Controle de autoridade de nomes de pessoas: uma proposta a partir da análise da biblioteca digital do Ministério Público Federal

Abstract

This research addresses the issue of authority control and its contribution to the representation and retrieval of information. Authority control is the process used to represent entities in a catalog in a consistent and standardized manner. The scope of the study is the authority control of the names of people and, as a practical reference for analysis, the Federal Prosecution Service's Digital Library (BDMPF) is used. The question that the research aims to answer is: "how can authority control improve the level of consistency in the representation of names of people and provide subsidies for information retrieval?" The general objective is to propose an authority control model that provides consistency to the representation of people's names, contributing to the recovery of information. In order to answer the research question and fulfill the proposed general objective, five specific objectives were established: 1) identify concepts, methodologies and norms for the description of people's names and for the construction of controlled vocabularies; 2) diagnose the current scenario of authority control of person names, representation and information retrieval in the BDMPF; 3) evaluate the structure and functionality of databases and catalogs of authorities already in use by other institutions; 4) to propose improvement actions for the authority control of people's names in the BDMPF; and, 5) to discuss how the control of the authority of names of people can provide more agility, precision and consistency in the representation and retrieval of information. It is characterized as a study of qualitative approach, applied purpose and descriptive-exploratory method, which uses the techniques of systematic and spontaneous observation and instruments called observation scripts for data collection. The study is characterized by the qualitative approach, of applied purpose and descriptive-exploratory method, which uses the techniques of systematic and spontaneous observation and the instruments called observation scripts for data collection. As a result of the methodological procedures performed, the study presents: 1) the theoretical framework on the study theme; 2) the diagnosis of the main inconsistencies related to the control of authority in the BDMPF, especially those related to the names of people; 3) the evaluation of the structure and functionality of databases and catalogs of authorities already in use by other institutions; 4) the proposal for actions to improve the control of the authority of people's names in the BDMPF; and, 5) the discussion on how the standardization of person name descriptions, the premise of authority control, can provide more agility, consistency and precision in the representation and retrieval of information. It concludes that the authority control process, in order to be effective and efficient, requires the availability of a structured, standardized vocabulary control instrument, integrated into a system with technology and configuration compatible with its functionalities. In addition, it depends on the formalization of a consolidated political-administrative management policy, capable of promoting integration between professionals from different areas and changing the organizational culture.