In Alma the authority file, a subject or term stems from, is defined by the content of $2 in various 6XX fields. This code controls the F3 functionality, as well as the linking process and the various jobs like PTC. Each and every authority file is addressed by one specific code.

In the German speaking countries we use an integrated authority file (GND), which amongst names and subjects, also includes genre/form terms. For historical reasons the genre/form terms in BIB field 655 are marked with the official LoC /MARC Genre/Form Code and Term Source Codes “gnd-content” and “gnd-carrier” in $2, while the terms are, as the code suggests, actually a subset of our integrated authority file “gnd”. The same goes for notated music terms in BIB field 348. These too are a subset of our integrated authority file and are marked by the official LoC /MARC code “gnd-music” in $2.

Alma currently does not allow to link the above mentioned terms to said authority file, because the content of $2 does not exactly match the code for the authority file, which is “gnd”. This problem could be solved by allowing for different codes in $2 to address one and the same authority file.