Apparently the entire LC authority file (unclear whether names, subjects or both), has been converted to MARCXML and is available to researchers. See http://www.ibiblio.org/fred2.0/readme.pdf
Sally McCallum's presentation at the RLG Forum (August 06). Sound file of the presentation also available: http://www.rlg.org/en/downloads/Sally_McCallum.mp3 (View the slides while listening is best)