Transcript Cataloging Boot Camp Session 9

Session 9: Subject Analysis
• Fundamental concepts and rules of
subject analysis
• Keywords vs. controlled vocabularies
• How do librarians add controlled
vocabulary to bibliographic records?
• Characteristics of LCSH
• Building subject headings
• Subject heading tools
2
Haykin’s Fundamental Concepts
• Your patron is the focus
• Unity (1 primary heading or 1 call
number for all material on that subject)
• Usage (heading is common usage for
reader)
• English vs. foreign terms—prefer
English
• Specificity—be as specific as possible
3
Sayers’ Classification Rules
• Place book where it will be most useful
(i.e., analyze your user)
• Class by subject, then form
• Consider predominant tendency/
purpose of book (i.e., the subject
concerned, rather than the audience
aimed at. Example: chemistry for premed)
4
Sayers, cont’d
• Be as specific as possible (=close
classification)
• If no number or subject exists as yet, put
where closest
• If 2-3 subjects, classify under dominant &
cover others with subject headings; if more
than 3, classify under general heading
covering all
• Class 1 subject applied to another with the
subject to which application is made, e.g.,
Math for accounting
5
Sayers, cont’d
• Classify pro & con books together—be honest
towards the author’s intent
• Avoid classification that implies criticism—
describe, don’t judge
• Always have reasons for decisions
• Document your decisions
• CHECK SUBJECT/CALL NUMBER IN USE
IN YOUR CATALOG. CONSISTENT
CATALOGING MAKES FOR A COHERENT
CATALOG
6
Keywords vs. Controlled
Vocabularies
• Keyword = retrieves term located
almost anywhere in bibliographic
record, e.g., title, note, subjects,
authors, other titles, series [postcoordination]
• Controlled vocabulary = retrieves in a
subject search the defined, related,
chosen terms added to bibliographic
record as subject headings [precoordination]
7
Keyword
• Keyword relies on post-coordinated
combinations of individual terms—if user can’t
think of synonyms, a lot will be missed
• Keyword doesn’t allow for different meanings
for same terms—looks for word, not context
• Keyword retrieves jumble of info, some
relevant & some completely not L
BUT
• Keyword can retrieve new, distinctive terms
not included in controlled vocabularies yet
• Keyword results can be narrowed with
proximity or other qualifiers
8
Search by Keyword “stress”
• With no further qualification, you could
retrieve items on
–
–
–
–
–
psychology
engineering
linguistics
botany
etc.
9
10
Controlled Vocabulary
• Authorized terms distinguish different
meanings of identical words
• Pre-coordinated subject strings add
hierarchy & relevance to search
• Browse displays of pre-coordinated
subject strings allow for organized hit
lists to click on for specific title
information
11
Controlled Vocabulary, cont’d
• Browse displays are the only mechanism
providing vocabulary control of freefloating elements of subject headings
• Patrons don’t need to know or type in
complete string—only first element
Meaning of pre-coordinated phrases and
Menu visible in browse searches are
equally important
12
Keyword “Yugoslavia” and
“History”
• Overwhelming, jumbled results
• Too many responses with right words in
inappropriate contexts
13
14
Subject Browse on “Yugoslavia”
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia—Antiquities
Yugoslavia—Bibliography
Yugoslavia—Civilization
Yugoslavia—Economic conditions
Yugoslavia—Historical geography
Yugoslavia--History
Yugoslavia—Politics and government
Yugoslavia—Social life and customs
15
16
So… what do catalogers do to add
controlled vocabulary to bibliographic
records?
We try to figure out what the book
is about—
17
To begin with, we:
• Examine all works [book, non-book, fiction,
non-fiction] for subject content
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
title
abstract
introduction
preface
table of contents
index
bibliography
jacket or cover or label or box blurbs
accompanying materials, inserts, boxes
• Identify main subjects
• Identify author’s point of view
18
Then, we use the primary source of controlled
vocabulary, Library of Congress Subject
Headings, aka LCSH or “the red books,”
either in print or online in OCLC’s Connexion
or in LC’s Cataloger’s Desktop.
