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Help:Authority control

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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:

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 propertyIdentifierSectionAppears as
ISNI (P213)International Standard Name IdentifierInternational
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 IDInternational
Remarks:International authority data from the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC)
GND ID (P227)GND IDNational
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 ServiceNational
Remarks:See Wikipedia:Authority control#LCCN for formatting instructions
Union List of Artist Names ID (P245)Union List of Artist NamesArtists
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 FranceNational
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 FranceNational
IdRef ID (P269)IdRefOther
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 IDAcademics
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)JocondeOther
NDL Authority ID (P349)Web NDL AuthoritiesNational
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 SBNNational
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 AuthoritiesNational
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 IndexAcademics
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 IDArtists
Remarks:MusicBrainz is an open music encyclopedia that collects music metadata and makes it available to the public.
MusicBrainz work ID (P435)MusicBrainz work IDOther
MusicBrainz release group ID (P436)MusicBrainz release group IDOther
Structurae structure ID (P454)StructuraeGeographic
ORCID iD (P496)ORCID iDAcademics
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)RKDartistsArtists
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 PortaalPeople
Remarks:Dutch project with material for 40,000 digitized biographies, including former colonies of the Netherlands.
NL CR AUT ID (P691)Czech National Authority DatabaseNational
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 DatabaseOther
SIKART ID (P781)SIKARTArtists
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 OrganizationsPeople
Remarks:Libraries, museums and archives, decentralized national databases.
ACM Digital Library author ID (P864)ACM Digital LibraryAcademics
BMLO ID (P865)Bayerisches Musiker-Lexikon Online People
Lexicon istoric retic ID (P886)Lexicon istoric reticOther
Remarks:Lexicon Istoric Retic (LIR) is a two volume version with a selection of articles published in Romansh.
HDS ID (P902)Historical Dictionary of SwitzerlandOther
Remarks:Historical Dictionary of Switzerland is an encyclopedia on the history of Switzerland.
RSL ID (person) (P947)Russian State LibraryNational
Remarks:Russian State Library (Российская государственная библиотека) is the national library of Russia.
National Library of Spain ID (P950)BNE authority fileNational
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 IDOther
MusicBrainz area ID (P982)MusicBrainz area IDGeographic
National Library of Romania ID (P1003)National Library of Romania authority file National
MusicBrainz place ID (P1004)MusicBrainz place IDGeographic
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 BodiesNational
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 AssemblyPeople
NCL ID (P1048)National Central LibraryNational
Remarks:National Central Library is the national library of Taiwan, Republic of China.
ResearcherID (P1053)ResearcherIDAcademics
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 databasePeople
Remarks:The IAAF athlete database lists information about sport of athletics competitors.
Scopus author ID (P1153)ScopusAcademics
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 identifierPeople
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 ParliamentPeople
U.S. National Archives Identifier (P1225)National Archives IdentifierOther
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)KulturNavArtists
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)TrovePeople
Terminologia Anatomica 98 ID (P1323)Terminologia AnatomicaOther
MusicBrainz instrument ID (P1330)MusicBrainz instrument IDOther
Theaterlexikon der Schweiz ID (P1362)Theaterlexikon der SchweizOther
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 SignificanceNational
NSK ID (P1375)NSKNational
MusicBrainz series ID (P1407)MusicBrainz series IDOther
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 OnlineArtists
Information Center for Israeli Art artist ID (P1736)Information Center for Israeli ArtArtists
Global Volcanism Program ID (P1886)Global Volcanism ProgramGeographic
CCAB ID (P1890)Collective Catalog of Bibliographic Authorities of Chile National
Australian Dictionary of Biography ID (P1907)Australian Dictionary of BiographyPeople
CWGC person ID (P1908)Commonwealth War Graves Commission databasePeople
Google Scholar author ID (P1960)Google Scholar author IDAcademics
