OIS has pre-created 26 top-level authority paths, corresponding to main administrative units of the University. Using NRS Web Admin, it is possible to define child- or sub-authorities under these top-level authority paths. The responsibility for defining sub-authorities is vested in the local NRS administrator for each authority path. Consult the NRS Status Page to view all authority paths and identify the local administrator.
Using NRS Web Admin, the local administrator can perform these actions on authority paths for which they are authorized:
- Delegate (create) child- or sub-authorities under a top-level authority path.
- Update an existing authority path (change its status or maximum depth/breadth settings).
- Purge (delete) an authority path (only possible for paths that have no names or sub-authorities defined).
Best practice for defining sub-authorities. OIS recommends that tubs avoid defining multi-level authority paths loaded with organizational meaning. In practice, this means defining an authority path only at the tub level ("FHCL" rather than "FHCL.Widener"). Collections do move and organization-specific authority paths become confusing if the collections they refer to are moved from one library to another.
If a tub must define a multi-level authority path, OIS recommends that the no more than three levels of naming authority delegation be performed: top-level, child, grandchild. NRS will only permit a maximum of five levels of delegation. Also, individual components of the authority path should be no longer than seven characters.
This is the procedure for creating an authority path under the top-level. The operator performing this procedure must have the "authority" role relative to the authority path under which the child authority will be defined.
- Connect to NRS Web Admin.
Production: http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL:nrs-admin
QA/test: http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL:nrs-admin-qa
- From the main menu, select Naming Authorities and then Delegate.
- Select the urn-3 namespace.
- From the drop-down list, select the authority path under which you will define a child- or sub-authority and click the Select button.
- Enter information for the child authority path and click the Delegate button.
- Path name: can be up to 7 characters long and composed of alpha-numeric characters and the following punctuation characters: ( ) + , - = @ ; $ _ ! * '
NRS will retain upper and lower case letter selections, but note that the NRS resolver is not case sensitive. I.e., the NRS resolver will treat the authority paths "HUL.TEST", "HUL.Test", and "hul.test" as the same.
- Administrator: the 8 digit HUID of the operator given the authority role for this new sub-authority. This operator would be identified as the local NRS administrator for this authority path on the NRS Status Page. Leave this field blank and administrative responsibility is implicitly passed to the administrator of the parent authority.
- Max. Depth: specifies the number of levels of sub-authorities that will be allowed beneath the new authority.
- Max. Breadth: specifies the number of sibling authorities that will be allowed at each level sub-authority.
- Status: an authority path must be Active for the persistent identifiers defined under it to be available for resolution.
Persistent identifiers can be created under a new child authority path as soon as it is defined. But note that new persistent identifiers are passed to the NRS resolver overnight (i.e., new persistent identifiers will work in a browser the day after they are created).