What Library of Congress subject headings are assigned to works on penology?
Penology is the subfield of criminal justice that deals with the incarceration of adult offenders. General works in this area are most often assigned the subject heading Imprisonment, which may be subdivided geographically. Established topical subdivisions under Imprisonment include:
- Imprisonment – Religious aspects
- Imprisonment – Religious aspects – Baptists [Catholic Church, etc]
- Imprisonment – Religious aspects – Christianity [Buddhism, etc.]
- Imprisonment – Religious Aspects – Protestant churches
Useful narrower and related terms associated with Imprisonment include:
- Alternatives to imprisonment [may be subdivided geographically]
- Chain gangs [may be subdivided geographically]
- Convict labor [may be subdivided geographically]
- False imprisonment [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison-industrial complex [may be subdivided geographically]
- Shock incarceration [may be subdivided geographically]
- Solitary confinement [may be subdivided geographically]
Note that Shock incarceration is used for prison boot camps and other forms of intensive, short-term incarceration.
Imprisonment can also be used as a free-floating topical subdivision under individual persons. In such cases, it is not subdivided geographically. On the other hand, the free-floating topical subdivision Effect of imprisonment on, which is used only under classes of persons, may be subdivided geographically
The Library of Congress also provides a rich set of subject headings for works on the institutions in which adults are incarcerated. The general heading used for such institutions is Prisons, which may be subdivided geographically. Established topical subdivisions under Prisons include:
- Prisons – Accounting
- Prisons – Accounting – Law and legislation [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prisons – Design and construction
- Prisons – Finance
- Prisons – Finance – Law and legislation [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prisons – Law and legislation [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prisons – Missions and charities [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prisons – Officials and employees
- Prisons – Overcrowding [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prisons – Overcrowding – Law and legislation [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prisons – Sanitation [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prisons – Statistics [may be subdivided geographically]
Subject headings assigned to works on specific types of Prisons include:
- Indian tribal prisons [may be subdivided geographically]
- Jails [may be subdivided geographically]
- Jails – Law and legislation [may be subdivided geographically]
- Jails – Overcrowding [may be subdivided geographically]
- Military prisons [may be subdivided geographically]
- Open prisons [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prisons, coeducational [may be subdivided geographically]
Although Jails is listed as a narrower term under Prisons, the Library of Congress does not clarify their usage of this term. However, an informal review of works assigned this heading suggests that the Library of Congress tends to assign Jails to works on correctional institutions used for temporary or short-term detention, generally no more than one year. It is also important to note that the Library of Congress has not established a subject heading for private as opposed to public prisons. Instead, works on private prisons are often assigned the subject heading Corrections – Contracting out, which may be subdivided geographically.
Useful narrower and related terms associated with Prisons include:
- Arts in prisons [may be subdivided geographically]
- Death row [may be subdivided geographically]
- Escapes [may be subdivided geographically]
- Libraries and prisons [may be subdivided geographically]
- Music in prisons [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison administration [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison chaplains [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison contraband [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison discipline [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison educators [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison films [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison furloughs [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison gangs [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison homicide [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison hospitals [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison industries [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison laundries [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison libraries [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison nurses [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison periodicals [not subdivided geographically]
- Prison physicians [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison psychologists [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison psychology [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison reformers [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison riots [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison sentences [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison soccer teams [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison tattoos [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison theatre [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison treadmills [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison violence [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison visits [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prison wardens [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prisons and race relations [may be subdivided geographically]
- Prisons in art [not subdivided geographically]
- Prisons in literature [not subdivided geographically]
- Prisons in mass media [not subdivided geographically]
Finally, the Library of Congress provides a rich set of subject headings for works on prisoners. For more information on this subject see the ANSS cataloging Q&A on criminals and prisoners on the ANSS Wiki at http://wikis.ala.org/acrl/index.php/Criminals_&_Prisoners.
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