Sears List of Subject Headings ~ Library

Sears List of Subject Headings

Subject Heading List

Subject Heading List is the printed or published list of subject headings which may be produced from the subject authority file maintained by an organization or individual. Subject heading list contains the preferred subject access terms (controlled vocabulary) that are assigned as an added entry in the bibliographic record which works as an access point and enables the work to be searched and retrieved by subject from the library catalog database. The controlled vocabulary identifies synonyms terms and selects one preferred term among them to be used as the subject heading. For homonyms, it explicitly identifies the multiple concepts expressed by that word or phrase. In short, vocabulary control helps in overcoming problems that occur due to natural language of the document’s subject. Hence, if vocabulary control is not exercised different indexers or the same indexer might use different terms for the same concept on different occasions for indexing the documents dealing with the same subject and also use a different set of terms for representing the same subject at the time of searching. This, in turn, would result in ‘mis-match’ and thus affect information retrieval. Cross-references are used with headings to direct the user from terms not used as headings to the term that is used, and from broader and related topics to the one chosen to represent a given subject.

Subject heading lists may have provision for the construction of pre-coordinated indexing strings including headings, plus rules for combining the single terms in strings and one or more levels of subheading. Based on these rules a subject heading may also be subdivided by the addition of form subdivisions, geographical subdivisions, chronological subdivisions, and topical subdivisions to add greater specificity.

Two popular subject heading lists are Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) and Sears List of Subject Headings.

Sears List of Subject Headings

Introduction

The Sears List of Subject Headings is a vocabulary control device that delivers a core list of subject headings to prepare the subject entries of a material. It is the brain child of Minnie Earl Sears (1923) who thought to compile the Library of Congress Subject Headings into an abridged and comprehensive version to serve the distinctive needs of small and medium- sized public and school libraries. The aim is to make the library collections as easily available as possible to library users. The Sears List provides a guide for implementing the existing subject heading and also for creating and incorporating new ones. The grammar of subject headings in the Sears List is rules for formulating subject headings. These rules guide the cataloguer to incorporate fresh subject headings uniformly and without ambiguity.

History

It was first designed in 1923 by Minnie Earl Sears (1873-1933) to fulfil the demands of small American libraries for broader subject headings (SHs) for use in their dictionary catalogues. These libraries found Library of Congress Subject Headings List (LCSH) too big and specialised. Since then the Sears List has always been published by the H.W. Wilson Company, New York (Now the Company has been taken over by Ebsco) who are its proprietors and copyright holders. Its editor is an employee of the company. Its new editions are produced regularly to- incorporate new subjects; restructure the form of old headings based on the changing information needs and information seeking behaviour of the users; give new terms to old subject headings based on current usage; delete the obsolete subjects; and discover new relations between subjects.

Orientation to the online electronic environment started with the 13th edition (1986). It was the first edition to be created as an online database for editorial use. It started changes in the form of de-inverting the inverted headings to suit searching OPACs and online databases. It was believed that majority of the library users search subjects in an electronic database under natural form of their names. For example, “Library, Public” was changed to “Public library”, similarly “Chemistry, organic” was changed to “Organic chemistry”. In the 15th edition (1994) edited by Dr. Joseph Miller de-inversion process was completed. Another important change introduced since its 15th edition is its thesaurus format of listing subject headings using standard thesaural abbreviations, i.e. NT, BT, RT, USE and SA instead of the earlier x, xx and SA codes. Thesaurus format conforms to the ANSI/NISO (American Standards Institution) (1993). Nevertheless, Sears still remains a list of subject headings. It is not a thesaurus. The 18th edition (2004) has been edited by Joseph Miller in association with Ms. Joan Goodsell. Dr Miller retired in December 2012 after successfully editing six editions from 15th (1994) to 20th (2010). Its current editor is Ms. Eve Miller who has brought out the 21st edition in May 2014.

Sears Subject Headings

1st ed., 1923; 17th ed., 2000 and Sears List of Subject Headings, 22nd Edition (2018).

An idealized list, not tied to any given library's practice; intended for use by small and medium-sized libraries First edition prepared by Minnie Earl Sears in 1923 under the title: List of Subject Headings for Small Libraries. Based on subject headings used by nine small libraries with good reputations for their cataloguing. Sears placed these headings in line with LCSH format, which allowed the introduction of LC headings when necessary, and also the ability to upgrade to LCSH should the collection grow too large for a limited list. Contains DDC class numbers to define disciplinary facet.

