Subject headings are the creative initiative of a librarian from his love to organise things. Technically, subject headings are the standardized words assigned to a concept. Using subject headings helps to decrease the “junk,” or irrelevant results. And it is based on the theme of the topic, not the words that appeared in the text. According to Charles A. Cutter, the most important subject cataloguing principle was a consideration of the best interest of the catalogue user. Cutter stated: “The convenience of the public is always to be set before the ease of the cataloguer”. This presentation focuses on the two most popular subject heading lists: Sears List of Subject Headings (SLSH) and Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). Starting from an overview and background study, this project further nurtures the work architecture, functionalities, usage, advantages and disadvantages of each of the selected subject heading lists.

1. Library of Congress
and Sears List of
Subject Headings
Presented by,
SUBHAJIT PANDA
M.Lib.I.Sc., 2nd Semester
DLIS, Panjab University, Chandigarh
Published Version as a Preprint:
Subhajit Panda. The Work Architecture of the Sears List of Subject Headings (SLSH),
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), and Medical Subject Heading (MeSH): An
Introduction. Authorea. September 02, 2022. doi: 10.22541/au.166212050.03129709/v1

2. SUBJECT
HEADINGS
http://www.loc.gov/library/libarch-thesauri.html
http://otherinternents.blogspot.com/2009/02/sears-list-of-subject-headings.html

3. Subject Access
 Power to retrieve works a given collection
contains about a given topic
 Opens up collection for use by the non-expert
 Through subject access, a collection
becomes more effective as a tool for learning.

4. Two ways of Subject Access
1) Through classification- e.g. Dewey: If you’re
in the 200’s, you know you are in Religion.
Similar with LC
2) Through assigning SUBJECT HEADINGS to
records in the catalog as points of access

5. Subject Heading-Uniform Heading
A UNIFORM HEADING is the single, chosen
term (or phrase) under which materials about
a single topic in a collection are categorized.
Solves problem of
synonyms: different word/same topic
homonyms: same word (form)/ different topic
Puts the “control” in controlled vocabulary

6. (Rubin 2004, p.232)
• Syndetic structure helps user navigate list
• Natural language controlled vocabulary
• Different relationships: Broader Term, Narrower term,
Related Term, Use for, See also
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49968232@N00/76632908/

7. Specific Entry
 “…principle of specific entry is fundamental both in using and
making a modern subject catalog” (Miller 1997, xvi)
 Catalogers “choose the most specific possible [subject] heading for
the book as a whole rather than the more general headings
available…” (Mann 2005, p.27)
 “If a work is about penguins, it should be entered directly under the
most specific heading Penguins…not… Birds or even under Water
Birds” (Miller 1997, xvi).

8. Why Specific Entry?
 In all but very small collections, without specific
entry, subject headings become useless for
retrieval.
 Unintuitive and frustrating for the uninitiated, but key
to understanding lists of subject headings

9. Why Lists of Subject
Headings?
1) Translation
a means for translating natural language to controlled vocabulary
2) Consistency
promotes consistency in assignment of subject headings
3) Indication of Relationships
shows the relationships between terms in the list
4) Retrieval
list itself can be used as a searching aid in retrieval
Note: adapted from NISO (2003, p. 1) as found in (Rubin 2004, p. 238).

10. Subject Search vs. Web Search
 Advantage: Results are relevant and
comprehensive.
 Disadvantages: Controlled vocabulary
Requires lots of trained, human labor

11. • Advantages: Natural language search terms
Automated- requires less human labor than
subject cataloging
• Disadvantages: Some retrieved documents will
be irrelevant.
(Mann 2005, p.23)

12. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
SUBJECT HEADING

13.  LCSH was created in the summer of 1898
 Library officials faced the question on how
collections should be organized
 LC officials wanted a new classification system
LCSH: History

14. LCSH: History
 In July 1898,
 Compilation of authority list of subject headings
 Printing of first author cards
 In 1909, recounted LCSH system
 General controlled vocabulary
 LCSH serves thousands of libraries around the
world
 LCSH is a dynamic system, always evolving

15. General Information
 Current size approximately a quarter million terms
 Most comprehensible non-specialized controlled vocabulary in the English
language
 LCSH has demonstrated its versatility in response to changed external
circumstances offering subject access to a wide range of audience in a wide
range of environments
 If LCSH wants to survive in the future, it must adapt to the new environment
(Chan, L. M., & Hodges, T.,2000)

