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Authority Validation

Instruction Level

Headings on bibliographic records can be automatically validated against the authority records in Voyager. To do this, it is important that the radio button, "Bypass Authority Control" in the Validation tab in Defaults and Preferences is NOT checked. There are two ways that headings can be validated:

Heading validation after saving a new, imported, or edited record
Heading validation from the bibliographic record

Heading validation after saving a new, imported, or edited record.

This type of heading validation checks for Name Headings only. When saving to Voyager by either clicking on the Boat icon or using Ctrl B, an Authority Validation box displays with many columns, buttons and arrows:

1. Columns --
   • Heading column: Lists the type of heading.
   • Tag(s) column: Lists the tag number from the bib record.
   • Validation column:
     • Nonexistent heading displays if there is no authority record in the Voyager database.
     • Partial Heading Validation displays if there is an authority record but the 1XX or 7XX in the bibliographic record doesn't match it exactly (including dates).
   • Bib Heading column: Lists the entry in the 1XX field on the bibliographic record.
   • Near Heading column:
     • Displays nothing if Nonexistent Heading displays in the Validation column.
     • Displays the 1XX on the authority record, but leaves out any part that could not be matched against the 1XX or 7XX on the bibliographic record.

2. Buttons --
   • Create auth: Allows an authority record to be created from the information in the 1XX and 245 fields.
   • Retrieve auth: When highlighted and clicked on, allows the authority record to display. It will be highlighted only if there is a "Near Heading" that is an exact match to the heading on the bib record.
   • Copy: This will copy the heading in the "Bib Heading" column.
   • Search: Will open a Browse Headings List box. Browse means that the list contains all the headings before and after the first heading on the screen (the one you were validating). The list differs significantly from the list that displays in the Headings List.

Heading validation from the bibliographic record.

• An active record must be displayed.
• Name headings, corporate headings, series, and subjects can be validated with this function. Subject headings with subdivisions that have authority records, such as "Education--United States" will be validated. Subject headings that include subdivisions, such as "Periodicals" or "Catalogs," which are added to qualify the subject, will not validate. Instead, a Browse Headings list will display.
• You can validate only one heading at a time. If you highlight more than one, the validation is done only for the last one highlighted. To use this function:
  1. Highlight the field that contains the heading that you want to validate.

  2. Press ALT + R + L
     1. If the heading is valid, a Voyager dialog box will display with the message: This heading is valid. Press the Enter key or OK button

     2. If an exact match to the heading cannot be found, a Browse Heading List will display. Searching can be done from this list. See Authorities Searching.

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IlCSO April 24, 2002

Cornel rev. ilw 02/02/01