Purpose of the Subject Headings

1. To ascertain the true subject of the book/study etc.

2. To ascertain the purpose for which it was produced.

e.g. a book entitled, “Great Masters in Art” by title it looks something related to artists, hence, one may say that the subject of the above book is “ARTISTS”

But a clear examination of the thought contents of the book reveals the fact that the book is specifically dealing with printers not artists in general, thus, the adjunct subject heading is PRINTERS.

Rules

1. Direct and specific entry

2. Uniformity and consistency.

3. Common usage

Principles of the Sears List

Rules for dictionary catalogue clearly states rules for subject cataloguing are:

1. Direct and Specific Entry/Specific and Direct Entry

This principle says that enter a work directly under the most specific term that representsaccurately and precisely its contents.

e.g. PRE-NATAL CATALOGUING

We cannot make a subject heading to such a book under CATALOGUING, it can be under COOPERATIVE CATALOGUING or CENTRALIZED CATALOGUING. Or “ROSE” not under Flowers. “Dogs” not under Domestic ‘Animals’. “Charles Darwin” not under ‘Scientists’ “Thermodynamics” not under ‘heat’ or ‘Physics’. Another example is; “Birds of the Ocean” The subject of the above book cannot be under BIRDS But has to be as WATER BIRDS.

2. Common Usage

It means the words used to express a subject must represent common usage that is:

Current spellings and terminology e.g. CATALOG, this spelling be used in American Context but in British context OR Indian context it should be CATALOGUE.

e.g. Encyclopaedia (American) OR Encyclopedia (British) or Blacks instead of Negroes

e.g. Labor (American) Labour (British)

e.g. Elevator not Lifts

e.g. Heart not Thrombosis but “Thrombosis” in a medical library acceptable.

In such cases, a reference entry is required to be made.

3. Uniformity

Means, a uniform term must be selected from several synonymous terms, and this term must be applied consistently to all works on the topic.

e.g. a term like MASKS be accepted with its specific meaning.

i.e. MASKS (Facial)

MASKS (Plays)

MASKS (Sculpture)

Form of Headings means highlighting the attributes of a work or Characteristics.

e.g. Literary works say Poetry, Drams, Fiction.

Such works be entered as; POETRY-AMERICAN, DRAMA-INDIAN, FICTION-BRITIS etc.

Types of Subject Headings

In Sears List of Subject Headings there are four types of subject headings: topical headings, form headings, geographic headings, and proper names. Topical headings: Topical subject headings are simply the words or phrases for common things or concepts that represent the content of various works. In choosing the word or phrase that makes the best subject heading several things should be considered. The first and most obvious is the literary warrant, or the language of the material being catalogued.

For instance, (i) the word most commonly used in the literature is most likely the word that best represents the item catalogued,

(ii) a subject heading should represent the common usage of the English language, and

(iii) uniformity in subject headings should be maintained by choosing a single word or phrase from among its synonyms or near-synonyms in establishing a subject heading.

Form headings: Form heading describes not the subject content of a work but its form. In other words, a form heading tells us not what a work is about but what it is. Form in this context means the intellectual form of the materials rather than the physical form of the item.

Some form headings are as follows:

(i) The general arrangement of the material and the purpose of the work, such as Almanacs, Atlases, Directories, and Gazetteers.

(ii) Headings for the major literary forms, Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Essays, are usually used as topical subject headings. As form headings they are used for collections only rather than for individual literary works. Minor literary forms, also known as genres, such as Science fiction, Epistolary poetry, and Children’s plays, are much more numerous and are often assigned to individual literary works.

(iii) Physical forms of some non-book materials, such as puzzles, sound recordings, or comedy films are also identified by form headings.

Geographic headings: The geographic headings found in Sears, such as United States, Ohio, and Chicago (Ill.), are only as examples. The cataloguer using the Sears List must establish geographic headings as needed with the aid of above standard references sources. The geographic headings and geographic subdivisions found in Sears follow the form of abbreviation for qualifying states, provinces, etc.

Names: Three major types of name headings are personal names, corporate names, and uniform titles. Individual or personal name headings are usually established in the inverted form, with dates if necessary, and with See references from alternate forms. For example:

Personal name: Clinton, Bill, 1946- would require a See reference from Clinton, William Jefferson. Cooperate: Rockefeller Center or Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show are entered directly under the corporate name heading as a subject.

