ISU - VuFind currently does not use authority data to check 4xx fields for alternate, non-preferred search terms.
Examples:
LCSH: When a patron does a subject search for “mental retardation” or “mental deficiency”, VuFind should return results that includes records with subject headings (650s) for “mental retardation” or “mental deficiency” (MARC 450s, variant terms) or “intellectual disability” (MARC 150, preferred term) because these variant terms are included in the LCSH authority record. Variant terms provide additional entry words that support search success, and optimize search results in catalogs that still have former, no longer preferred subject headings in some portion of their bibliographic records.
Name Authority File: When a patron does an author search for Knausgaard, Karl Ove (the anglicized form of this author’s name that is commonly found on the title pages of his English language books) that patron should retrieve books by Knausgaard, Karl Ove, ǂd 1968- (MARC 400, variant term) or – most importantly -- Knausgård, Karl Ove, ǂd 1968- (MARC 100, preferred form in the author’s native language).
We are limiting the discoverability of non-American/Western European authors and missing an opportunity to leverage a variety of topical terms other than the preferred one to improve search results by not using our authority data. Collocation is one of the two important purposes of authority control. A system’s use of variant headings accomplishes collocation.
ridinger5
commented
5 years ago
ISU - VuFind currently does not use authority data to check 4xx fields for alternate, non-preferred search terms.
Examples:
LCSH: When a patron does a subject search for “mental retardation” or “mental deficiency”, VuFind should return results that includes records with subject headings (650s) for “mental retardation” or “mental deficiency” (MARC 450s, variant terms) or “intellectual disability” (MARC 150, preferred term) because these variant terms are included in the LCSH authority record. Variant terms provide additional entry words that support search success, and optimize search results in catalogs that still have former, no longer preferred subject headings in some portion of their bibliographic records.
Name Authority File: When a patron does an author search for Knausgaard, Karl Ove (the anglicized form of this author’s name that is commonly found on the title pages of his English language books) that patron should retrieve books by Knausgaard, Karl Ove, ǂd 1968- (MARC 400, variant term) or – most importantly -- Knausgård, Karl Ove, ǂd 1968- (MARC 100, preferred form in the author’s native language).
We are limiting the discoverability of non-American/Western European authors and missing an opportunity to leverage a variety of topical terms other than the preferred one to improve search results by not using our authority data. Collocation is one of the two important purposes of authority control. A system’s use of variant headings accomplishes collocation.