The Name Authority field type allows you to search, select, and display authoritative names for creators and organizations.
Name Authority presents selectable data, including artists' names, life dates, and nationalities, from Getty's Union List of Artist Names® (ULAN).* When you set up a Name Authority field, you can indicate your preferred format for displaying the information.
This field type is ideal for entering names for artists, creators, manufacturers, etc., in a consistent format across the objects in your Base. Names retain their unique ULAN ID, which links to the full ULAN record.
Add a Name Authority Field to a Blueprint
Let's add a Name Authority field to a Blueprint. Select it from the list of field types.
In this example, we're adding a Name Authority field to our Core Blueprint, because we'll be entering artist information for every object in our collection. You can also add a Name Authority field to Blueprints for specific object types, projects, and groups.
Once the new field has been added, click it to open the Field Editor.
Step 1: Name the Field
Add your preferred label for the field. In the example below, it's Artist. You might name the field "Creator," "Maker," "Printmaker," "Manufactory," "Display Name," etc., depending on the information that will be added at the object level.
Step 2: Select Name Format
Using the drop-down, select your preferred name format. You can either let the user choose when they enter information for an object or designate a specific format.
Step 3: Set Data Entry Rules
Use the toggles to indicate whether result editing and manual entry will be allowed, whether information will be required, whether the field will be locked, whether information entered in the field should be excluded from publishing, and whether names should be sortable.
- Allow result editing: When toggled on, the selected name can be edited (for example, to add a middle initial).
- Allow manual entry: When toggled on, names that don't appear in a Name Authority search can be added (for example, a local artist).
- Required: When toggled on, data must be added to this field before the object record can be saved.
- Locked: When toggled on, data can't be edited by users.
- Exclude from Publishing: When toggled on, this field isn't available as a selectable option in Modules or Exhibitions (for example, a field formatted "Last Name, First Name" wouldn't be ideal for display in a digital exhibition).
- Sortable: When toggled on, artists' names can be sorted by Last Name on the objects page, regardless of the preferred name format selected here.
Enter Info in a Name Authority Field
On an object page, click the Name Authority field (here, the Artist field) to perform a search for a person or organization. Enter a name or portion of a name and click the magnifying glass icon to search.
Select your preferred name from the results. Here, "Joseph Mallord" brings up the artist we want to add: Joseph Mallord William Turner. Click the name.
Once you've selected a name, you'll see some additional information about the person or organization to help you confirm this is who or what you wanted to add. Below the name, the ULAN ID will be displayed, with a link to the full record.
If you selected a specific name format in the Blueprint, you'll see it displayed here.
If you selected Let the user choose when setting up the Name Authority field, you'll see a list of name format options. Click the check mark by the name, then click Select name.
Edit Info in a Name Authority Field
If you toggled on Allow result editing when you set up the field, you'll see a pencil icon above the name at right.
In this example, we edited the name. Instead of Joseph Mallord William Turner, we shortened the name to read J. M. W. Turner and clicked Done. The word Edited now appears at right within the field.
View Name Authority Info in All Data
When you view the All Data section for an object (where you'll find all the data entered for an object across Blueprints), you'll see the edited version of the name, the ULAN ID linked to the ULAN record, and the name as it was originally formatted.
Name Authority Info in JSON Data
When you download JSON data for an object, the ULAN ID, a link to the full record, and the license and attribution notice are included, documenting the source of the information. This is helpful when sharing data with other institutions.
Display Name Authority Info in a Module or Exhibition
When a Name Authority field is displayed in a published Module or Exhibition, a small letter i appears at lower right.
On hover, the following message appears: "Contains information from the J. Paul Getty Trust, Getty Research Institute, the Union List of Artist Names, which is made available under the ODC Attribution License."
Sort Objects by Artist
On the objects page, if you toggled on Sortable, the Name Authority field (here, named Artist) will appear as a drop-down option under Sort.
Artists' names, in whatever format you selected or entered, will appear in alphabetical order by Last Name. You can sort results in ascending or descending order using the arrows.
Change a Field Type to Name Authority
If you've already set up an "Artist" field (or something similar) as a Short Text, Long Text, or Rich Text field type, you can switch the field type to Name Authority in your Blueprint.
Any information previously entered in that field will remain with your objects. You'll then have the option to search and add a name through Name Authority if and when desired.
For more information on selecting field types for specific use cases, see Setting Up Blueprint Fields.
*Getty's Union List of Artist Names® (ULAN) is © The J. Paul Getty Trust and made available under the Open Data Commons Attribution License (ODC-By) 1.0. ULAN is compiled from various contributors and published sources.