Essential Library of Congress Subject Headings

Citation

Cossham, A. (2013), "Essential Library of Congress Subject Headings", Library Management, Vol. 34 No. 3, pp. 258-260. https://doi.org/10.1108/01435121311310950

The ubiquity of keyword and natural language searching using worldwide web search engines has altered the way people search. It is not uncommon to find the value of controlled vocabulary in the form of subject headings questioned (not the least because library budgets impact on the level of cataloguing that can be done). Users find subject headings in library catalogues complex to understand, and search engines seem infinitely more accessible (e.g. Novotny, 2004). Additionally, the new cataloguing instructions RDA: Resource Description and Access have led cataloguers to an almost frenetic engagement with descriptive cataloguing over the past few years. Subject and genre approaches seem to be overlooked in this scramble.

LIS research continues to demonstrate that the use of subject headings improves the findability of information resources (e.g. Gross and Taylor, 2005; McCutcheon, 2009) and library users themselves have identified “more subject information” as a desirable enhancement for library catalogues (Calhoun et al., 2009). Essential Library of Congress Subject Headings is a welcome reminder of the importance of subject headings.

Broughton has written a clear, practical guide to Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), the most widely used subject heading list in the English speaking world. The book is the third “Essential” book by Broughton (others are Essential Classification (2004) and Essential Thesaurus Construction (2006)), and provides an introduction, overview and user guide to LCSH. While Lois Mai Chan's Cataloging and Classification (3rd ed., 2007) remains the comprehensive work, Broughton provides an accessible and user‐friendly approach for the new cataloguer or LIS student.

A concise introduction leads to an overview of the history and principles of LCSH, and the role of language in organising and retrieving information. A chapter on the format and display of LCSH explains how to understand the presentation of the subject headings (filing, punctuation, typography, notes and references) and leads to one on the choice and form of headings, which covers the variety of different forms of LCSH headings.

The problems caused by synonyms and homonyms, variant usage, preferred terms and spelling variation, foreign words, obsolete terms, are all dealt with. The range of different types of headings is presented: single words, noun forms, multi word headings, inverted headings, qualifiers, and more complex headings such as phrases are each briefly discussed.

Broughton highlights some important reminders for content analysis, the sine qua non of assigning subject headings. A chapter on assigning main headings is followed by several chapters that explain subdivisions and how to use and combine them. There is a more in‐depth treatment of some of the more “obscure corners” of LCSH, with chapters on literature and the arts and music, as well as name headings. It concludes with a discussion of Classification Web and LCSH in the online world. There is also select bibliography of other important titles, and a glossary.

The book follows a similar format to the other “Essentials”. It includes section summaries throughout the chapters and exercises for the reader, and the typography means the reader can see at a glance whether something is an example, an exercise or a summary. The subject headings examples provide more than one smile (it was a pleasure to see my two favourites: Homing pigeons in the Bible, and Fat dormouse SEE Edible dormouse), and they indicate the breadth and range of the headings that exist as well as illustrating specific points.

Although written from a UK perspective, this is relevant to a much wider audience. It is well structured (not an easy task when LCSH itself lacks structure) and could be consulted as well as read, a small amount of repetition ensuring that each chapter contains all the information relevant to that topic.

This is an excellent, readable, and accessible work that will guide those learning LCSH, whether LIS student or cataloguer, as well as providing an excellent refresher for more experienced cataloguers. Any librarian, in fact, will find this a useful guide to LCSH.