Similar authority systems in other languages include the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) and the Répertoire d’autorité-matière encyclopédique et alphabétique unifié (RAMEAU [d]).
Since April 2012 the SWD is part of the Gemeinsame Normdatei (GND) (English: Integrated Authority File).
About three-quarters of the descriptors refer to individual concepts (language identifier, person, entity, title, ethnography etc.)
The strategy of the German Library to distribute authority records commercially makes the extended use of the SWD difficult, e.g. in other keyword systems.
The head official of the Southwest German Library Network (SWB) offers online access (OSWD).