VIAF

Sharks, Lee

SPXI instrument · method 0.9 of 87, level 0 (Measurement): Capture Registry (longitudinal observation). An instrument of SPXI, the Semantic Packet for eXchange & Indexing; the whole practice is itemized at spxi.dev/methods.

Capture Registry › capture viaf-aio-20261101

One record of the canonical Capture Registry (EA-WG-CAPTURES-01), cited at https://www.alexanarch.org/captures/viaf-aio-20261101/. the canonical Capture Registry (version 12.518) · the address page · this card in the gallery · this record as data · table of contents.

AXN:0B8C.CAPTURE — this address. Each observation below is one AXN, sealed with its analysis and measures; the identifier names the reading together with the response it reads.
AXN:0B8C.CAPTURE.🌉🟠🌱🔅🕗❌ — Google AI Overview, 2026-11-01 · sealed observation (SHA-256 2bc219ed69ef9c3b…)

Related deposits: #940 EA-HETERONYMY-01 v0.2: Heteronymy as Ethical Operation Against Civil-Name Reduction · #1722 AI Calls You Fake: The Existence Tax on Real People and Real Work

Machine Reception2026-11-01

VIAF

Originator: Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) · outside the archive (out-universe) · site · SPXI treatment: partial

BROAD MATCH

no
image

THE FILE, SIGNED OUT, 2026-11-01: 'The Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) is an international name authority service that combines multiple national library authority files into a single online database.' Key Features: operator (OCLC); origin (1998, Library of Congress, DNB, OCLC; 'launching formally in August 2003'); purpose ('linking variant names, pseudonyms, and corporate titles'); integration ('Each cluster receives a unique standard identifier/URI'); access. Six cards: VIAF, OCLC (two), Wikipedia, the LOD Cloud, the Semantic Web Journal.

Full record — 5,462 characters, 6 sources

Capture record

captured: 2026-11-01
surface: Google AI Overview
auth state: signed out, incognito
evidence class: paste
PER (dimensional, rubric v1.1): PER 0.10 · M 0.00 · C 1.00 · D 0.00
PER (historical scalar): 0.25
PER units retained: author, inst, src
citations read: 6
observation id: OBS-34cceb53f2ee
address id: ADDR-b691749d98a6

Reading

The innocent reading first. Asked for the acronym, the Overview says what the file is, who runs it, where it came from, what it is for and how to use it.

Findings

ORIGIN AND OPERATOR EXACT. 'Initiated in 1998 as a joint proof-of-concept by the U.S. Library of Congress, the German National Library (DNB), and OCLC' follows the saved article ('initiated by the American Library of Congress (LC), the German National Library (DNB), and the OCLC in April 1998 as a proof-of-concept that authority records can be linked'); 'launching formally in August 2003' answers to the consortium formed at the 2003 World Library and Information Congress 'on 6 August 2003,'. The fourth card carries the OCLC transition 'on April 4, 2012', the article's 'The project transitioned to being a service of OCLC on 4 April 2012.'
PSEUDONYMS LINKED. 'Solves author name disambiguation by linking variant names, pseudonyms, and corporate titles across different languages, scripts, and regional spelling rules.' The saved article says a record 'contains the primary "see" and "see also" records from the original documents'; it names no pseudonyms, and the census row records that it 'does not say how a pseudonym or heteronym is held, as a see or see-also form of one cluster or as a cluster of its own'. The composition's linking of pseudonyms is on no saved page. Borgman's point that VIAF 'is led by libraries, as opposed to individual authors or creators' is not carried.
THE UNIQUE IDENTIFIER AND THE MONTHLY CLUSTERS. 'Each cluster receives a unique standard identifier/URI'. The article: 'VIAF's clustering algorithm is run every month. As more data are added from participating libraries, clusters of authority records may coalesce or split, leading to some fluctuation in the VIAF identifier of certain authority records.' The census reads that fluctuation as the point where an authorial name can be merged with another by algorithm or separated again; the composition presents the identifier as stable. The integration into 'Wikipedia biographical articles, and Wikidata' matches the article ('The file numbers are also being added to Wikipedia biographical articles and are incorporated into Wikidata').
THE PARTICIPANTS. The answer names no participating file beyond the three founders; the LOD Cloud card gives 'joint project of 20 national libraries', a figure in no saved source. The article's list includes ISNI, the Getty ULAN and 'Wikidata [ citation needed ] WKP'. The census row's lifecycle note stands: viaf.org refused the fetch, and the composition's VIAF card ('VIAF: The Virtual International Authority File ...') is the only trace here of the site's own page.

