National Library of Israel/New institutions to VIAF project
This is a project to encourage national libraries and major institutions to join VIAF (Virtual International Authority File).
What is VIAF
editVIAF is an international authority file. It is a joint project of several national libraries & operated by the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC). VIAF's clustering algorithm is run every month. As more data are added from participating libraries, clusters of authority records may coalesce or split, leading to some fluctuation in the VIAF identifier of certain authority records.
Current Participating libraries and organizations
editLibraries added for testing purposes
edit| English Wikipedia entry name | Identifier | Native-language name | Location | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lithuanian National Library | LIH | Lietuvos nacionalinė Martyno Mažvydo biblioteka | Vilnius | Lithuania |
| National and University Library of Slovenia / COBISS | SIMACOB | Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica, NUK | Ljubljana | Slovenia |
Purpose
editAlthough many of the major institutions (national libraries and prominent institutions) in the world are already part of VIAF, many countries are still not represented. Our goal encourage national libraries that have not yet joined to become part of this international authority. Dr. Ahava Cohen (Q61957638), Head of Cataloging Department in the National Library of Israel and the former chair of the VIAF Council is working with us to promote the initiative.
Benefits
edit- The project will enhance VIAF by incorporating more national libraries into the international authority file and expanding its coverage with names in underrepresented or missing alphabets.
- It will significantly enrich Wikidata by adding numerous items from participating institutions, which can be updated using tools like QuickStatements or OpenRefine.
- Engaging Wikipedians as contact persons or Wikipedians in residence will help contribute media from these institutions to Wikimedia Commons and other Wikimedia projects.
- The National Library of Israel can provide valuable guidance and support to other national libraries.
Method
editMaybe the best way to go forward is to upload the id's to Wikidata and in the next step to VIAF.
Personal motivation
editWhen I started working with the National Library of Israel as a Wikipedian in residence in August 2021, I become to be familiar with authority control database. The property of The number of identifiers used by the national library, National Library of Israel J9U ID, was about 20,000 id's. Now in the end of January 2025 it's more than 820,000 id's. The fourth among national libraries in the world!
During that period I worked with dr. Ahava Cohen to improve the reconciliation of if's between Wikidata and NLI. Now we are working daily basis to work data improvement and quality control in both sides. During this time I have gained a lot of experience and knowledge in the process and I want to help national libraries around the world that are not members of VIAF. It may be easier to add the identifiers of the new national libraries first to Wikidata and only then to VIAF. Each case will be examined on its own merits.
As you know, wikipedians or wikimedians active in Wikimedia projects with enthusiasm voluntarily and I together with wikipediand from the local wiki wiling to help national libraries to integrate with Wikidata and VIAF. Geagea (talk) 07:09, 28 January 2025 (UTC)