VIAF

VIAF, or the Virtual International Authority File, is an international project that aggregates and links authority records from national libraries and other institutions into a single, unified virtual authority file. Each entity—person, corporate body, or place—receives a VIAF identifier (VIAF ID) that enables consistent identification across languages, scripts, and metadata systems. The project aims to improve name disambiguation and interoperability for bibliographic catalogs worldwide.

VIAF is maintained through international collaboration led by major libraries, with contributions from national libraries and research organizations around the world. It integrates existing authority files, such as national name authority files, and uses automated matching and curator review to merge records that refer to the same entity while preserving links to the original sources.

The data model uses machine-readable formats such as RDF and SKOS, and VIAF provides cross-references to partner authority files and other identifiers. VIAF IDs are widely used in library catalogs and linked data to enhance search, disambiguation, and data integration across languages.

Access is provided through the VIAF website at viaf.org, which offers name search, display of an entity’s VIAF page, and links to contributor records. The service also exposes a programmatic interface for data export and links to external identifiers such as ISNI and ORCID.

Limitations include reliance on contributing libraries, which affects coverage and consistency between languages and regions. VIAF complements rather than replaces individual authority files and is one of several tools used for authority control and linked data in library and information science.