Treccani's Biographical Dictionary of Italian People ID (P1986)Dizionario Biografico degli ItalianiPeople
National Gallery of Victoria artist ID (P2041)National Gallery of VictoriaArtists
FAST ID (P2163)Faceted Application of Subject TerminologyInternational
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 1450–1950Artists
Structurae person ID (P2418)StructuraePeople
DBLP author ID (P2456)dblp computer science bibliographyAcademics
NCES school ID (P2484)NCES School ID Geographic
autores.uy ID (P2558)Autores.uyPeople
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 CatalogArtists
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)PhilPapersAcademics
World Waterfall Database ID (P3326)World Waterfall Database Geographic
National Library of Greece ID (P3348)National Library of GreeceNational
Auckland Art Gallery artist ID (P3372)Auckland Art Gallery Toi o TāmakiArtists
Klosterdatenbank ID (P3407)Database of MonasteriesGeographic
SNAC ARK ID (P3430)SNACOther
Te Papa agent ID (P3544)Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Collections OnlineOther
Admiralty number (P3562)Admiralty numberGeographic
NGA lighthouse ID (P3563)NGA numberGeographic
MarineTraffic Lighthouse ID (P3601)MarineTraffic Lighthouse IDGeographic
USCG lighthouse ID (P3723)USCG Lighthouse IDGeographic
BNMM authority ID (P3788)Catálogo de autoridades BNMMNational
Publons author ID (P3829)PublonsAcademics
Italian Navy Lighthouses and Beacons ID (P3863)Fari e SegnalamentiGeographic
Canadian Coastguard Lighthouse ID (P3920)Canadian Coastguard Lighthouse IDGeographic
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
  • Iceland: 184
Danish List of Lights and Fog signals ID (P4038)Dansk FyrlisteGeographic
  • Denmark: 4500
Norwegian List of Lights ID (P4055)Norwegian List of LightsGeographic
  • Norway: 000100
ADK member ID (P4114)Academy of Arts, BerlinArtists
Finnish List of Lights ID (P4143)Finnish List of Lights Geographic
  • Finland: 7243
Australian Women's Register ID (P4186)Australian Women's RegisterPeople
Portuguese lighthouse ID (P4423)Portuguese lighthouse identifier Geographic
  • Portugal: 186
DAHR artist ID (P4457)Discography of American Historical RecordingsArtists
EUTA person ID (P4534)EUTA person ID People
EUTA theatre ID (P4535)EUTA theatre ID Geographic
Städel Museum artist ID (P4581)Städel MuseumArtists
Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine ID (P4613)Encyclopedia of Modern UkraineOther
MR Author ID (P4955)MR Author ID Academics
National Library of Korea ID (P5034)Korean Authority FileNational
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.comGeographic
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.esArtists
National Gallery of Canada artist ID (P5368)National Gallery of CanadaArtists
RISM ID (P5504)Répertoire International des Sources MusicalesOther
Libris-URI (P5587)LIBRISNational
SELIBR ID (P906)LIBRISNational
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 InternationalGeographic
UK Parliament ID (P6213)Parliament of the United KingdomPeople
Remarks:UK parliament member data
Find NZ Artists ID (P6792)Find New Zealand ArtistsArtists
Art Gallery of South Australia creator ID (P6804)Art Gallery of South AustraliaArtists
Dictionary of Irish Biography ID (P6829)Dictionary of Irish BiographyPeople
PLWABN ID (P7293)MAKNational
NLP ID (old) (P1695)National Library of PolandNational
Grammy Awards artist ID (P7303)Grammy Awards artist IDArtists
TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi ID (P7314)TDV İslam AnsiklopedisiOther
Deutsche Biographie (GND) ID (P7902)Deutsche BiographiePeople
Vatican Library VcBA ID (P8034)opac.vatlib.itNational
Remarks:Vatican Library document data
J9U ID (P8189)National Library of Israel Names and Subjects Authority FileNational
Emmys person ID (P8381)Emmy AwardArtists
Deutsche Bahn station code (P8671)Deutsche Bahn station codeOther
Remarks:Deutsche Bahn station code, identifier for train stations and other operating points used by Deutsche Bahn
KANTO ID (P8980)KANTONational
Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine ID (P9070)Internet Encyclopedia of UkraineOther
LexM ID (P9692)Lexikon verfolgter Musiker und Musikerinnen der NS-ZeitArtists
Remarks:Identifier for a musician in the Lexikon verfolgter Musiker und Musikerinnen der NS-Zeit
EBIDAT ID (P9725)EBIDATGeographic
Remarks:Identifier for an entry in the castles inventory database EBIDAT
CANTIC ID (P9984)Name and Title Authority File of CataloniaNational
Parliament of Australia MP ID (P10020)Template:Cite Au ParliamentPeople
Leopoldina member ID (new) (P10299)www.leopoldina.org Academics
WorldCat Entities ID (P10832)WorldCat EntitiesInternational
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 SynchronkarteiPeople
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 ArchitekturOther
DDB person (GND) ID (P13049)Deutsche Digitale BibliothekPeople
Remarks:Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek

See also