Creation of MADS Records and General Enhancement of All Authority Records

Creating MADS records for authors with no authority files

For those authors that do not have authority records that can be downloaded from VIAF or LCNAF, an authority record can be created using the MADS template.

This template includes elements for authorized headings, variant names, field of activity, notes for sources used, links to online sources, and identifiers. As MADS authority records require at least one authorized heading, typically the name as given in a standard canon such as the TLG, PHI or another major reference work (such as the Oxford Classical Latin Dictionary or Brill’s New Pauly Online, or at times the 19th century Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography) is chosen for the standardized name.

Creation of work identifiers for works/authors with no identifiers in standard canons

For more on the discussion of current procedures, please see here.

Enhancing MADS record with additional information

All of the authority records that are either created or downloaded are enhanced with the following information, whenever possible:

• Additional variant names (such as adding names from the VIAF to a record originally downloaded from the LC NAF), including language encoding.
• Abbreviated versions of names found in major reference works such as Liddell Scott Jones Greek English Lexicon (LSJ), Lewis and Short (LS) Latin Dictionary, and the Oxford Latin Dictionary.
• Addition of different fields of activity.
• Links to various online sources (Wikipedia, VIAF, LCNAF, Worldcat Identities, and other reference sources, both old and new such as Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
• List of work identifiers.

Sample MADS records that have been enhanced can be seen here.