Subtopic Deep Dive
Name Authority Control in Digital Repositories
Research Guide
What is Name Authority Control in Digital Repositories?
Name Authority Control in Digital Repositories standardizes author and entity names across bibliographic databases using identifiers, clustering, and disambiguation to ensure metadata accuracy.
Researchers apply ARK identifiers, FRBR models, and terminology services to resolve name variants in library catalogs and e-resource collections. Studies from 1998-2014, including Antelman et al. (2006, 135 citations) and Lynch (1998, 40 citations), address persistent identifiers and catalog improvements. Over 30 papers document these techniques for digital persistence and search precision.
Why It Matters
Name authority control enables precise author attribution in repositories holding millions of records, reducing search errors by up to 40% as shown in catalog relevance studies (Antelman et al., 2006). It supports e-book mass management across diverse providers (Wu and Mitchell, 2010) and networked information exchange via stable identifiers (Lynch, 1998; Kunze, 2003). Persistent naming like ARKs ensures long-term access to scholarly outputs in consortia and global data registries (Brase et al., 2009).
Key Research Challenges
Name Variant Disambiguation
Resolving ambiguous author names across repositories requires clustering algorithms amid spelling variations and cultural differences. Antelman et al. (2006) highlight relevance-ranking needs in catalogs. Persistent identifiers like ARKs partially address this but lack global adoption (Kunze, 2003).
Identifier Interoperability
Integrating schemes like ISBN, ARK, and FRBR across systems faces compatibility issues in networked applications. Lynch (1998) notes identifiers' role in communication but persistent service challenges remain. Terminology services reviews identify standardization gaps (Tudhope et al., 2006).
E-Resource Catalog Scaling
Managing diverse e-book and continuing resource metadata at scale overwhelms manual processes. Wu and Mitchell (2010) detail provider diversity challenges. FRBR application to serials reveals entity resolution limits (Jones, 2005).
Essential Papers
Toward a Twenty-First Century Catalog
Kristin Antelman, Emily Lynema, Andrew K. Pace · 2006 · Information Technology and Libraries · 135 citations
Library catalogs have represented stagnant technology for close to twenty years. Moving toward a next-generation catalog, North Carolina State University (NCSU) Libraries purchased Endeca’s Informa...
Towards Electronic Persistence Using ARK Identifiers
John Kunze · 2003 · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · 41 citations
The ARK (Archival Resource Key) is the only persistent naming scheme for internet information objects that squarely faces the service issues underlying practical electronic permanence. The ARK is a...
Identifiers and Their Role In Networked Information Applications
Clifford A. Lynch · 1998 · Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology · 40 citations
Identifiers are an enormously powerful tool for communication within and between communities. For example, the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) has played a central role in facilitating bu...
Mass Management of E-Book Catalog Records
Annie Wu, Anne Mitchell · 2010 · Library Resources and Technical Services · 36 citations
Electronic book collections in libraries have grown dramatically over the last decade. A great diversity of providers, service models, and content types exist today, presenting a variety of challen...
Terminology services and technology: JISC state of the art review
Douglas Tudhope, Traugott Koch, Rachel Heery · 2006 · The University of Bath Online Publications Store (The University of Bath) · 31 citations
Terminology Services and Technology: JISC state-of-the-art review. UKOLN and JISC published this comprehensive review of terminology services and technology in Sept. 2006, written by Douglas Tudhop...
Toward a 21st Century Library Catalog
Kristin Antelman, Emily Lynema, Andrew K. Pace · 2006 · E-LIS Repository (University of Naples Federico II) · 27 citations
Library catalogs have represented stagnant technology for close to twenty years. Moving toward a next-generation catalog, North Carolina State University (NCSU) Libraries purchased Endeca’s Informa...
The FRBR Model As Applied to Continuing Resources
Ed Jones · 2005 · Library Resources and Technical Services · 26 citations
The promulgation of the entity-analysis model set forth in Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) has led to its experimental application to a variety of collections of existing b...
Reading Guide
Foundational Papers
Start with Antelman et al. (2006, 135 citations) for catalog evolution context, Lynch (1998, 40 citations) for identifier fundamentals, and Kunze (2003, 41 citations) for ARK persistence basics.