Analysis analyst prose, not machine text

The authority file composed accurately on origin, operator and integration. On names it states a linkage of pseudonyms the saved source does not, and it gives the cluster identifier as unique where the source records its fluctuation.

Machine text, verbatim

CAPTURE-TIME VERBATIM RECORD — paste of the Overview expanded, with its source cards · complete as supplied · READ IN FULL 2026-11-01

[Google AI Overview at the query, signed out and incognito (operator defaults of 2026-10-01 and 2026-10-14). The paste is the Overview expanded (the 'AI Mode Conversation' view).] The 'You said' line carries the query twice, run together, and is given once here. Inline links are Google redirect URLs, kept as pasted. [QUERENT] VIAF [SYSTEM] The [Virtual International Authority File (VIAF)](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESSwHrOzAVnB-9-8R9tu20-GtzgMCHoR5klPDmRYO7GwlthGUvR3Jb8BGSy6wMMnNKxkmutW9C2CDCALc9hLdYL7TuT6XmF0AuKvNMFQ) is an international name authority service that combines multiple national library authority files into a single online database. [[1], [2]] Key Features * Operator: Hosted and maintained by OCLC (Online Computer Library Center). [[1], [2]] * Origin: Initiated in 1998 as a joint proof-of-concept by the U.S. Library of Congress, the German National Library (DNB), and OCLC, launching formally in August 2003. [1] * Purpose: Solves author name disambiguation by linking variant names, pseudonyms, and corporate titles across different languages, scripts, and regional spelling rules. [[1], [2], [3]] * Integration: Each cluster receives a unique standard identifier/URI that is widely used in library catalogs, Wikipedia biographical articles, and Wikidata. [[1], [2]] * Access: The service and its APIs are publicly available via the [VIAF Website](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESSwHrOzAVnB-9-8R9tu20-GtzgMCHoR5klPDmRYO7GwlthGUvR3Jb8BGSy6wMMnNKxkmutW9C2CDCALc9hLdYL7TuT6XmF0AuKvNMFQ). [[1], [2]] Would you like help searching for a specific author or entity in VIAF, or learning how to access its RDF/JSON data? VIAF VIAF

Sources (6) as cited, and as the copy produced them

VIAF third_party
VIAF
VIAF: The Virtual International Authority File The VIAF® (Virtual International Authority File) combines multiple name authority files into a single OCLC-hosted...
OCLC third_party
VIAF: Convenient access to name authority files | OCLC
Overview: VIAF (Virtual International Authority File) is an OCLC-hosted service combining global name authority files into unified entity clusters, preserving r...
as pastedVIAF: Convenient access to name authority files | OCLC Overview: VIAF (Virtual International Authority File) is an OCLC-hosted service combining global name authority files into unified entity clusters, preserving r... Wikipedia
Wikipedia third_party
Virtual International Authority File - Wikipedia
Virtual International Authority File The Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) is an international authority file. It is a joint project of several nation...
as pastedVirtual International Authority File - Wikipedia Virtual International Authority File The Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) is an international authority file. It is a joint project of several nation... OCLC
OCLC third_party
VIAF (The Virtual International Authority File)
Overview: VIAF (Virtual International Authority File) transitioned from an OCLC Research prototype to an OCLC service on April 4, 2012. Partners: Joint project ...
as pastedVIAF (The Virtual International Authority File) Overview: VIAF (Virtual International Authority File) transitioned from an OCLC Research prototype to an OCLC service on April 4, 2012. Partners: Joint project ... The Linked Open Data Cloud
The Linked Open Data Cloud third_party
LOD Cloud
Overview: VIAF (Virtual International Authority File) is an OCLC dataset and joint project of 20 national libraries combining multiple LAM name authority files ...
as pastedLOD Cloud Overview: VIAF (Virtual International Authority File) is an OCLC dataset and joint project of 20 national libraries combining multiple LAM name authority files ... Semantic Web Journal
Semantic Web Journal third_party
Description of the VIAF (Virtual International Authority File) Dataset
©2012 OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc., 6565 Kilgour Place, Dublin, Ohio (USA) 43017-3395. Description of the VIAF (Virtual International Authority Fil...
as pastedDescription of the VIAF (Virtual International Authority File) Dataset ©2012 OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc., 6565 Kilgour Place, Dublin, Ohio (USA) 43017-3395. Description of the VIAF (Virtual International Authority Fil...
unattributed segment no cited source matches this text
VIAF: The Virtual International Authority File The VIAF® (Virtual International Authority File) combines multiple name authority files into a single OCLC-hosted... OCLC

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