Part of the charge of the Subject and Bibliographic Access Committee is to provide a forum for exchange of information, and a clearinghouse for issues and concerns related to bibliographic access (including, but not restricted to, subject headings, call numbers, and name authorities) to materials in anthropology, sociology, criminology and criminal justice, and related fields.
In an effort to disseminate information about cataloging issues, the Committee initiated a series of monthly postings to ANSS-L. Each month the Committee will answer a different question on cataloging issues and policies. Below are the questions/answers which have been answered to date.
If you have any comments or suggestions about these informational postings, or any questions on cataloging which you would like answered, please send them to the Subject and Bibliographic Access Committee. The Committee is always looking for more questions for this monthly column.
2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004
2012
How does one search for exhibition catalogs and books on exhibitions?Answer
2011
What subject headings does the Library of Congress use for “multiracial” groups in the United States?Answer
What are social tags and how can they be useful in libraries?Answer
What kinds of subject headings are applied to works on multilingualism and bilingualism? Answer
What kinds of subject headings are applied to works on disaster relief and natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina?Answer
What subject headings are applied to works on gender studies and related fields? Answer
What subject headings are applied to works on psychological anthropology?Answer
What kinds of subject headings are applied to works on feasts and festivals? Answer
2010
How and when are new subject headings created? Answer
What is RDA and how will it impact cataloging?Answer
What subject headings are assigned to works on environmental anthropology/sociology?Answer
How does one qualify serials/series titles? Answer
How are the terms Islam, Islamic, Muslims and Muslim used in Library of Congress subject headings?Answer
What subject headings are used for the ancient and modern cultures of the Caribbean area? Answer
What subject headings are assigned to works concerned with civil rights and/or human rights?Answer
What subject headings are assigned to works on genocide and its aftermath?Answer
What qualifications are used to distinguish between identical corporate bodies? Answer
What geographic subject headings are used for the Caribbean geographic area? Answer
What Library of Congress subject headings are assigned to works on penology?Answer
2009
What are “relator terms” and how are they used with personal names to enhance searching? Answer
What sorts of subject headings exist for deities and how does one establish subject headings for deities? Answer
What are the recent changes in cataloging regarding publisher changes for serials and multi-part monographs? Answer
What subject headings are used for works on Iron Age archaeological sites? Answer
What Library of Congress subject headings are assigned to works on the criminal justice sub-discipline of corrections in general and to works on juvenile corrections in particular? Answer
What subject headings are used for materials about the indigenous peoples of Australia and the Torres Straits Islands? Answer
What subject headings are used for works on paleoanthropology and fossil hominids? Answer
Why are there non-English notes and subject headings on English language cataloging records? Answer
2008
How does Library of Congress classify works about criminal charges? Answer
What subject headings are assigned to language and subject dictionaries? Answer
What is the proper use of the subdivision Law and legislation? Answer
When is an initial article dropped for geographic names? Answer
How do catalogers treat geographic entities such as countries whose names have changed over time and how does one locate materials on these type of subjects? Answer
How to catalogers distinguish between duplicate forms of personal names? Answer
What subject headings are used for works on cultural resource management and related topics in archaeology? Answer
How does the Library of Congress Subject Headings provide access for maritime materials in anthropology and sociology? Answer
What subject headings are used to find materials on criminals and prisoners? What is the difference between the application of the two headings? Answer
2007
What kinds of subject headings are used for works on Creole/Pidgin dialects? Answer
What subject headings are used for works on ethnobotany or traditional knowledge concerning plants? Answer
What information is added to a heading for a conference to help identify it, and when is a conference access point added to a bibliographic record? Answer
How can LC subject headings be used to locate examples of qualitative research in anthropology and sociology? Answer
What subject headings are used for visual anthropology and what form/genre headings are used? Answer
What is the change in the new CONSER standard regarding the use of uniform titles in the cataloging of journals/periodicals and how will it affect the catalog? Answer
How does Library of Congress Subject Headings treat smaller and alternative religious groups as opposed to the major world religions? Answer
Are translators listed in the catalog record and can I search by their name? Answer
What LC subject headings are used for works on Biblical Archaeology? Answer
What subject headings are used on statistical works and/or mathematical models? Answer
What are the best ways to find ethnographies? Answer
How does LC handle the subject cataloging for the music of diverse ethnic groups? Answer
2006
What LC subject headings are used for the forensic sciences and related fields? Answer
What are the differences in Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) between “class of persons” and their subdivisions and “ethnic groups” and their subdivisions? Answer
What is the difference between LCSH & FAST? Answer
If an author has multiple surnames, which one is he filed under in a library catalog? Answer
The Library of Congress recently announced that they will no longer used controlled tracings for series. What does this mean and how does that affect the records in my local database? Answer
How can I locate DVDs on a topic in a library catalog? Answer
What is the correct subject heading to use for people of African descent? Answer
How is the influence of one topic on another reflected in the subject headings? Answer
What is the difference between the subjects Ironwork, Ironworks, and Iron-works? Answer
What subject headings are assigned to books on sociology or that have a sociological slant to a topic? Answer
When is “Civilization” used as a subject heading under places, and when is “History” used?Answer
2005
When and why does the Library of Congress change an author’s authorized heading (i.e. do they add death dates if someone dies, etc.?) Answer
What is the difference between the following two subdivisions which are used under ethnic groups: Politics and government AND Government relations? Answer
When “public opinion” is used as a subdivision in LCSH under a topic/group of people, does it refer to the public opinion of the group of people, or to the public opinion about that topic/group of people? Answer
Why does the Library of Congress sometimes treat Indian tribes as topical subjects and sometimes as geographic subjects/corporate authors? Answer
Why do some names have an expanded form of name at the end (i.e. James, Peter (Peter J.) OR Knight, M. G. (Michael George) instead of Knight, Michael George)? Answer
When “folklore” is used as a subdivision in a Library of Congress Subject Heading under a topic or ethnic group, does it refer to the folklore of the topic/ethnic group, or to folklore about the topic/ethnic group? Answer
From “Mountain Whites” to “Appalachians (People)”. An Example of how the SACO process of making a change in LCSH works. Answer
What is the difference between the Library of Congress subject headings “Excavations (Archaeology)” and “Archaeology?” Answer
What headings are available for different methods/theories in archaeology? Answer
How does one locate materials on racially mixed groups who see themselves (or others see them) as a distinct racial group? Answer
How does one search for specific archaeological sites? Answer
2004
How are Indian tribes listed in the MARC record? For example, if I wanted Chumash Indians, how are they listed? Are there additional entries, broader entries, i.e. such as Indians–California? Answer
Are funding agencies for archaeological digs cited and/or traced in the cataloging record? If the funding agency is named prominently on the piece (usually meaning on the title page), then they are probably cited on the cataloging record. Answer
For archaeological site reports, does information as to the type of site report (i.e. “final report” or “preliminary report”) go in the bibliographic record? If so, is this information coded to allow computer retrieval of these records? Answer
Why are Festschrift honorees not usually listed as a subject heading on bibliographic records for books that are written in their honor? Answer