Recent Advances
Study Wu and Mitchell (2010, 36 citations) for e-book scaling, Brase et al. (2009, 23 citations) for data registries, and Turner (2014, 23 citations) for consortia acquisitions.
Core Methods
Core techniques include ARK actionable URLs (Kunze, 2003), FRBR entity analysis (Jones, 2005), and terminology service ontologies (Tudhope et al., 2006).
How PapersFlow Helps You Research Name Authority Control in Digital Repositories
Discover & Search
Research Agent uses searchPapers and citationGraph to map authority control literature from Antelman et al. (2006, 135 citations), revealing clusters around ARK identifiers (Kunze, 2003) and FRBR (Jones, 2005). exaSearch uncovers niche papers on terminology services (Tudhope et al., 2006); findSimilarPapers extends to related e-resource management (Wu and Mitchell, 2010).
Analyze & Verify
Analysis Agent applies readPaperContent to extract ARK persistence methods from Kunze (2003), then verifyResponse with CoVe checks claims against Lynch (1998). runPythonAnalysis enables statistical verification of citation networks using pandas on OpenAlex data; GRADE grading scores evidence strength for FRBR applications (Jones, 2005).
Synthesize & Write
Synthesis Agent detects gaps in identifier adoption post-2010 via contradiction flagging across Antelman et al. (2006) and Brase et al. (2009). Writing Agent uses latexEditText, latexSyncCitations for authority control reviews, latexCompile for reports, and exportMermaid diagrams FRBR entity relationships.
Use Cases
"Compare clustering accuracy for name disambiguation in e-book catalogs"
Research Agent → searchPapers('name disambiguation e-books') → runPythonAnalysis(pandas clustering on Wu and Mitchell 2010 metadata) → statistical precision metrics output.
"Draft LaTeX review on ARK vs FRBR for repositories"
Synthesis Agent → gap detection (Kunze 2003 vs Jones 2005) → Writing Agent → latexSyncCitations(Antelman et al. 2006) → latexCompile → formatted PDF with diagrams.
"Find GitHub repos implementing library authority control"
Research Agent → exaSearch('authority control code') → Code Discovery (paperExtractUrls → paperFindGithubRepo → githubRepoInspect) → repo code summaries and forks list.
Automated Workflows
Deep Research workflow conducts systematic reviews of 50+ papers on identifiers, chaining searchPapers → citationGraph → GRADE reports for authority control evolution (Lynch 1998 to Brase 2009). DeepScan applies 7-step analysis with CoVe checkpoints to verify FRBR scaling claims (Jones 2005). Theorizer generates models linking ARKs to name resolution gaps from Tudhope et al. (2006).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is name authority control?
Name authority control standardizes entity names in digital repositories using identifiers and disambiguation to link variants to canonical forms.
What methods improve name resolution?
ARK identifiers ensure persistence (Kunze, 2003), FRBR models structure entities (Jones, 2005), and terminology services enable interoperability (Tudhope et al., 2006).
What are key papers?
Antelman et al. (2006, 135 citations) on next-gen catalogs; Lynch (1998, 40 citations) on identifiers; Wu and Mitchell (2010, 36 citations) on e-book management.
What open problems exist?
Global identifier adoption lags (Brase et al., 2009); scaling disambiguation for diverse e-resources persists (Wu and Mitchell, 2010); FRBR needs better serials integration (Jones, 2005).
Research Library Science and Information Systems with AI
PapersFlow provides specialized AI tools for Computer Science researchers. Here are the most relevant for this topic:
AI Literature Review
Automate paper discovery and synthesis across 474M+ papers
Code & Data Discovery
Find datasets, code repositories, and computational tools
Deep Research Reports
Multi-source evidence synthesis with counter-evidence
AI Academic Writing
Write research papers with AI assistance and LaTeX support
See how researchers in Computer Science & AI use PapersFlow
Field-specific workflows, example queries, and use cases.
Start Researching Name Authority Control in Digital Repositories with AI
Search 474M+ papers, run AI-powered literature reviews, and write with integrated citations — all in one workspace.
See how PapersFlow works for Computer Science researchers