Authority files contain proper names (for persons, places, organizations etc.) or headings and cross-references to the preferred form from variant or alternate forms that are used for cataloguing purposes. They generally do not include a deep organization or complex structure and the presentation may be alphabetical or are organized by a shallow classification scheme.
Common types of authority files are name authority files and subject heading authority files, but any vocabulary can be used as an authority file if it contains lists terms, names, or headings that distinguish between a preferred term, name, or heading and alternate or variant names.
An example of authority file is “The Union List of Artist Name” (ULAN) which is a structured vocabulary that contains names of artists and architects, relationships, and biographical information for makers and other people and corporate bodies as well as a wealth of variant names, pseudonyms, and language variants.
Figure: A record from the Union List of Artist Name (ULAN)