LCSH has subject terms, additions to terms,
and helpful notes about how and when to use
them. It also sometimes includes suggested
LC classification numbers.
19
Some Important LCSH
Characteristics
There are several types of headings:
–
–
–
–
–
Single words
Qualified words
Phrases
Inverted phrases
Series of nouns
– Some uniform titles
Poor
Iris (Eye)
Career plateaus
Medicine, Arab
Law reports,
digests, etc.
Bible
20
A Few More…
• Few—almost none!—personal or corporate
names. George Bush & Federal Bureau of
Investigation aren’t included
• Recent trend toward natural word order
(rather than inverted) and fewer hyphenated
terms
• “Pattern headings”, e.g.,
– Corn (for plants and crops)
– Shakespeare (for personal authors)
• Subdivisions are preceded by -- in LCSH
& are separately subfielded in MARC
authority records
21
Looking at an LCSH page, note:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Indentions, preceded by hyphens
Boldface entries
Scope notes
Cross reference structure
LCC numbers
Capitalization
Punctuation
Alphabetization in structured display
22
Chicachas Indians
USE Chickasaw Indians
Chicago, Judy, 1939Dinner party
UF Dinner party (Art)
BT Art, American
Chicago (Ill.)
Bold vs. unbolded
-- Description
-- -- To 1875
Indentions
-- -- 1875-1950
Hyphens
-- -- 1951-1980
USE, UF, BT
-- -- 1981-- Haymarket Square Riot, 1886
USE Haymarket Square Riot, Chicago, Ill., 1886
-- History
[F548]
-- -- To 1875
-- -- Civil War, 1861-1865 [F548.4]
-- -- 1875-- Massacre, 1812
USE Massacres—Illinois—Chicago
-- Politics and government
-- --To 1950
-- --1951Chicago (Ill.)—Politics and government—1951-- Riot, 1968 (August)
Chicago (Ill.). North Lawndale
USE North Lawndale (Chicago, Ill.)
23
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Some LCSH terms you should
know:
Subject headings/terms
Subject subdivisions
Pattern headings
Subject heading strings
“May subdivide geog.” direction
Scope notes
Cross references [the BT, RT, etc., we’ll
talk about later today]
24
Terms Defined
• Subject headings/terms = Initial
subject elements in string
• Subject subdivisions = Various elements
that are added to initial subject terms
• Pattern headings = examples of
subdivisions that can be used with
similar subjects
• Subject heading strings = subject term
+ any subdivision(s) connected within
single field
25
• “May subdivide geog.” direction =
permission to add geographic subdivision
after subject or subdivision term
• Scope notes = explanation of how term
or subdivision should be used
• Cross references: BT = broader term;
RT = related term; NT = narrower term;
sa = see also; USE = use term directed
to; UF = used for
26
Alphabetization &
Capitalization Rules
•
•
•
•
•
Topic
Topic—Subdivisions
Topic, Inverted extension
Topic (Qualifying term)
Topic with other words in phrase
27
Structured Display in Action
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Reading—Ability testing
Reading—Abstracts—Periodicals
Reading—Congresses
Reading—Research
Reading, Psychology of
Reading (Adult education)
Reading (England)
Reading comprehension
28
BREAK??
29
Kinds of Subdivisions
•
•
•
•
Topical
Form
Chronological
Geographic
--Growth
--Fiction
--To 1950
--France
[MARC
[MARC
[MARC
[MARC
$x]
$v]
$y]
$z]
CLUE: You can sometimes find a scope note
about the use of a term as a subdivision under
entry for its use as a subject heading,
whether boldface or not
30
31
32
Authorized Subdivisions
• Established specifically for use under particular
heading
650 _0 Cinematography $x Special effects.
651 _0 France $x History $y 1945-1958.
• Free-floating may be used under certain types of
headings without being established specifically
650 _0 Biochemistry $v Congresses.
651 _0 New York (N.Y.) $x Buildings, structures, etc.
