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AAT Authorities

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Discover how to search, browse, and apply the Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) authority file in WorldShare Record Manager.

AAT authority records

Source: The Getty Research Institute

Subject authority file: AAT contains terms used in museums, libraries, and other cultural heritage institutions to describe art, architecture, decorative arts, material culture, and archival materials. The thesaurus contains concepts that include both topical headings and genre terms.  AAT has no subdivisions, so only subfield $a will be controllable when entered in 650 and 655 fields.  AAT headings with subdivisions will not be controllable.

The file contains more than 97,000 authority records.

Types of headings

See AAT indexes and indexed fields for a list of headings.

Search or browse for a AAT authority record

When working with WorldCat bibliographic records, you can search Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) authority records to determine the correct forms for types of art, architecture, and other material culture associated with the resource you are describing, or when adding subject headings to the WorldCat bibliographic record, to determine established headings.

 Note: When adding a controlled AAT subject heading to a bibliographic record, field 650 must have a 2nd indicator 7 and the field must contain a $2 aat.

  1. From the Data Type drop-down list, select Authority Records.
  2. From the Scope drop-down list, select a scope.
    • AAT – searches the AAT file
    • AAT - Browse – browses the AAT file
  3. From the Index drop-down list, select an index. For a list of all indexes, see AAT indexes and indexed fields.
  4. In the Term(s) text field, enter your search terms. The text field will expand to fit your search terms, if needed.
  5. Click Search. The Search results page appears with the matching authorities results listed in a table.
    Search results column - Table
    Column Description
    Name The name of the authority and its associated See (4xx) and See Also (5xx) references.
     Note: See and See Also references are displayed as links if they lead to an authority record. Click the link to open the authority record in the MARC editor.
    Field The field in which the authority appears.
    Description Lists information about the subject heading.
    Action Click Edit to open the authority record in the MARC 21 editor.
  6. Click the Name of the matching item to view the authority file record.

Apply AAT authority heading information to a bibliographic record

After you control a heading and replace the record in WorldCat, Record Manager automatically updates the heading whenever the linked authority record changes.

Copy authority heading information from an authority file

  1. Open the record to which you wish to apply AAT authority heading information.
  2. In the MARC 21 editor, click the field immediately above the location where you want to add the controlled field and then click the Add Field icon (Add Field button).
  3. Enter the controllable field and, if applicable, the indicator you want to add to the bibliographic record.
  4. In the Basic search panel, select a scope.
    • AAT – searches the AAT file
    • AAT - Browse – browses the AAT file
  5. From the Index drop-down list, select an index.
  6. Based on the index you selected, enter your search terms. The text field will expand to fit your search terms, if needed.
  7. Click Search. The Search results page appears with the matching authorities results listed in a table.
  8. Click the Name of the matching authority to view the authority file record.
  9. Click Copy Authority Data.
  10. Return to the field you created in the MARC 21 editor.
  11. Select Apply Authority Data from the Edit drop-down menu. The AAT authority heading information is added to the field. The header displays as a hyperlink in the bibliographic record and the $0 value is shown as a mouse-over of the link.

Manually enter a single authority heading

  1. Open the bibliographic record to which you wish to apply authority heading information.
  2. In the MARC 21 editor, click the field immediately above the location where you want to add the controlled field and then click the Add Field icon (Add Field button).
  3. Enter the field number and indicator for the new field.
  4. Enter an authority heading in the new field.
  5. Right-click the new field and click Add from the Controlled Heading flyout menu.
    • If the text you entered matches an authority heading, the header displays as a hyperlink in the bibliographic record and the following confirmation message appears: The controlled heading is associated with a single authority record.
    • If the text you entered does not match an authority heading, the Control Heading dialog opens and states that no matching authority record wa found. Click Cancel to close the dialog and edit the text you entered.

Manually enter multiple authority headings

  1. Open the bibliographic record to which you wish to apply authority heading information.
  2. In the MARC 21 editor, click the field immediately above the location where you want to add the controlled field and then click the Add Field icon (Add Field button).
  3. Enter the field number and indicator for the new field.
  4. Enter an authority heading in the new field.
  5. Repeat steps 2-4 for additional authority headings.
  6. Select Control All Headings from the Record drop-down menu.
    • If the text you entered matches an authority heading, the header displays as a hyperlink in the bibliographic record and the following confirmation message appears: Some of the controllable headings were controlled.
    • If the text you entered does not match an authority heading, the following message appears: Some of the controllable headings were not controlled.

Controllable fields

AAT authority headings can be added to bibliographic records and controlled provided that the heading is in one of the following fields:

  • 650 where indicator 2 = 7 and subfield $2 = aat
  • 655 where indicator 2 = 7 and subfield $2 = aat