Talk:Authority control
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I am severely doubtful as to whether the word "Author" is in any way related to the origin of the term "Authority Control". Is there any evidence to back this up, as it sounds a little like folk etymology to me?
The Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science, Vol. 2 (New York: Marcel Dekker, 1969) starts the article on "Authority Files" with the following: "A separate listing of entries and the authority on which they are based is commonly called an authority file; these files may, for example, simply record decisions which are based on a single authority, in which case the listing of the authority may not be given, in the interest of simplification." (My emphasis). It seems from this that the word Authority refers to the source of evidence from which a decision to use a particular form of heading is made.
