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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:
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| 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:
| Wikidata property | Identifier | Section | Appears as |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISNI (P213) | International Standard Name Identifier | International | |
| 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. | |||
| VIAF ID (P214) | VIAF ID | International | |
| Remarks:International authority data from the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) | |||
| GND ID (P227) | GND ID | National | |
| Remarks:Authority data on people, corporations and subjects from the German National Library (DNB) | |||
| Library of Congress authority ID (P244) | Library of Congress Linked Data Service | National | |
| Remarks:See Wikipedia:Authority control#LCCN for formatting instructions | |||
| Union List of Artist Names ID (P245) | Union List of Artist Names | Artists | |
| 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). | |||
| Bibliothèque nationale de France ID (P268) | Bibliothèque nationale de France | National | |
| Remarks:Authority data of people listed in the general catalogue of the National Library of France | |||
| Bibliothèque nationale de France ID (P268) | Bibliothèque nationale de France | National | |
| IdRef ID (P269) | IdRef | Other | |
| 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) | |||
| NACSIS-CAT author ID (P271) | NACSIS-CAT author ID | Academics | |
| Remarks:CiNii is a bibliographic database service for material in Japanese academic libraries. It is maintained by the National Institute of Informatics. | |||
| Joconde work ID (P347) | Joconde | Other | |
| NDL Authority ID (P349) | Web NDL Authorities | National | |
| Remarks:Authority data listed in the catalog of the national library of Japan. Search also available via VIAF. | |||
| RKDimages ID (P350) | RKDimages | Other | |
| Mérimée ID (P380) | monument historique inscrit | Geographic | |
| SBN author ID (P396) | OPAC SBN | National | |
| Remarks:Central Institute for the Union Catalogue (ICCU: 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 (Servizio bibliotecario nazionale). | |||
| Libraries Australia ID (P409) | Libraries Australia Authorities | National | |
| 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. | |||
| botanist author abbreviation (P428) | International Plant Names Index | Academics | |
| 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). | |||
| MusicBrainz artist ID (P434) | MusicBrainz artist ID | Artists | |
| Remarks:MusicBrainz is an open music encyclopedia that collects music metadata and makes it available to the public. | |||
| MusicBrainz work ID (P435) | MusicBrainz work ID | Other | |
| MusicBrainz release group ID (P436) | MusicBrainz release group ID | Other | |
| Structurae structure ID (P454) | Structurae | Geographic | |
| ORCID iD (P496) | ORCID iD | Academics | |
| 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 {{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. | |||
| Mathematics Genealogy Project ID (P549) | Mathematics Genealogy Project ID | Academics | |
| Remarks:Mathematics Genealogy Project is a web-based database for the academic genealogy of mathematicians. | |||
| RKDartists ID (P650) | RKDartists | Artists | |
| 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). | |||
| Biografisch Portaal van Nederland ID (P651) | Biografisch Portaal | People | |
| Remarks:Dutch project with material for 40,000 digitized biographies, including former colonies of the Netherlands. | |||
| NL CR AUT ID (P691) | Czech National Authority Database | National | |
| Remarks:National Library of the Czech Republic (Národní knihovna České republiky) is the central library of the Czech Republic. | |||
| JPL Small-Body Database SPK-ID (P716) | JPL Small-Body Database | Other | |
| SIKART ID (P781) | SIKART | Artists | |
| 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). | |||
| ISIL (P791) | International Standard Identifier for Libraries and Related Organizations | People | |
| Remarks:Libraries, museums and archives, decentralized national databases. | |||
| ACM Digital Library author ID (P864) | ACM Digital Library | Academics | |
| BMLO ID (P865) | Bayerisches Musiker-Lexikon Online | People | |
| Lexicon istoric retic ID (P886) | Lexicon istoric retic | Other | |
| Remarks:Lexicon Istoric Retic (LIR) is a two volume version with a selection of articles published in Romansh. | |||
| HDS ID (P902) | Historical Dictionary of Switzerland | Other | |
| Remarks:Historical Dictionary of Switzerland is an encyclopedia on the history of Switzerland. | |||
| RSL ID (person) (P947) | Russian State Library | National | |
| Remarks:Russian State Library (Российская государственная библиотека) is the national library of Russia. | |||
| National Library of Spain ID (P950) | BNE authority file | National | |
| Remarks:National Library of Spain (BNE: Biblioteca Nacional de España) is a major public library, the largest in Spain. | |||
| MusicBrainz label ID (P966) | MusicBrainz label ID | Other | |
| MusicBrainz area ID (P982) | MusicBrainz area ID | Geographic | |
