Subject and Name Authorities

Overview

Subject and name authorities are useful tools for creating keywords for your digital collections. Authorities create consistent terminology that allow for stable search/item retrieval, clear definitions for concepts, and classification of subjects within a domain. For instance, the Getty Vocabularies help to define terms for art and material culture, taking contributions from museums and researchers. These terms create a shared vocabulary that is repeated across many institutions' search systems, creating consistent search.

The following guide provides an introduction to common authorities used, how to apply them to collections records, and alternative resources when major authorities do not have adequate terms. If you have more questions about the content or this guide, please contact Devon Murphy at devon.murphy@austin.utexas.edu

Glossary

Subject Authorities

Anatomy of a subject term from a subject authority

How to Use Them

Subject terms are used to describe what a collections item is about (the "aboutness.") To choose subject terms, first review the collections item.

Consider:

• What are the most common themes in the item?
• Are there specific historical or cultural events in the item?
• Are there themes, concepts, or groups in the item that have historically been marginalized? 
• How are these themes, concepts, or groups described currently in their community or area of scholarship?

When choosing subject terms, consider:

• Adding terms that describe the most common and/or important themes.
• Being specific and concise with term choice. Avoid general terms like "History" or narrow terms like "Urban planning--Texas–Corpus Christi." For the latter, consider breaking compound geographic terms apart.
• Highlighting histories that have been systematically marginalized (ex. contributions of women in the Chicano Movement, LGBTQ+ histories)
• Using terms that are used by scholars and/or by members of that community. See the alternative thesauri/resources below or the Critical Metadata page in this wiki for more information.
• Using terminology/phrasing different than that used in the rest of the metadata record. 
• Adding only 1-5 terms to lessen visual load on the user.
• Using the preferred term first, unless it is inappropriate for the context (ex. a variant term has the most updated form.) 

Where to Find Them

The following list contains a set of the most common thesauri and controlled subject vocabularies, as well as a few that are used for specific material culture contexts (ICONCLASS or Iconography Authority for art iconography, Nomenclature for furniture and objects.) Best practice is to find terms in these larger resources first before looking for an alternative or creating one's own term.

Alternative Thesauri/Resources

If you can't find the term you need in the thesauri and controlled vocabularies above, or if the terms listed are not appropriate (outdated, not reflective of current scholarship, etc.), consider using some of the resources below. You can also create your own term (see the following guide.)

For more information, such as guides to critical metadata practices and workflows, see the "Critical Metadata" section of this wiki. You can also explore collaborative efforts by UT staff at the Metadata-Centric Meet Up page.

Name Authorities

Anatomy of a name term from a name authority

How to Use Them

Name terms are used to describe people, organizations, conferences/meetings, and titles that are the subject of, mentioned in, or associated with a collections item. To choose name terms, first review the collections item.

Consider:

• Are there names in the item that are the focus of the item? 
• Are there specific historical or cultural names in the item?
• Are there individuals or groups in the item that have historically been marginalized? 
• How are these groups described currently in their community or area of scholarship? If an individual, how do/did that person describe or identify themselves?
  • NOTE: In some cases, individuals or groups may not be able to be named whether due to privacy and safety concerns or due to lack of sufficient information. In these circumstances, refer to the resources in the Alternative Thesauri/Resources section or the Critical Metadata page in this wiki for more information.

When choosing subject terms, consider:

• Adding terms that describe the most common and/or most important names.
• Being specific and concise with term choice. Avoid narrow terms "University of Texas. Alexander Architectural Archives--History." Consider breaking compound terms apart and putting parts into their respective fields.
• Highlighting names (individuals, groups, etc.) that have been systematically marginalized (ex. using womens' full names instead of Mrs. Last Name)
• Using names that are used by the individual and/or members of that community and/or scholars. See the alternative thesauri below or the Critical Metadata page in this wiki for more information.
• If the individual or group cannot have their name widely shared, consider alternative options (ex. not adding to a public record, not adding to record at all.)
• Adding only 1-5 terms to lessen visual load on the user.
• Using the preferred name first, unless it is inappropriate for the context (ex. a variant term has the most updated form.) 

Where to Find Them

The following list contains a set of the most common thesauri and controlled subject vocabularies, as well as a few that are used for specific material culture contexts. Best practice is to find terms in these larger resources first before looking for an alternative or creating one's own term.

Alternative Thesauri/Resources

If you can't find the term you need in the thesauri and controlled vocabularies above, or if the terms listed are not appropriate (outdated, not reflective of current scholarship, etc.), consider using some of the resources below. You can also create your own term (see the following guide.)

Other Kinds of Authorities

Geographic places, materials (genre terms, form terms), and roles or occupations also use authorities; some of these are bundled into large authorities like the Library of Congress Name Authority File, which contains names and geographic places, or the Getty Vocabularies Art and Architecture Thesaurus, which has roles/occupations and terms that can be used as subjects or as genre/form terms. Others are specific to their domain, like Geonames (only geographic terms). 

Anatomy of a genre term from an authority

How to Use Them

Geographic places, materials, and roles/occupations terms can be used similarly to subjects and names; they can be the subject of, mentioned in, or associated with a collections item. Materials can also be used to describe what the collections item is, or "isness." Roles/occupations can also be used to describe how individuals or groups are related to a collections item (ex. Joaquín García Icazbalceta collected the Relaciones Geográficas, so his role term could be "collector.")

Consider:

• What are the most common locations or themes in the item?
• What are the most common forms of the item?
• Are there specific historical or cultural places, materials, or roles in the item?
  • NOTE: Some places may not be able to be recorded to ensure privacy or safety of the location. In these circumstances, refer to the resources in the Alternative Thesauri/Resources section or the Critical Metadata page in this wiki for more information.
• Are there specific roles that connect your named subjects to the item?
• Are there places, roles, or materials in the item that have historically been marginalized? 
• How are these places, roles, or materials described currently in their community or area of scholarship?

When choosing subject terms, consider:

• Adding terms that most fully describe what the collections item is.
• Adding terms that describe the most common and/or most important location(s) associated with the item.
• Being specific and concise with term choice. Avoid narrow terms like "Newspapers--Mexico." Consider breaking compound terms apart and putting parts into their respective fields. 
• Highlighting histories that have been systematically marginalized (ex. using vernacular place names)
• Using terms that are used by scholars and/or by members of that community. See the alternative thesauri below or the Critical Metadata page in this wiki for more information.
• Adding only 1-2 terms to lessen visual load on the user.
• Using the preferred term first, unless it is inappropriate for the context (ex. a variant term has the most updated form.) 

Where to Find Them

The following list contains a set of the most common thesauri and controlled subject vocabularies, as well as a few that are used for specific material culture contexts. Best practice is to find terms in these larger resources first before looking for an alternative or creating one's own term.

Alternative Thesauri/Resources

If you can't find the term you need in the thesauri and controlled vocabularies above, or if the terms listed are not appropriate (outdated, not reflective of current scholarship, etc.), consider using some of the resources below. You can also create your own term (see the following guide.)