California Digital Library

Determining whether two bibliographic records describe the same title is fundamental to a wide range of activities essential to managing and stewarding library collections. Identifying analogous records aids in efficient cataloging, resource sharing, collection management, and preservation. The algorithms computers follow to find matching records assume an ever growing importance as libraries increasingly seek to engage with their collections in a multi-library context by sharing resources at a very large scale. Understanding how record matching is performed and the varied effects of different approaches are critical for managing collections within and across libraries. Matching algorithms for bibliographic records are essential infrastructure for several aspects of work involving Shared Book Collections.