650 _0 Short stories, American $x History and
criticism
• Pattern headings may be applied as appropriate
33
Pattern headings give you a bunch of
possible subdivisions for a particular
kind of subject heading, e.g.,
subdivisions appropriate or possible
after names of plants. These
subdivisions aren’t repeated after every
plant name in LCSH—the pattern serves
as the primary listing of possible
subdivisions for any plant.
34
Some Pattern Headings in LCSH
Pattern headings
Examples
Animals (general)
Fishes
Animals (domestic)
Cattle
Diseases
Cancer; TB
Organ, body regions Heart; Foot
Plants & crops
Corn
Indiv. lit. authors
Shakespeare
City
Chicago, Ill.
State
Ohio
Country
U.S.
35
Compare Carrots [in
Connexion authority search]
…
36
to Corn
And we’re only at the C’s!!!
37
All the subdivisions listed under Corn can be used—when
appropriate—after carrots, potatoes, wheat, etc.
Ditto for authors (Shakespeare’s the pattern), cities
(follow Chicago) …
OCLC’s Connexion includes list of pattern headings at
http://www.oclc.org/support/documentation/connexio
n/browser/authorities/find_auth_records/find_auth
_records_pdf.pdf
38
Building Subject Heading Strings
• Find appropriate subject heading
• Look for established subdivisions
• Add appropriate free-floating
subdivisions
• Check pattern headings for more
possibilities
• Watch for permission by “multiples,”
e.g.,
English language -- Dictionaries -- French,
[Italian, etc.]
39
Preferred Order of Terms in
Subject Heading Strings
• General subject heading—Topical
subdivision—Geographic subdivision—
Chronological subdivision—Form subdivision
650 _0 $a $x $z $y $v
650 _0 $a Spanish language $x Dialects $z Spain
$x History $y 19th century $v Dictionaries.
• Place follows last element that allows
geographical subdivision, when there’s a
choice:
Not Topic—Place—Topic
But Topic—Topic—Place
40
41
42
Geographic subdivision is always indirect —
except Jerusalem & Washington, D.C. — using
latest name of place
650
650
650
650
_0 Birds
_0 Birds
_0 Birds
_0 Birds
$z United States.
$z Missouri.
$z Missouri $z Saint Louis.
$z Washington (D.C.)
NOT 650 _0 Birds $z Saint Louis.
NOT 650 _0 Birds $z United States $z
Missouri.
43
Miscellaneous Facts
• If about history or government, whose history or
government is most important starting point
651 _0 Connecticut $x Politics and government.
• Reciprocal headings are sometimes required, e.g., 2way language dictionary; 2-way foreign relations text
651 _0 China $x Foreign relations $z Brazil.
651 _0 Brazil $x Foreign relations $z China.
44
Looking at an LCSH Authority
Record in MARC, note:
• 1XX field = authorized form
• 4XX field(s) = unauthorized, see from
form
• 5XX field(s) = authorized, see also from
form
• 053 field(s) = LC call numbers
• fixed field info about usage, subdividing
geographically, source, rules, etc.
45
Note L.C. call numbers
Unused term
Broader term
46
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
MARC Bibliographic Fields*
for Subject Headings
600
Personal name subject heading
610
Corporate name subject heading
611Conference name subject heading
650
Topical subject heading
651
Geographical subject heading
690
Local subject heading
650 _4 Local subject heading, patterned
after LCSH construction
*All represented in ARs as 1XX fields, e.g., 100, 150,
151
47
Subject Heading Tools
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
LCSH
Free-Floating Subdivisions: an Alphabetical Index
LC Period Subdivisions under Names of Places
Subject Cataloging Manual: Subject Headings
OCLC’s Connexion database authority file [really LC’s
authority file, loaded in OCLC]
OCLC’s Connexion database heading verification
(control heading)
LCSH pattern heading list in Connexion
LC authority file
Local system’s heading verification
Library of Congress Subject Headings: Principles and
Application / Lois Mai Chan.
48
Let’s Add Subject Headings to
Our “Fake Books”
49
50
51
52
MARC Subject Coding for Our
Fake Books
650 _0 Cataloging.
650 _0 Classification.
53
56