| National Library of Romania ID (P1003) | National Library of Romania authority file | National | |
| MusicBrainz place ID (P1004) | MusicBrainz place ID | Geographic | |
| Portuguese National Library author ID (P1005) | OpenData BNP | National | |
| Nationale Thesaurus voor Auteursnamen ID (P1006) | Dutch National Thesaurus for Author Names | National | |
| NORAF ID (P1015) | Norwegian Authority File: Persons and Corporate Bodies | National | |
| 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. | |||
| Sycomore ID (P1045) | member of the French National Assembly | People | |
| NCL ID (P1048) | National Central Library | National | |
| Remarks:National Central Library is the national library of Taiwan, Republic of China. | |||
| ResearcherID (P1053) | ResearcherID | Academics | |
| 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. | |||
| World Athletics athlete ID (P1146) | World Athletics database | People | |
| Remarks:The IAAF athlete database lists information about sport of athletics competitors. | |||
| Scopus author ID (P1153) | Scopus | Academics | |
| 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). | |||
| US Congress Bio ID (P1157) | US Congress Bio identifier | People | |
| 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. | |||
| MEP directory ID (P1186) | Member of the European Parliament | People | |
| U.S. National Archives Identifier (P1225) | National Archives Identifier | Other | |
| 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. | |||
| KulturNav-ID (P1248) | KulturNav | Artists | |
| 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. | |||
| NLA Trove people ID (P1315) | Trove | People | |
| Terminologia Anatomica 98 ID (P1323) | Terminologia Anatomica | Other | |
| MusicBrainz instrument ID (P1330) | MusicBrainz instrument ID | Other | |
| Theaterlexikon der Schweiz ID (P1362) | Theaterlexikon der Schweiz | Other | |
| Remarks: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. | |||
| National Library of Latvia ID (P1368) | Electronic Union Catalogue of Latvian Libraries of National Significance | National | |
| NSK ID (P1375) | NSK | National | |
| MusicBrainz series ID (P1407) | MusicBrainz series ID | Other | |
| zbMATH author ID (P1556) | zbMATH author ID | Academics | |
| Pleiades ID (P1584) | Pleiades | Geographic | |
| Remarks:Pleiades is a joint project of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University and the Ancient World Mapping Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. | |||
| DAAO ID (P1707) | Design & Art Australia Online | Artists | |
| Information Center for Israeli Art artist ID (P1736) | Information Center for Israeli Art | Artists | |
| Global Volcanism Program ID (P1886) | Global Volcanism Program | Geographic | |
| CCAB ID (P1890) | Collective Catalog of Bibliographic Authorities of Chile | National | |
| Australian Dictionary of Biography ID (P1907) | Australian Dictionary of Biography | People | |
| CWGC person ID (P1908) | Commonwealth War Graves Commission database | People | |
| Google Scholar author ID (P1960) | Google Scholar author ID | Academics | |
| Treccani's Biographical Dictionary of Italian People ID (P1986) | Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani | People | |
| National Gallery of Victoria artist ID (P2041) | National Gallery of Victoria | Artists | |
| FAST ID (P2163) | Faceted Application of Subject Terminology | International | |
| Museum of Modern Art artist ID (P2174) | Museum of Modern Art online collection | Artists | |
| Musée d'Orsay artist ID (P2268) | Répertoire des artistes | Artists | |
| Stuttgart Database of Scientific Illustrators ID (P2349) | The Stuttgart Database of Scientific Illustrators 1450–1950 | Artists | |
| Structurae person ID (P2418) | Structurae | People | |
| DBLP author ID (P2456) | dblp computer science bibliography | Academics | |
| NCES school ID (P2484) | NCES School ID | Geographic | |
| autores.uy ID (P2558) | Autores.uy | People | |
| 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. | |||
| Photographers’ Identities Catalog ID (P2750) | Photographers’ Identities Catalog | Artists | |
| Remarks:PIC is a photographer's database. It is maintained by the New York Public Library. | |||
| ARLHS lighthouse ID (P2980) | ARLHS lighthouse ID | Geographic | |
| Online List of Lights ID (P3223) | Online List of Lights | Geographic | |
| PhilPeople profile (P3233) | PhilPapers | Academics | |
| World Waterfall Database ID (P3326) | World Waterfall Database | Geographic | |
| National Library of Greece ID (P3348) | National Library of Greece | National | |
| Auckland Art Gallery artist ID (P3372) | Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki | Artists | |
| Klosterdatenbank ID (P3407) | Database of Monasteries | Geographic | |
| SNAC ARK ID (P3430) | SNAC | Other | |
| Te Papa agent ID (P3544) | Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Collections Online | Other | |
| Admiralty number (P3562) | Admiralty number | Geographic |
|
| NGA lighthouse ID (P3563) | NGA number | Geographic | |
| MarineTraffic Lighthouse ID (P3601) | MarineTraffic Lighthouse ID | Geographic | |
| USCG lighthouse ID (P3723) | USCG Lighthouse ID | Geographic | |
| BNMM authority ID (P3788) | Catálogo de autoridades BNMM | National | |
| Publons author ID (P3829) | Publons | Academics | |
