A heading may be categorized as being suitable for either a name or a subject authority structure.

Name authority structure:

Name, name/title, and uniform title headings that are formulated using descriptive cataloging conventions (008/10) are suitable for a name authority structure.  Established forms of these types of headings are used in established heading (008/09, code a) and established heading and subdivision (code f) records; unestablished forms are used in reference records (code b or c).  Certain note and tracing and reference fields in the format are used only in records for headings suitable for name authority structures.

Subject authority structure:

Name, name/title, uniform title, chronological, topical term, and genre/form term (and extended subject headings using these types of headings), and subdivision headings that are formulated using subject heading system/thesaurus building conventions (008/11) are suitable for a subject authority structure.  Established forms of these types of headings are used in established heading (008/09, code a) and established heading and subdivision (code f) records; unestablished forms are used in subdivision (code d), reference (code b or c), reference and subdivision (code g), and node label (code e) records.  Certain note and tracing and reference fields in the format are used only in records for headings suitable for subject authority structures.

See also:

Authority Data Format:  Introduction