Full Description
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) are increasingly seen as 'the' English language controlled vocabulary, despite their lack of a theoretical foundation, and their evident US bias. In mapping exercises between national subject heading lists, and in exercises in digital resource organization and management, LCSH are often chosen because of the lack of any other widely accepted English language standard for subject cataloguing. It is therefore important that the basic nature of LCSH, their advantages, and their limitations, are well understood both by LIS practitioners and those in the wider information community. Information professionals who attended library school before 1995 - and many more recent library school graduates - are unlikely to have had a formal introduction to Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). Paraprofessionals who undertake cataloguing are similarly unlikely to have enjoyed an induction to the broad principles of LCSH. This is the first compact guide to LCSH written from a UK viewpoint. Key topics include: • background and history of LCSH • subject heading lists • structure and display in LCSH • form of entry • application of LCSH • document analysis • main headings • topical, geographical and free-floating sub-divisions • building compound headings • name headings • headings for literature, art, music, history and law • LCSH in the online environment. Readership: There is a strong emphasis throughout on worked examples and practical exercises in the application of the scheme, and a full glossary of terms is supplied. No prior knowledge or experience of subject cataloguing is assumed. This is an indispensable guide to LCSH for practitioners and students alike.
Contents
1. Introduction
What is LCSH?
The format of LCSH
2. History and principles of LCSH
Early subject headings
Cutter's Rules
Subject cataloguing and the dictionary catalogue
LCSH in the catalogue
Major characteristics of LCSH
The Library of Congress and literary warrant
Bias in LCSH
3. Subject heading lists and the problems of language
Systematic and alphabetic approaches to information
Advantages of alphabetic systems
Disadvantages of alphabetic systems
Controlled indexing languages
Standards for document description
4. Format and display of LCSH
Filing and alphabetization
Non-alphabetic characters
Punctuation
Typography
Notes and references under headings
5. The choice and form of headings
Where do LCSH headings come from?
Cutter's Rules and the choice of preferred terms
Vocabulary control in LCSH: selection of terms
Vocabulary control in LCSH: form of terms
More complex headings
Punctuation of headings
6. Content analysis
The problem of 'aboutness'; indexer consistency and subjectivity
Where to look for content
Constructing the document description
Significant concepts
Common categories of term
Ordering the subject string
7. Assigning main headings
Content analysis and LCSH
Analytical cataloguing
Finding appropriate headings
Cross-references
Selecting headings
Organizing headings on a record
8. Structured headings
The nature of structured headings
The format of structured headings
Categories of subdivisions
9. Topical subdivisions
Presentation of topical subdivisions
Forming the structured heading
Pattern headings
10. Geographic subdivisions
When to use geographic subdivisions
The format of geographically subdivided headings
Place authorities and the form of geographic names
Forming the geographic subdivision
Using more than one geographic subdivision
Geographic subdivisions with topical subdivisions
Main headings with geographic elements
11. Free-floating subdivisions
The scope and range of free-floating subdivisions
Combining free-floating and geographic subdivisions
Persons
Common subject subdivisions
More complicated uses of free-floating subdivisions
12. More complex headings
Combining the different types of subdivisions
Geographic subdivisions combined with free-floating subdivisions
Topical subdivisions combined with geographic subdivisions
Topical subdivisions combined with free-floating subdivisions
Combinations of topical, geographic, and free-floating subdivisions
13. Chronological headings and subdivisions
Free-floating subdivisions for history
Main headings with period aspects
14. Name headings
What constitutes a name heading?
Personal names
Corporate names
Geographic names
Named historical events
Named objects and entities
15. Literature and the arts
Headings for literature
Non-literary texts
Headings for art
Headings for performing arts and media
Practical subject cataloguing in the arts
16. Headings for music
General works about music: period and place
Genre, topics and themes
Musical forces and works about them
Instrumental music
Music for particular forms
Vocal music
Works about composers and musicians
Specific works of music
Recordings and printed music for individual works
17. Classification Web
The composition of Classification Web
Layout and format
Getting started
Searching and browsing
Other features
18. LCSH in the online world
The Library of Congress catalogue
Accessing the LC catalogue: bibliographic records
Other online versions of LCSH
19. Bibliography
General books on LCSH
Library of Congress publications
Current information on LCSH
History and principles of subject heading lists
Bias in LCSH
Classification Web
Current developments in LCSH
20. Glossary
![Ted Saucier's Bottoms Up [With Illustrations by Twelve of America's Most Distinguished Artists]](../images/goods/../parts/goods-list/no-phooto.jpg)
