Karen Snow - A Practical Guide to Library of Congress Subject Headings

Karen Snow is an associate professor and the PhD program director in the School of Information Studies at Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois. She teaches face-to-face and online in the areas of cataloging, classification, and metadata. She completed her PhD in information science at the University of North Texas in 2011 while working as a cataloger in the rare book rooms of the university archives and the technical services departments. Her main areas of research interest are cataloging quality, ethics, and education. In 2016, she received the Follett Corporations Excellence in Teaching Award. Her first book, A Practical Guide to Library of Congress Classification, was published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2017.

T im Butzen-Cahill, your feedback and support throughout this entire project have been invaluable and are deeply appreciated. Your faith in this book means a great deal to me, and it is a stronger work because of you. Thank you!

Lauren Enjeti has once again come through on bringing my vision to life through her fantastic illustrations. You are amazing!

Thank you to Library of Congress for granting me permission to reproduce screen captures of Classification Web and the Library of Congress Authorities website. This is a much more accessible book because of your generosity.

To my students: thank you for making me a better teacher every day.

Finally, I could not do what I do without the steadfast support of friends and family. Robby and Eleanor: I love youthis ones for you.

1. What does the Library of Congress primarily rely on to determine which terms should be included in LCSH? ANSWER: Literary warrant.
2. Name two places on the web where you can find LCSH. ANSWER: Your answers could include any of the following: Classification Web (https://classweb.org/), Library of Congresss Authorities website (http://authorities.loc.gov/), Library of Congresss linked data service (http://id.loc.gov/), an OCLC product such as Connexion, and the PDFs on Library of Congresss website (https://www.loc.gov/aba/cataloging/subject/).
3. Read each explanation below, and identify the type of relationship described as an equivalence relationship, a hierarchical relationship, or an associative relationship.
   1. In LCSH, Solar system is a narrower term under Milky Way but is broader than Planets. What type of relationship do these terms have? ANSWER: Hierarchical.
   2. Buckets and pails are considered synonyms in LCSH. What type of relationship do these terms have? ANSWER: Equivalence.
   3. The LCSH Folklore has several related terms, such as Mythology and Storytelling, that do not have the same meaning and are not considered broader or narrower terms. What type of relationship do these terms have? ANSWER: Associative.
4. Using the principle of specificity and the LCSH hierarchy (economics economic policy government spending policy employment subsidies), answer the following questions:
   1. Is it appropriate to assign Economics to a general work on economic policy? Explain. ANSWER: No. Assign Economic policy because it is most specific to the topic of the work.
   2. Is it appropriate to assign Employment subsidies to a general work on government spending policy that discusses employment subsidies among other government spending policies? Explain. ANSWER: No. Not enough detail given to say otherwise.
   3. Is it appropriate to assign Economic policy to a general work on economic policy? Explain. ANSWER: Yes. The heading is at the appropriate level of specificity given the topic of the work.
5. Use the principle of scope-match and the above Economics hierarchy to determine which response (assign the headings for each type of policy or assign the general topic heading Economic policy) is the most appropriate to the scenarios provided in a and b. Explain your choice.
   1. A work on economic policy comprised of three equal parts that cover government spending policy, labor policy, and monetary policy (all types of economic policy). ANSWER: Assign the headings for each type of policy. Since all three topics are covered equally and are the primary topics of the work, it is fine to assign subject headings for all three topics.
   2. A work on economic policy with twelve chapters each covering a different type of policy. ANSWER: Assign the general topic heading Economic policy. Each type of policy is not covered in at least 20 percent of the work.

1. What does SLAM stand for? What does SLAM help you do? ANSWER: SLAM stands for Scan, Look for, Ask yourself, and Mentally compose. SLAM helps with the subject analysis process.
2. Name two sources of information that you should consult during the first step of the SLAM method. ANSWER: Any two of the following: title page (or title screen, card, etc.), introduction, preface, table of contents, front and back cover/dust jacket (or front and back of the container), bibliography and index, any other documentation that is on or comes with the resource, Cataloging-in-Publication (CIP) data.
3. What aspects of a resource should you consider beyond those examined in the first step of the SLAM method when identifying keywords or phrases that describe what the work is about? ANSWER: Consider the authors intent, the intended audience, and any special viewpoint presented.
4. What two actions typically occur during the subject analysis process, according to library and information science literature? ANSWER: Conceptual analysis and translation.
5. What is it called when single-concept terms are combined to form complex subjects prior to the users search of a system? ANSWER: Precoordination.
6. Besides aboutness, what else might be important to identify in the subject analysis process? ANSWER: Is-ness information, such as form, as well as genre information.

1. What is the LCSH for book owners? ANSWER:Book collectors.
2. What is the LCSH for prehistoric animals? ANSWER:Animals, Fossil.
3. What is the LCSH for boats? ANSWER:Boats and boating.
4. What is the LCSH for futility? ANSWER:Frustration.
5. What is the BT (broader term) associated with the LCSH Unicorns? ANSWER:Animals, Mythical.
6. What is the RT (related term) associated with the LCSH Fortune-telling by cards? ANSWER:Divination cards.
7. What are the NTs (narrower terms) associated with Imaginary vehicles? ANSWER:Imaginary space vehicles and Imaginary submarines.
8. What are the UF (used for) headings associated with Alchemy? ANSWER:Metals, Transmutation of; Philosophers egg; Philosophers stone; Stone, Philosophers; and Transmutation of metals.
9. What does the SA (see also) note say at LCSH Clothing and dress? ANSWER: SA subdivision Clothing under names of individual persons and families and under classes of persons and ethnic groups.
10. Can the LCSH Desserts be subdivided geographically? What about the LCSH Desserts in art? ANSWER: Yes to the first question. No to the second. Desserts has (May Subd Geog) after it and Desserts in art has (Not Subd Geog).

1. A work about collecting snow globes. ANSWER:SnowdomesCollectors and collecting.