16. Functions :
1) To provide subject access points to the bibliographic records
contained in the Library of Congress catalogs.
2) A tool for subject indexing of general library catalogs.
(Chan, 1990)
LCSH: Functions

17. LCSH: Advantages
 Rich vocabulary covering all subject areas, easily the
largest general indexing vocabulary in the English
language
 Provides synonym and homograph control
 Contains rich links (cross-reference) among terms
(Chan, L. M., & Hodges, T.,2000)

18. LCSH: Advantages
 Translated or adapted as a model for developing
subject headings systems by many countries
around the world
 Compatible with subject data in MARC records
(Chan, L. M., & Hodges, T.,2000)
 The system has clearly demonstrated its
versatility in a wide range of conditions and is
holding its own in popularity
(Calderon,1997)

19. LCSH: Disadvantages
 LC system is so complex, that it requires trained personnel.
 Very costly to maintain subject headings strings in bibliographic
or metadata records
 In its present form and application, LCSH is not compatible in
syntax with most other controlled vocabularies. Its subject
heading strings do not lend themselves to mapping onto other
controlled vocabularies.
 Not amenable to search engines outside the OPAC environment
particularly those that operate on the web
(Chan, L. M., & Hodges, T.,2000)

20. LCSH: Disadvantages
 Library patrons rarely understand and use the LCSH—leads
searchers out of the subject, not into it
 Lack of flexibility in the framework of the system
 Impossible to accomplish 3 key functions:
 Concept formulation
 String Linkage
 Term Networking
• The Subject Heading List of the Library of Congress has become
so entrenched that the financial and intellectual costs of making a
radical departure are intimidating.
(Calderon,1997)

21. Criticism :
 Constructions- conceived and developed by
humans
 Lists of subject headings are not neutral
 They embed cataloger’s bias- cultural, ethnic,
historical, sexual orientation, racial, gender
 When included, minority groups and the
powerless in society are misrepresented and
marginalized (pushed aside as unimportant)
(Olsen, 2002)

22. SEARS LIST OF SUBJECT
HEADING

23. Sears Definition and
Description
 Sears is an alphabetical list of subject headings.
 It is based on literary warrant and does not create headings
until there are library materials that need them.
 Sears is devised for the implementation of Cutter’s Rule for
cataloging materials to the greatest specificity.
(Inter, p. 76)

24.  The technical model was and still is the Library of Congress
Subject Headings. It was the policy of Sears to use the LC
form with some modifications, chiefly the simplification of
phrases.
 Abridged Dewey Decimal numbers were added for the first
time in the 4th edition and are still present in current editions.
 Dewey numbers are to be used as a guide for the cataloger
and not used as exact placing in individual libraries.
(Miller, 2007)
Sears Definition and
Description

25.  Sears was first designed in 1923 by Minnie Earl Sears
 The original plan of Sears was to remain as close as possible to the
usage of the Library of Congress subject headings.
(Inter, p. 75)
 It was based on a survey of subject heading practices of nine small but
well catalogued libraries
Sears History

26.  It was meant for small libraries which found Library of
Congress subject headings too detailed and expansive to
easily meet their needs.
 The original title was List of Subject Headings for Small
Libraries..
(Miller, 2007)
Sears Uses :

27. Sears Uses :
The Sears list resembles the LCSH.
Headings and subdivisions used as
access points are in bold while
those in light type are the non-
preferred terms.
Synonym terms or variant forms of
authorized headings are followed
by “USE” references to the terms
that are used as headings.
(Chan, p. 269)
Biological rhythms: 571.7
UF Biological clocks
Biology-Periodicity
Biorhythms
BT Cycles
NT Jet Lag
Conundrums
USE Riddles

28. Sears: Advantages
• Sears is flexible and expandable.
(H.W. Wilson, 2010)
• In general Sears has fewer technical terms, preferring to common
names of things over the scientific names.
• As a result it is less detailed and complete than LCSH but also much
smaller, more flexible, and less expensive.
(Inter, p. 76)

29. Sears: Disadvantages
• There are some subjects that are difficult to address
descriptively using the Sears structure,
•Ex: biographies
nationality descriptions
literary forms
government policy
(Adamich, 2008)
Sears provides suggestions in working with these
headings.

30. Headings in boldface may be used for subject
searching. For example, “Cooperative Education"
may be used as a subject heading.
May Subd Geog. Place names may follow the
heading.
(The University of North Carolina, 2002)
Relationships :
Sears:
Library of Congress
UF (Used For)
BT (Broader Topic)
RT (Related Topic)
SA (See Also)
NT (Narrower Topic)
-- (a dash) refers to a subdivision of
the boldface subject heading.
LC

31. Relationships :
Pre-coordinated Relationships
Contains two or more individual concepts together to make a heading ex:
budget in business, church and industry, earth-rotation
Term Relationships
3 types – equivalence, hierarchical, associative
Equivalence Hierarchical Associative
USE UF BT NT
RT
Related terms
other than
hierarchical EX.
Ships RT Boats
Narrower term
Concepts on
level
immediately
below on
hierarchy
Broader term
Concepts on
level
immediately
above on
hierarchy
Used-for
Synonyms, alternate
spellings and ending,
abbreviations,
acronyms
References
made from
non-preferred
terms to valid
headings
(The University of North Carolina, 2002)

32. Example and Explanation :
Examples of uniform headings
showing the simple form of Sears
and the longer list for LC.
Sears
Library of Congress

33. Sears
Library of Congress
Ex. Sears heading for dogs
allows for one subdivision
after the heading.
Ex. Using the heading of dogs, LC allows for
the subdivision of Obedience trials, and can
further be broken down by judging, and
even further by geographical location.
Subdivisions

34. Sears and LC :
A large advantage of Sears for smaller libraries is that it is
contained in one volume with updates every three years
while LC is contained in five large volumes and updated
every year.
(Inter, p. 77)
http://www.loc.gov/library/libarch-thesauri.html
http://www.hwwilson.com/print/searslst_19th.cfm

35. Sears and LC :
• Sears is intended for both adults and juvenile collections
• Wherever LC has two different headings, a single term was
made for Sears.
• Sears uses direct headings while LC continues to use
inverted headings.
(Miller, 2007)

36. Sears
Library of Congress
Ex. Showing the direct
heading in Sears and the
inverted headings used in LC.

37. References
Adamich, T. (2008). Simple and satisfying: Review of Sears List, (19 ed.). Retrieved from:
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/knowledgequest/kqwebarchives
/v36/365/365adamich.cfm
Calderon, F. (1997, July). Library of Congress Subject Headings. Cataloging and Classification
Quarterly, 11(2), 85-94.
Chan, L. M. (1990). Library of Congress Subject Headings: Principles of structure and policies
for application, annotated version. In Cataloger's Reference Shelf. Retrieved from
http://www.itsmarc.com/crs/shed0014.htm
Chan, L. M., & Hodges, T. (2000, August). Entering the Millennium: A new century for LCSH.
Cataloging and Classification, 29(1-2), 225-234.
Chan, L. (2007). Cataloging and classification: An introduction (3rd ed.). Lanham, MD:
Scarecrow Press Inc.
H.W. Wilson. (2010). Sears List of Subject Headings. Retrieved from:
http://www.hwwilson.com/print/searslst_19th_preface.cfm
Inter, S., Fountain, J., & Gilchrist, J. (Eds.). (2006). Cataloging correctly for kids. Chicago, IL:
American Library Association.

38. Library of Congress. (n.d.) Library of Congress classification outline. In Library of Congress.
Retrieved from http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/
Mann, T. (2005). The Oxford guide to library research: How to find reliable information online
and offline, (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc.
Miller, J. (Ed.). (1997). Sears List of Subject Headings, (16th ed.). New York, NY: H.W. Wilson
Company.
Miller, J. & Bristow, B. (Eds.). (2007). Sears List of Subject Headings (19th ed.). New York,
NY: H.W. Wilson Company.
Olson, H.A. (2002). The power to name: Locating the limits of subject representation in
libraries. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Rubin, R. R. (2004). Foundations of library and information science, (2nd ed.). New York, NY:
Neal-Schumann Publishers, Inc.
Still Robust at 100. (n.d.). Library of Congress. Retrieved June 21, 2010, from
http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9808/lcsh-100.html
The University of North Carolina. (2002). What’s Library of Congress Subject Headings?.
Retrieved from http://www.unc.edu/depts/jomc/academics/dri/loc/lcsh3.html

39. Additional Resources
Library of Congress Cataloging home page - http://www.loc.gov/aba/
Cataloging Distribution Service - http://www.loc.gov/cds/
Library of Congress Authorities - http://authorities.loc.gov/