Creating an Authority Record

An authority record is the source of information about a specific author, subject, or series name. Every bib record that refers to a specific piece of information should link to the authority record where that information is found. This can help keep your database more organized, and can help borrowers find information more easily.

Since authority‑controlled tags follow a certain format and contain specific information, you should try to link to an existing authority in your database before you create a new one. Depending on the link type you have chosen, Horizon may do this for you automatically. (For more information, see Choosing the Default Authority Link Type.) If Horizon does not create automatic links, you can search for a tag from an existing heading and, if you find one that you want, you can send it to the MARC Editor and link it to the bib record. (For instructions, see Adding an Authority-Controlled Tag.)

You can also create an authority record using a workform. If you have an existing nonlinked linking tag and create an authority tag using a workform, Horizon can link the tag for you when you save the new authority record if you have Link on Match chosen as the link type. If you have chosen Never Link, you must link the record yourself. (For more information, see Linking Authority‑Controlled Records to Bib Records.)

You can create both MARC and non‑MARC authority records using a workform. (For instructions, see Creating a New MARC Record.) You must create workforms before you can create new records. (For instructions, see Creating a MARC Workform and Creating a Non‑MARC Workform.)

If needed, you can be taken directly to external help for defining MARC tags. (For instructions on using external MARC help links, see Using Catalog Context Links.)

 


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