This document provides an overview of subject analysis and searching for subject headings. It discusses examining documents to identify tentative headings, searching subject heading thesauri and catalogs to find candidate headings, and selecting appropriate headings. The document outlines Šauperl's model for subject analysis and describes techniques for searching subject heading sources like LCSH and familiarizing oneself with MARC bibliographic records and LC classification schedules. Assignments are provided to have students analyze MARC records and LC classification numbers.

1. Lecture 2
 Searching for Subject Headings
 Reading the MARC record
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2. Exercise: The Professor and
the Madman
 Consider all types of subject concepts:
 Topics
 Names of:

Persons

Corporate bodies
 Geographic areas
 Time periods
 Titles of works
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3. The Process of Subject
Analysis
 Learned
 Requires supervision and ongoing
training
 Involves understanding, reasoning,
creativity, perception and judgment
 Practice and persistence
 Time-consuming and expensive
 Not production line work
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4. Šauperl’s Model
1. Examination of the document with
identification of tentative headings
2. Search for subject headings with identification
of candidate subject headings
3. Review and selection of candidate subject
headings
4. Assignment of subject headings and class
numbers
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5. Searching for subject headings:
Checking the thesaurus
 Familiarity with thesaurus (its structure
and navigation)
 Familiarity with topic (understanding its
terminology and the hierarchy of terms)
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6. Example 1
 Title: Revolution in clay : the Marer
Collection of Contemporary Ceramics
 Pottery is a narrower term for Ceramics
 Art pottery is a narrower term for Pottery
 Familiarity with these terms and their usage in
the thesaurus is critical to matching the topic
with the subject heading
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7. Example 2
 Title: Copyright licensing regimes
covering retransmission of
broadcast signals
 Copyright licensing is a narrower term
of Copyright
 Copyright – Broadcasting rights is also
an established subject heading in LCSH
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8. Searching for subject headings:
Checking the catalog
 Search under:
 Candidate subject headings to see if similar titles
are found or if there are other related subject
headings often assigned at same time
 Author to see if similar works have received the
same candidate subject headings
 Associated call numbers to see if similar works
receive same subject headings
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9. Searching for subject headings:
Checking the catalog (cont.)
 Useful if unfamiliar with topic
 Can also be used to search for
classification of similar works
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10. Searching for subject headings:
Checking the catalog (cont.)
Example:
Works with the subject heading “Dairy
cattle” may also have:
 Dairying,
 Milk production, or
 Cattle – Housing
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11. Searching for subject headings:
Checking the catalog
 Drawbacks of this technique:
 Obsolete subject headings and
classification numbers
 Incorrectly applied subject headings or
correctly applied when narrower terms not
available
 Work in hand may not truly match what is
found
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12. Unfamiliar Subjects
Consult:
 Reference works
 Internet/Wikipedia
 Experts
 Colleagues
 Subject Cataloging Manual: Subject
Headings
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13. Nonlinear Process
Work LCSH
Reference works Catalog
Internet SCM:SH
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14. Learning to Read the
MARC21 Record
Each field has a tag, indicators, and
subfields marked with a delimiter
symbol
Examples:
050 b4 QC23.4 $b .A54 2004
650 b0 Dairy cattle $v Congresses.
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15. Learning to Read the
MARC21 Record (cont.)
 05X-090 fields reserved for
classification numbers
 050 specifically for Library of Congress
Classification
 2nd indicator 0 specifies LCCS number
assigned by LC for its holdings
 2nd indicator 4 specifies LCCS-like
number assigned by another library
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16. Learning to Read the
MARC21 Record (cont.)
 6XX fields record subject access points:
 Topical headings
 Name headings (personal and corporate)
 Geographic headings
 Titles of works as subjects
 2nd indicator of 0 = LCSH or LCSH-
compatible heading
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17. MARC21 Concise Format for
Bibliographic Data
Details on the meanings of tags,
indicators, and subfields can be found
in:
http://lcweb.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/ecbdh
.
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18. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
CLASSIFICATION OUTLINE
http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/lcco.html
(URL also appears in the syllabus)
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19. Assignment Due October 29!
Print out 5 MARC records of your choice from
LC catalog at http://catalog.loc.gov/
For all 05X-09X and 6XX fields, write the
meaning of the content designators
Using LC Classification Outline, write the
closest verbal equivalent for the class number
Using LCSH, search the heading and highlight if
it is found exactly
No plastic sleeves, please!
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20. Example
 050 0 Z666.5 $b .C37 2003
Z666.5 = Library science. Information science.
 650 0 Metadata.
650=Subject added entry, topical term
Blank 1st indicator=???
0 2nd indicator=???
$a = ???
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