| Italian Navy Lighthouses and Beacons ID (P3863) | Fari e Segnalamenti | Geographic | |
| Canadian Coastguard Lighthouse ID (P3920) | Canadian Coastguard Lighthouse ID | Geographic | |
| Remarks:Identifier from one of 4 volumes of List of Lights, Buoys and Fog Signals issued by the Canadian Coast Guard. | |||
| Vitaskrá ID (P3993) | Vitaskrá | Geographic |
|
| Danish List of Lights and Fog signals ID (P4038) | Dansk Fyrliste | Geographic |
|
| Norwegian List of Lights ID (P4055) | Norwegian List of Lights | Geographic |
|
| ADK member ID (P4114) | Academy of Arts, Berlin | Artists | |
| Finnish List of Lights ID (P4143) | Finnish List of Lights | Geographic |
|
| Australian Women's Register ID (P4186) | Australian Women's Register | People | |
| Portuguese lighthouse ID (P4423) | Portuguese lighthouse identifier | Geographic |
|
| DAHR artist ID (P4457) | Discography of American Historical Recordings | Artists | |
| EUTA person ID (P4534) | EUTA person ID | People | |
| EUTA theatre ID (P4535) | EUTA theatre ID | Geographic | |
| Städel Museum artist ID (P4581) | Städel Museum | Artists | |
| Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine ID (P4613) | Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine | Other | |
| MR Author ID (P4955) | MR Author ID | Academics | |
| National Library of Korea ID (P5034) | Korean Authority File | National | |
| BRAHMS artist ID (P5226) | B.R.A.H.M.S. | Artists | |
| Remarks:Identifier of an artist in the B.R.A.H.M.S. (Base Relationnelle d'Articles Hypertextes sur la Musique du 20e Siècle database), by the IRCAM | |||
| StadiumDB ID (P5288) | StadiumDB.com | Geographic | |
| BRAHMS work ID (P5302) | B.R.A.H.M.S. | Other | |
| Remarks:Identifier for a musical work in the B.R.A.H.M.S. (Base Relationnelle d'Articles Hypertextes sur la Musique du 20e Siècle database) database, by the IRCAM | |||
| Museo del Prado artist ID (P5321) | www.museodelprado.es | Artists | |
| National Gallery of Canada artist ID (P5368) | National Gallery of Canada | Artists | |
| RISM ID (P5504) | Répertoire International des Sources Musicales | Other | |
| Libris-URI (P5587) | LIBRIS | National | |
| SELIBR ID (P906) | LIBRIS | National | |
| Remarks:Authority data from the National Library of Sweden | |||
| Minor Planet Center body ID (P5736) | Minor Planet Center Database | Other | |
| BGCI garden ID (P5818) | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | Geographic | |
| UK Parliament ID (P6213) | Parliament of the United Kingdom | People | |
| Remarks:UK parliament member data | |||
| Find NZ Artists ID (P6792) | Find New Zealand Artists | Artists | |
| Art Gallery of South Australia creator ID (P6804) | Art Gallery of South Australia | Artists | |
| Dictionary of Irish Biography ID (P6829) | Dictionary of Irish Biography | People | |
| PLWABN ID (P7293) | MAK | National | |
| NLP ID (old) (P1695) | National Library of Poland | National | |
| Grammy Awards artist ID (P7303) | Grammy Awards artist ID | Artists | |
| TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi ID (P7314) | TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi | Other | |
| Deutsche Biographie (GND) ID (P7902) | Deutsche Biographie | People | |
| Vatican Library VcBA ID (P8034) | opac.vatlib.it | National | |
| Remarks:Vatican Library document data | |||
| J9U ID (P8189) | National Library of Israel Names and Subjects Authority File | National | |
| Emmys person ID (P8381) | Emmy Award | Artists | |
| Deutsche Bahn station code (P8671) | Deutsche Bahn station code | Other | |
| Remarks:Deutsche Bahn station code, identifier for train stations and other operating points used by Deutsche Bahn | |||
| KANTO ID (P8980) | KANTO | National | |
| Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine ID (P9070) | Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine | Other | |
| LexM ID (P9692) | Lexikon verfolgter Musiker und Musikerinnen der NS-Zeit | Artists | |
| Remarks:Identifier for a musician in the Lexikon verfolgter Musiker und Musikerinnen der NS-Zeit | |||
| EBIDAT ID (P9725) | EBIDAT | Geographic | |
| Remarks:Identifier for an entry in the castles inventory database EBIDAT | |||
| CANTIC ID (P9984) | Name and Title Authority File of Catalonia | National | |
| Parliament of Australia MP ID (P10020) | Template:Cite Au Parliament | People | |
| Leopoldina member ID (new) (P10299) | www.leopoldina.org | Academics | |
| WorldCat Entities ID (P10832) | WorldCat Entities | International | |
| Remarks:WorldCat Entities for persons and works, by OCLC | |||
| KBR person ID (P11249) | Royal Library of Belgium (KBR) Online Catalogue | National | |
| Deutsche Synchronkartei person ID (P11646) | Deutsche Synchronkartei | People | |
| Remarks:Online database of voice actors in film and television productions | |||
| ELMCIP ID (P12204) | ELMCIP Knowledge Base | Other | |
| Remarks:Identifier for an entry in the Electronic Literature as a Model of Creativity and Innovation in Practice (ELNCIP) Knowledge Base | |||
| Bildindex der Kunst und Architektur PID (P12754) | Bildindex der Kunst und Architektur | Other | |
| DDB person (GND) ID (P13049) | Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek | People | |
| Remarks:Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek | |||