A Practical Guide to Library of Congress Subject Headings
A Practical Guide to Library of Congress Subject Headings

Author: Karen Snow

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2021-07-28

Total Pages: 183

ISBN-13: 1538143011

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Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) is used by more libraries worldwide than any other controlled vocabulary system. Yet, many librarians and paraprofessional staff do not have any formal education or training in LCSH. They find themselves having to decipher or construct LCSH strings and don’t know where to begin. Here’s a resource that uses language non-catalogers can understand and provides hands-on, user-friendly training in LCSH. Here Karen Snow transfers her popular LCSH workshops and continuing education courses to book form for those who can’t attend her courses. This book offers material on the basics of subject analysis, the importance of controlled vocabularies, and the main features and principles of LCSH. It explains and provides guidance on the application of LCSH. Library of Congress’ instruction manual for LCSH, the Subject Headings Manual, is discussed at length. Several chapters concentrate on assigning LCSH to resources of a certain focus or genre: fiction works, biographical works (or works that focus heavily on a certain person or their works), and resources that emphasize a geographic location. A separate chapter on encoding subject information in the Machine-Readable Cataloging (MARC) standard will be particularly useful for library staff. Most chapters contain exercises (with answers at the end of the book) that test a reader’s understanding of the chapter material and provide opportunities to practice applying LCSH and subdivisions.

The LCSH Century
The LCSH Century

Author: Alva T. Stone

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-06-03

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 1317956877

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The LCSH Century traces the 100-year history of the Library of Congress Subject Headings, from its beginning with the implementation of a dictionary catalog in 1898 to the present day. You will explore the most significant changes in LCSH policies and practices, including a summary of other contributions celebrating the centennial of the world's most popular library subject heading language.

Library of Congress Subject Headings
Library of Congress Subject Headings

Author: William E Studwell

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-02-01

Total Pages: 122

ISBN-13: 1136579435

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The first comprehensive theoretical treatise on Library of Congress subject headings, this important book provides an analysis of the Library of Congress subject heading system and its application. Library of Congress Subject Headings aims to help improve the clarity of the system, increase consistency and arrangement, increase the number of effective access points, facilitate the interaction of the system with the computer, and generally to make the Library of Congress subject heading system and its application of even greater value to the cataloger and the user. Practicing catalogers, library school personnel, advanced students, and any professional who is very knowledgeable about and seriously interested in Library of Congress subject headings will want to read this highly acclaimed volume. Author William Studwell includes theoretical, conceptual, and philosophical considerations based on 25 years of everyday practical cataloging and indexing work and the knowledge gained from theoretical research for the more than two dozen articles on subject cataloging that he has written in the last decade. He presents thought-provoking, often controversial material in three parts. The first section, “The System,” deals with the basic philosophical foundations of LC subject headings. Thirty-two “principles”--guidelines and suggestions are offered along with detailed explanations, examples, and their relationships to other principles. The second section, “Application,” focuses on the matters of subject cataloging practice, or interpretation and application of LC subject headings. The third section, “The Future,” looks ahead to future issues relating to subject cataloging, such as the development of a theoretical subject heading code, the interface of LC subject headings with the computer, and some speculation as to the role and nature of LC subject headings in the years to come.