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Authority files, behold the power

I learned more about library authority files today. They are a cataloging tool that organizes bibliographic information by using a single, distinct spelling of a name or a numeric identifier for each topic. Basically they try to standardize people, places, and things.

So if you have written a book that was purchased by a library, there is probably a authority file out there and you can find them here: https://viaf.org https://www.loc.gov and http://copac.jisc.ac.uk/search/form/main

Here are the authority files associated with The Machiavellian Librarian and me.

Virtual International Authority File

The little flags in the VIAF files stand for:
Sudoc, France (French Library Consortium)
Library of Congress, USA
National and Univeristy Library in Zagreb
German National Library
ISNI (Internaitonal STandard Number Identifier)
National Library of Israel

Library of Congress

And COPAC, which is a British online library catalogues of major UK research libraries