About the LC authority history file

Overview

The LC authority history file permanently stores:

• Copies of all distributed authority records sent from the Library of Congress (LC) via the distribution cycle
• Previous, now superseded versions of authority records distributed by LC
• Deleted authority records distributed by LC
• Name authority records deleted internally by OCLC quality control staff

Records are read-only:

• The records display without editable cells.
• You cannot edit or take actions on them. You can, however, copy and paste from the records or print them.

Why use the LC authority history file?

Retrieve authority history records to:

• Track the history of a currently distributed authority record and or LCCN (e.g., to find out when changes were made or when a particular reference or citation was added, or to look at the cancelled authority record when there is a z in field 010)
• Check for headings you can no longer find in the LC distributed authority file
• Identify the source of changes to a distributed authority record
• Research any issues that occurred during the evolution of an authority record

 Note: You can use a heading in an LC authority history record to generate a new authority record. See Authorities, Create Authority Records, "Generate an authority record from a name heading using an OCLC-supplied macro" for instructions.