that catalogers who’ve been declared independent for NACO can fix most problems themselves unless it involves deleting a record. Adding references, correcting typos, bringing a record up to RDA standards, and changing headings based on changing usage are all things we can do ourselves. If you have a question or aren’t sure what to do, please consult with one of your NACO colleagues or ask Rich or Jessica for help.

  2. Ditch That Duplicate. We often find records that are duplicates and need to be reported for deletion. Remember that we are responsible for copying over information from the record that will be deleted, including 670s and references that are not present in the record we’re keeping. If you aren’t sure which of the multiple records to keep, there’s great information in LC’s Personal Name FAQ: FAQs on creating (NARs) - NACO - Name Authority Cooperative Program of the PCC - Program for Cooperative Cataloging (Library of Congress) . Once you copy everything to the record we’re keeping, you can email naco@loc.gov and request deletion. Here’s a good format for those messages:

    • Please delete n  00096252  Fleisher, Michael L., ǂd 1942-

In favor of n  89619179  Fleisher, Michael

  1. Mark The Duplicate. You may have seen the recent discussion on the PCC list in which users encouraged each other to add 667 notes to records they have reported for deletion. When we first joined NACO we were discouraged from doing this because making a change to an NAR locks it until it goes through the distribution process, which means LC can’t delete it until it unlocks. However, now that naco@loc.gov has a large backlog, locking the record for a few days is not an issue, and can prevent others from reporting the same dupe again. In fact, Manon Théroux from LC told us that a lot of the emails waiting in the queue for responses are reporting the same duplicates over and over. So it’s good to add a note like this to the record you are reporting for deletion:

    • 667  Duplicate record, reported for deletion in favor of [LCCN] ([date])

  2. Report BFM (Bibliographic File Maintenance). Remember that we are expected to report LC BFM that’s generated from changes we make to the NAF. This involves searching LC’s catalog and is an extra step, but it’s part of the deal we made when we joined NACO. There is a lot more non-reportable BFM than there used to be, but there’s some BFM that still must be done manually. Here’s a great FAQ on what we are and aren’t required to report to LC: Guidelines for reporting NACO BFM: - NACO - Program for Cooperative Cataloging (Library of Congress) .  We are encouraged to fix records in OCLC when we make changes, but it’s not required and if the headings are controlled, they should flip automatically. I usually only fix uncontrolled OCLC headings in records held by NDD, but that’s up to you. If there are only a handful of records you can make the changes (just make sure you Replace without adding NDD holdings to things we don’t own!!!), but I don’t encourage you to spend a lot of time correcting headings in OCLC. You can report LC BFM in the same email to naco@loc.gov in which you report a dupe and you can just cite the LCCNs like this: “LC BFM: 2012371520, 2012371569.”

  3. Consult the FAQ. One of the very best NACO documents I’ve ever seen is LC’s FAQ on Personal Names. I have it bookmarked and use it ALL THE TIME, especially when recoding records to RDA or trying to decide if a heading needs to be changed. It’s at FAQs on creating (NARs) - NACO - Name Authority Cooperative Program of the PCC - Program for Cooperative Cataloging (Library of Congress)

  4. If In Doubt, Ask. If you’re not sure what to do, please ask someone. I encourage you to discuss with other NACO catalogers here at Duke, but you are always welcome to ask Rich or Jessica as your NACO coordinators. I especially encourage you to ask Jessica about problems with uniform titles because she is the expert! We are happy to help. I encourage you to be confident in your NACO work, but if you’re just not sure what to do, it’s better to ask than to make incorrect changes that create problems later.

 

Do not expect to hear back from LC letting you know that your request has been completed. They will only contact you if there is a problem or if they need additional information from you. This is rare.

 

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