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CHAPTER 5:
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SUBJECT HEADINGS
This chapter explains how to use
the Library of Congress Subject Headings
in
the research process.
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 Once you have selected a topic and turned it into a question, you'll want to use the Library’s online catalog to create a list of books to use in your research. Such a list is called a
bibliography. Though the Latin word
biblio means book, these days the word bibliography refers more generally
to a list of writings or other information sources that have something in common. The thing that the items in your research bibliography have in common is that they all contain information that helped you answer your research question.
Since book titles in the online catalog are filed under subject
headings, a likely way to find books on your subject would seem to be to search the subject file using the words that seem to you to represent your subject. Unfortunately, the result of such a search can be very confusing and frustrating. The reason is that the official Library list of subject headings is
"controlled and limited". This means that you might search for a perfectly appropriate and obvious subject heading but discover that the words you used are not among our
“official” subject headings.
For example, you might look for books about
lead paint and learn that the library has none. This is, of course, not true. It is just that our subject heading for such books is
lead based paint.
 Is there an easy way to discover the subject headings related to your subject that the online catalog will recognize?
Yes! The entire official list is contained in a set of books entitled
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SUBJECT HEADINGS.
Originally created and regularly updated by the nation’s largest and most
important library, this list now fills five big volumes and has been adopted as
the official subject headings list by most of the colleges and universities in
the United States, including Boise State. So If you want to find whether our
Library has books on your subject, consult these books to find the "authorized"
subject heading for your subject.
Unfortunately, when you first open one these volumes, you will discover that it is very difficult to understand what any of it means. Here is a typical
entry:
Abortion (May Subd Geog)
[HQ767-HQ767.52 (Birth control)]
UF Induced abortion,
Feticide
BT Birth control
NT Abortifacients
RT Pregnancy, Unwanted Bioethics
--Finance
-- --Law and legislation
First, notice that the word
abortion appears in
bold print. This means that it is an authorized subject heading.
Authorized Library of Congress subject headings--and only authorized subject headings--are used in the
Library Catalog.
Second, note the abbreviations UF, BT, NT, and RT.
UF stands for used for. In the above list, it tells you that the term
"Abortion" is used for (that is, instead of) the term Feticide.
BT stands for broader term. It means that "Abortion" is a subdivision of the more comprehensive subject
Birth control.
NT stands for narrower term. It means that "Abortifacients" is a subdivision of the
more comprehensive subject Abortion.
RT stands for related term. It means that the subject "Bioethics" is closely related to the subject
Abortion.
The subject headings listed next to the abbreviations BT, NT, and RT are called cross references and are included to remind you that
the subject Abortion is part of a network of subjects that you might wish to investigate.
(Note: even though the concepts listed as broader terms, narrower terms, and related terms
are not in bold print, they are all subject headings.)
Third, notice the letters and numbers printed directly beneath Abortion. These indicate the
range of call numbers allotted to books about abortion. (Call numbers are explained in Chapter Six.) Since most books in The Albertsons Library are shelved
by their call numbers, to browse through the books on abortion you need only locate the shelving area of the books with call numbers that begin HQ767.
Fourth, notice the phrase May Subd Geog that immediately follows the word Abortion. This phrase is short for
"may subdivide geographically"; it means that if you search the
catalog for the subject heading Abortion, you are likely to find, for example, Abortion--United States, or Abortion--Africa used as subject subheadings.
Subheadings represent subjects contained within broader subjects. In LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SUBJECT HEADINGS
subheadings are indicated by
dashes like this -or -- --. In the example above, - Finances indicates that Finances is a subheading of Abortion, and that -- -- Laws and Legislation is a subheading of Finances. If you were to make an outline of these headings and subheadings, it might look like this:
I. Abortion
A. Finance
1.Laws and Legislation
Click on link to go to the
Assignments page and print Assignment FIVE
http://library.boisestate.edu/skills/locate/assignments.htm
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