I’m working on the final draft of my class presentation on a digital repository and came across something interesting that I had not yet considered when looking at the images. There are 3 different vocabularies used for subject analysis within this collection.
1. LCSH
2. TGM
3. Authority file created locally as related to Baltimore.
Moving forward with the football indexing project, I think it may be a good idea to create a local authority file that relates specifically to UA football. I know it’s out of the constraints of our current project, but it may be beneficial as the collection continues to develop.
Adding local authorities seems like a reasonable act. When I took cataloging (about 15 years ago), my professor stressed the point that cataloging should be done with the needs of the local patron in mind. Seems to me the same applies here, especially given that we are working with materials that are not “standardized” (like a monograph where the rules of description are decades old). I further agree that construction of these new authorities should be left to the next group of indexers to come along. I believe we have our plates full simply building the skeleton of this project. Excellent post, BTW.