The National Archives Catalog

Authority Sources

Authority Files      Thesauri      Authority Lists

AUTHORITY FILES

The Organization Authority File and Person Authority File are available in ARC, and are based on the Library of Congress Name Authority File (LCNAF).

THESAURI

Topical Subject Thesaurus
This thesaurus is used to index the content of archival materials. NARA created the Topical Subject Thesaurus from terms in Data Elements 800 (DE 800), the Library of Congress Subject Headings, and other sources. This thesaurus provides data values for Topical Subject Reference.

Geographic Authority File
This thesaurus is used to index the geographic references in archival materials and the jurisdictions of archival organizational creators. NARA has licensed use of the TGN from the J. Paul Getty Trust. This thesaurus provided the initial data values for Geographic Reference and Jurisdiction; NARA is adding, deleting, or editing these records as necessary.

Specific Records Type Thesaurus
This thesaurus is used to indicate the specific records types of archival materials. NARA developed the Specific Records Type Thesaurus using two specific hierarchies (Information Forms and Visual Works) from the J. Paul Getty Trust's Art and Architecture Thesaurus© (AAT). These two hierarchies were modified to meet NARA's descriptive practices. NARA also added terms from DE 800 and NAIL. This thesaurus provides data values for Specific Records Type.

Program Area Thesaurus
This thesaurus is used to index the program areas or functions of creating organizations. NARA created the Program Area Thesaurus based on terms in DE 800 and other sources. This thesaurus provides data values for Program Area.

AUTHORITY LISTS

Intellectual Elements

Physical Occurrence Elements

Media Occurrence Elements

Digital Object Elements

Workflow Elements

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