Increased Number of Controlled Headings in OCLC WorldCat

Automated processing is now being used to identify, modify, and control
specific types of personal name headings in WorldCat bibliographic
records. This processing, based on data used to build WorldCat
Identities (http://orlabs.oclc.org/Identities/) and developed by Thom
Hickey, Chief Scientist in the OCLC Office of Programs and Research, is
projected to control more than 26,000,000 headings over the next few
weeks.

In this phase of processing, personal name headings that consist of more
than a single subfield and that match the established form or a
reference in the authority record are being updated (if necessary); the
heading is then controlled and the record is replaced. Records affected
by this processing can be identified by the symbol "OCLCG" in field 040
$d. When a problem is encountered, the record is skipped and reported
for manual intervention.

Dr. Hickey has posted a description of the project on his blog,
Outgoing, at

http://outgoing.typepad.com/outgoing/2008/04/controlling-nam.html

(OBS-OCLC e-list)