Global library cooperative Online Computer Library Center Inc. (OCLC), the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek and the Library of Congress have signed a memorandum of understanding to extend and enhance the Virtual International Authority File (VIAF), a project which virtually combines multiple name authority files into a single name authority service.
Building on a previous proof-of-concept research project by OCLC, the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek (the German national library) and the Library of Congress, the new agreement adds the Bibliothèque nationale de France (the French national library) as a principal partner in VIAF and will lead to the inclusion of content from name authority files maintained by the Bibliothèque nationale de France. The French name authority records will be added to the existing VIAF files built from authority data from the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek and the Library of Congress. VIAF's matching routines were developed by OCLC Research.
The VIAF project aims to include authoritative names from many libraries into a global service that will be freely available via the web to users worldwide. The addition of content from Bibliothèque nationale de France represents the initial step in expanding the scope of VIAF. The new agreement also provides a framework for adding more authority files from other agencies over time.
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