Virtual International Authority File
The Virtual International Authority File ( VIAF ) is a virtual international authority file . It is a joint project of several national libraries and library associations operated by the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC). The project was initiated in 2003 by the German National Library and the Library of Congress and began regular operations in 2012.
Content and goals
The aim of the VIAF is to link national authority files (such as the common authority file maintained by the German National Library ) to form a globally uniform virtual authority file. The databases of 25 authority files are merged and identical data records are linked in a concordance file. The data is offered online and is available for research, data exchange and data sharing. The Protocol for Metadata Harvesting of the Open Archives Initiative (OAI-PMH) is used to update the data . Pattern matching takes place once a month , in which new data records are merged with the existing ones.
For referencing, a VIAF data record is given its own authority data number as an identifier , from which a form as a Uniform Resource Identifier for linked data applications emerges. It contains references to the merged records of the authority files involved and their headings .
Participating libraries
The following libraries or library associations are participating in the project (as of May 2020):
- Bibliotheca Alexandrina , Egypt
- National Library of the Republic of Argentina , Argentina
- National Library of Australia , Australia
- Open VLACC (Flemish Public Libraries), Belgium
- National Library of Brazil, Brazil
- Biblioteca Nacional de Chile , Chile
- Dansk BiblioteksCenter , Denmark
- German National Library , Germany
- Estonian National Library , Estonia
- Bibliothèque nationale de France , France
- Système universitaire de documentation (SUDOC), France
- Greek National Library , Greece
- Irish National Library , Ireland
- National and University Library of Iceland , Iceland
- Israel National Library , Israel
- Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico , Italy
- National Parliamentary Library , Japan
- Kokuritsu Jōhōgaku Kenkyūjo (NII), Japan
- Library and Archives Canada , Canada
- Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec , Canada
- National Library of Korea, Korea
- National and University Library Zagreb , Croatia
- Latvian National Library , Latvia
- Lebanese National Library , Lebanon
- Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, Lithuania
- Bibliothèque nationale de Luxembourg , Luxembourg
- Bibliothèque Nationale du Royaume du Maroc , Morocco
- Royal Library of the Netherlands , Netherlands
- BIBSYS , Norway
- Nasjonalbiblioteket , Norway
- Polish National Library , Poland
- Narodowy Uniwersalny Catalog (NUKAT), Poland
- Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal , Portugal
- Russian State Library , Russia
- Stockholm Royal Library , Sweden
- Swiss National Library , Switzerland
- Reseau des bibliothéques de Suisse occidentale (RERO), Switzerland
- National Library Board , Singapore
- Slovak National Library , Slovakia
- National and University Library of Slovenia, Slovenia
- Biblioteca Nacional de España , Spain
- Biblioteca de Catalunya , Spain
- National Central Library , Taiwan
- National Library of the Czech Republic , Czech Republic
- National Széchényi Library , Hungary
- Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana , Vatican
- Getty Research Institute , United States
- Library of Congress , United States
- Perseus Project , United States
- Syriac Reference Portal , United States
Entries from the following databases are also displayed:
literature
- Rick Bennett, Christina Hengel-Dittrich, Edward T. O'Neill, Barbara B. Tillett: VIAF (Virtual International Authority File): Linking Die Deutsche Bibliothek and Library of Congress Name Authority Files. Project description for the World Library and Information Congress: 72nd IFLA General Conference and Council, 20. – 24. August 2006, Seoul, Korea (English, PDF; 635 kB).
Web links
- VIAF website (English)
- Description of the VIAF on the Online Computer Library Center website
- Information about VIAF on the website of the German National Library
Remarks
- ↑ However, the targeted monthly comparison is sometimes not carried out, so that the VIAF data are only current for some of the authority files involved. For example, at the beginning of October 2012 there were still entries dated May 2012.