VIAF Governance Concerns about the Refurbished VIAF Web and API Interfaces
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5860/ital.v44i4.17384Keywords:
VIAF, OCLC, VIAF Council, authority control, web interface, Application Programming InterfaceAbstract
In January 2025, OCLC made significant changes to the web and application programming interfaces for Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) clusters. This article will compare the old and new interfaces, highlighting the pros and cons introduced and calling attention, especially, to critical errors introduced that compromise the functionality of much of the VIAF product. Consequently, it will raise questions and concerns regarding the governance of VIAF, as well as OCLC’s development model, testing, and feedback before public rollout.
References
Anila Angjeli, Andrew Mac Ewan, and Vincent Boulet, “ISNI and VIAF: Transforming Ways of Trustfully Consolidating Identities,” in World Library and Information Congress Papers and Presentations (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, 2014), 2, https://library.ifla.org/985/1/086-angjeli-en.pdf.
“Authority Cluster Resource,” OCLC, https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/viaf/authority-cluster.en.html (archived at Wayback Machine, Internet Archive, December 7, 2021, https://web.archive.org/web/20241206141129/https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/viaf/authority-cluster.en.html).
Bibliothèque Nationale de France and British Library, “A Global Strategy for Authority Metadata and Identifiers. Lessons Learnt from VIAF and ISNI and How to Build a Sustainable Future” (Library of Congress, 2016), https://www.loc.gov/aba/pcc/documents/PoCo-2016/VIAF-ISNI-position-paper.pdf.
Carlo Bianchini, “Nessun catalogo è un'isola,” in Parsifal: Un modello di collaborazione bibliotecaria per condividere la conoscenza registrata, ed. Silvano M. Danieli (Firenze University Press, 2024), 57–72, https://doi.org/10.36253/979-12-215-0356-2.10.
Ikenna Nwaiwu, “Top 5 Policies for Runtime API Governance to Ensure Your APIs are Consistent, Compliant, and Secure,” Traefik (blog) September 17, 2024, https://traefik.io/blog/top-five-policies-for-runtime-api-governance/ (archived at Wayback Machine, Internet Archive, September 19, 2024, https://web.archive.org/web/20250115011548/https://traefik.io/blog/top-five-policies-for-runtime-api-governance/).
Nathan Putnam, “VIAF and the Linked Data Ecosystem,” JLIS.it 13, no. 1 (2022):196–202, https://doi.org/10.4403/jlis.it-12749.
Stefano Bargioni, “From Authority Enrichment to AuthorityBox. Applying RDA in a Koha Environment,” JLIS.It 11 no. 1 (2020): 175–89, https://doi.org/10.4403/jlis.it-12595.
“VIAF Council,” https://www.oclc.org/en/viaf/viaf-council.html (archived at Wayback Machine, Internet Archive, December 12, 2024, https://web.archive.org/web/20241203200611/https://www.oclc.org/en/viaf/viaf-council.html).
“VIAF,” OCLC, https://www.oclc.org/en/viaf.html (archived in https://web.archive.org/web/20241219050457/https://www.oclc.org/en/viaf.html).
“VIAF: The Virtual International Authority File,” VIAF (Beta), https://web.archive.org/web/20110411114912/http://viaf.org/.
“Virtual International Authority File Service Transitions to OCLC; Contributing Institutions Continue to Shape Direction through VIAF Council,” OCLC (press release), April 4, 2012, https://worldcat.org/arcviewer/7/OCC/2015/03/19/H1426803137790/viewer/file1365.html.
“Wikidata:Database Reports/Gadget Usage Statistics/Wikidata,” Wikidata, https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?title=Wikidata:Database_reports/
“Wikidata:Property Proposal/PUSC,” Wikidata, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Property_proposal/PUSC_ID.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Stefano Bargioni

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors that submit to Information Technology and Libraries agree to the Copyright Notice.