A Comparison of Pre- and Post-Cataloging Authority Control

Abstract

As librarians at Ball State University Libraries prepared to implement the authority control module of its automated system, little information about the dependability of the module or its effectiveness as compared to the active system of providing authority control was available. The head of cataloging decided that it would be advisable to compare the effectiveness of the pre-cataloging authority control procedures in place with the post-cataloging authority control procedures that could be provided through the NOTIS reports. The two systems would be run concurrently during the test period. To test the effectiveness of each form of authority control, the Authority Control Librarian compared the number and type of established headings for which local authority records would be added using the pre-cataloging procedures to the number and type of established headings for which local authority records would be added using the report system, The test, as expected, revealed that in most respects the post-cataloging authority control procedures provide as much or more in the way of authority control than the front-end procedures, and that their uses reduce redundancy and increase efficiency.