Essential Library of Congress Subject Headings

Citation

Martinez, S. (2013), "Essential Library of Congress Subject Headings", Collection Building, Vol. 32 No. 3, pp. 122-122. https://doi.org/10.1108/CB-02-2013-0004

With this work British educator Vanda Broughton offers a third book in her series of essential guides for cataloging. The previous titles in this series are Essential Classification and Essential Thesaurus Construction. The content for these books was developed from the cataloging and classification module of the MA in Library and Information Studies at University College London; not surprisingly then, this work, as the others, is intended for the student, the novice cataloger and the paraprofessional.

The Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) are now widely used in the English‐speaking world to enable subject searching in library catalogs. The unique point about this book is that it is written from a British perspective. The author provides background and history of LCSH and places it within the context of the UK. She takes note of the American bias and points out words which might cause confusion. The content includes the structure and display in LCSH, form and choice of headings, and content analysis. There are several chapters which focus on how the choice of headings and the arrangement of structured headings can indicate subject content in the most complete way.

LCSH is a delicious smörgåsbord of strict rules and standards. The structure of this book not only organizes this information in a concise way but also breaks it down into digestible portions. Bullet point summaries appear several times in each chapter to make quick review possible. Beginning with Chapter 6, exercises are also included. The answers to these exercises are included at the end of each chapter. A very thorough bibliography in Chapter 19 includes online Library of Congress resources along with topically organized citations of books and articles. The glossary and index can never be taken for granted when dealing with a new subject area. Students and neophytes who are bombarded with unfamiliar vocabulary may rely on these tools for finding and understanding new and complicated content.

This book can go with students to their first jobs and be a useful reference guide as they refine their cataloging skills. This book also would be valuable to a paraprofessional who is learning how to create subject headings. This guide assumes no prior awareness or experience of subject cataloging and brings the reader to a working knowledge step‐by‐step. While present, the British perspective would not be considered a limitation or distraction for American readers. This book is recommended because of the author's clear explanation and sensible organization of the material.