Page 92 - DLIS103_LIBRARY_CLASSIFICATION_AND_CATALOGUING_THEORY

Unit 13: Subject Cataloguing

Of particular interest is the technique of category analysis, which has been used to rationalize the Notes
content and structure of alphabetic subject heading lists. Through this method, as described by
Taine and F. B. Rogers, all of the headings and references which relate to a particular category are
assembled in a single enumeration, so that it becomes possible to observe whether there is any
overlapping in terms, any inconsistency in form, or any defect in the reference structure. Hilda
Steinweg has demonstrated the value of the same technique for rationalizing subject headings and
references in political science. Superficially, at least, it appears that it should be valuable in
improving any subject heading plan.
Bolef suggests certain standards for subject headings in special library catalogues.
She suggests that:
1. The heading should be as specific as the subject matter of the material to which it is being
applied,
2. New headings should be introduced as rapidly as the need for them is recognized,
3. Headings should be defined as necessary and distinctions between terms clearly described,
4. Headings should reflect the use habits of the clientele served and popular or scientific
terms chosen according to the preference of the clientele,
5. Headings should be consistent in form,
6. Inverted and subdivided headings should be held to a minimum,
7. Every cross reference should serve a specific function,
8. Standard subdivisions should be utilized where they are appropriate, and
9. Large blocks of headings should not begin with the noun or nouns representing the chief
subject interest of the library.
The similarity of these standards to those outlined by Haykin suggests that when we have succeeded
in defining the objectives of subject cataloguing, we shall find little variation in objective between
subject cataloguing in general libraries and in special libraries, but rather a variable need for
specificity, and a practical requirement that there be certain options in the form of heading in
order to avoid a concentration of subject entries under, for example, "Education" in a teachers'
college library. Moreover, as Black has pointed out, many general libraries have special collections
which require unusual subject treatment in order to make them most helpful. Thus it seems that
special subject heading lists will have greatest value when they are designed to dovetail with
standard lists, so that they prescribe optional expansions for a variety of subject fields. A norm for
subject cataloguing techniques will then have been established. This should make it easier for the
public to understand and to use subject catalogues, since there will be fewer variant practices. It
should also open up new avenues to cooperative subject cataloguing. The ALA. division of
Cataloguing and Classification, through its Board on Cataloguing Policy and Research, is preparing
to study the problem of integrating general and special subject heading lists, and some progress in
this direction may be anticipated. That it can be hoped for is evident from Hazel C . Benjamin's
account of the compilation of the new standard list of subject headings for industrial relations
libraries. This list, in its final form, is so constructed that it can be used with the L.C. list without
disrupting the pattern or the applications of L.C. headings.
It is premature to suggest the directions integration may take, assuming that study of the problems
involved shows it to be possible. But the development of present subject cataloguing procedures,
and existing evidence of the ways in which subject catalogues are used, make it possible to state
some tentative assumptions. First, the tendency of subject headings found in the general lists to
become more specific, when taken with the expressed needs of special libraries for specific subject
approaches to their materials, suggests that the plan for integration will look toward an increasing
number of direct and specific headings, with a minimum of inversion, fewer subdivided forms,
and more phrase-type headings. Second, since it may prove difficult to accommodate the varieties

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