BSLW-AC list server I want to thank all of you for taking the time to sign up on the Backstage Library Works authority control list server. We currently have 58 customers signed up. Now all we need is someone to post a message. I thought I would take the liberty of getting my feet wet first. Many of you may know that there has been much communication on the catalog list server concerning syncing new authorities with death dates to existing heading in the bibliographic record that do not have a death date. For most ILS systems this is a problem because the software used to align the 1XX of the authority record with the 1XX or 7XX of the bibliographic record relies on a normalized string match to make this connection. Because the authority record has changed and the See References do not reflect the old heading, these heading will not flip on most ILS systems. The authority record for Richard Nixon better illustrates this. Notice that there is no See Reference for Richard Nixon without his death date. (Nixon, Richard M. $q(Richard Milhouse), $d1913-) -001 __01036cz 2200289n 4500 001 __n 79018757 003 __DLC 005 __20060129110612.0 008 __790402n| acannaabn |a aaa 010 __$an 79018757 035 __$a(OCoLC)oca00252604 040 __$aDLC$beng$cDLC$dDLC$dNcU$dOCoLC$dDLC-R$dSdMadT 100 1_$aNixon, Richard M.$q(Richard Milhous),$d1913-1994 400 0_$aNi-k?o-sung,$d1913-1994 400 0_$aNikesong,$d1913-1994 400 1_$aNikson, Ric?ard Milhaus,$d1913-1994 400 0_$aNi-k?o-hsun,$d1913-1994 400 0_$aNikexun,$d1913-1994 400 0_$aNikesen,$d1913-1994 400 0_$aNi-k?o-sen,$d1913-1994 400 1_$aNiksun, Ritshard,$d1913-1994 400 1_$wnna$aNixon, Richard Milhous,$d1913-1994 400 1_$aNixon, Richard,$d1913-1994 510 1_$aUnited States.$bPresident (1969-1974 : Nixon) 670 __$aAndrews, P. This man Nixon, 1952. 670 __$aHis Leaders, c1982:$bCIP t.p. (Richard Nixon) 670 __$aWashington Post, 23 April 1994$b(Richard Milhous Nixon died on 22 April 1994) This absence of a See Reference with the open death date has caused considerable problems in the library automation world. Though the problem is not with authority control vendors, the amount of records updated through the automated process causes a backlog in reconciling these records. Backstage Library Works can provide a solution for those running into this problem. It requires temporary manipulation of the Library of Congress authority record, but the end result is an automated match of authority headings with the authority record. Backstage temporarily creates a See Reference that is the same as your bibliographic heading. This results in the ILS system linking with the correct authority record and changing the heading to match the 1XX of the authority record. We then send the same file without the see reference to overlay the temporary file and give you the correct Library of Congress Subject heading. If you are having this problem and want to talk further about our solution please contact your project manager for additional details. I hope the above is helpful and I hope you will feel comfortable about sharing information with your colleagues on this list server. Thank you for your time and happy posting John Reese Product Manager Backstage Library Works Voice (800) 391-5210 Ext. 249 Fax (801) 356-8220 Email jreese@bslw.com