Uniform titles: Established names of sacred scriptures, anonymous literary works, periodicals, motion pictures, radio and television programs, etc. are entered directly under the uniform title. For example: Motion picture such as Gone with the wind (Motion picture) or Beowulf, literary work such as Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. Hamlet for a book about Shakespeare’s play. Like geographic headings, name headings are numerous beyond the scope of the Sears List and must be established by the cataloguer as needed. Suggested sources for personal and corporate names are Who’s Who; Who’s Who in America; Merriam Webster’s Biographical Dictionary; The Dictionary of National Biography; the Encyclopedia of Associations; and the Library of Congress Name Authorise on the Web. General encyclopedias and standard reference works limited to specific fields are also useful sources for names.

Forms of Headings: The Grammar of Subject Headings In order to construct subject headings consistently the cataloguer should understand the grammar of subject headings. In Sears List of Subject Headings, the forms of headings are Single Nouns, Compound Headings, Adjectives with Nouns, Phrase Headings.

1. Single Nouns: Abstract ideas and the names of disciplines of study are usually stated in the singular, such as Biology or Existentialism. An action is also expressed in the singular such as Editing or Fraud. Headings for concrete things to be counted are most commonly in the plural form such as Playgrounds or Children. Concrete things that cannot be counted, such as Steel or Milk, obviously remain in the singular

1. Single Noun e.g. ART, AGRICULTURE, HISTORY, POLITICAL SCIENCE etc.

2. Plural Noun e.g. Chains, Trees etc.

The singular is used to denote concept e.g. Theatre.

The plural is used to denote object e.g. Theaters.

Here theatre denotes drama as acted on the stage while theatres denotes theatre buildings.

Exclusive, essay means a generic technique of writing. Essays whereas essays means a

literary form e.g. a collection of essays.

2. Compound Headings: Subject headings that consist of two nouns/things joined/linked by ―and are of several types. Some headings link two things because together they form a single concept or topic, such as Bow and arrow or Good and evil. Some headings are so closely related they are rarely treated separately, such as Forests and forestry or Publishers and publishing. Some headings are so closely synonymous they are seldom distinguished, such as Cities and towns or Rugs and carpets. Other headings that link two words with ―and stand for the relationship between the two things, such as Church and state or Television and children.

Means using two nouns joined by “and” e.g. “CITIES AND TOWN” OR “PUBLISHERS AND

PUBLISHINNG”

OR the subjects that are treated in their relation to each other e.g. “Aeronautics and Society” OR “Library and Society” etc.

3. Adjectives with Nouns: Subject headings are expressed by a noun with an adjective, such as Unemployment insurance or Buddhist art. In the past the expression was frequently inverted (Insurance, Unemployment; Art, Buddhist). There were two possible reasons for inversion: 1) an assumption was made that the searcher would think first of the noun; or 2) the noun was placed first in order to keep all aspects of a broad subject together in an alphabetical listing, as in a card catalogue. In recent years these arguments have been abandoned in favour of the direct order because users have become more and more accustomed to searching in the order of natural language. The only headings that have been retained in Sears in the inverted form are proper names, including the names of battles and massacres.

e.g. American literature OR Arabic Civilization, Indian Literature OR Economic Policy

Australian Cricket OR English Fiction

Indian Hockey etc. OR Love Stories

Phrase Headings e.g. Bible as Literature OR Freedom of Information.

4. Phrase Headings: Some concepts that involve two or more elements can be expressed only by more or less complex phrases. These are the least satisfactory headings, as they offer the greatest variation in wording, are often the longest, and may not be thought of readily by either the maker or the user of the catalogue, but for many topics the English language seems to offer no more compact terminology. Examples are Insects as carriers of disease and Violence in popular culture.

Subdivisions

Instruction is given for the use of subdivisions included in the Sears List. Subdivisions are as follows:

1. Topical Subdivisions: Topical subdivisions are those subdivisions that bring out the aspect of a subject or point of view presented in a particular work. For example: For a work of a history of the subject, such as Clothing and dress—History; Religion— Philosophy; Oceanography—Research; Automobiles— Law and legislation; Mathematics—Study and teaching.

e.g. Education-History

Religion-Politics etc.

2. Geographic Subdivisions: Another aspect of subjects that can be brought out in subdivisions is geographic specificity. The unit used as a subdivision may be the name of a country, state, city, or other geographic area. Geographic subdivisions can be either direct or indirect. The Sears List uses the direct form of subdivision, whereby topics are subdivided directly by cities, counties, metropolitan areas, etc. For example: Bridges— France; Agriculture—Ohio; Italian art—Great Britain; American authors—Paris (France); Theater— Paris (France); Hospitals—Chicago (Ill.). There are only two types of topical subject headings that can never be subdivided geographically. The first are those headings, such as Exploration or Church history, that are used instead as subdivisions under geographic headings, as in Arctic regions— Exploration or United States—Church history. The second are those subjects, mostly in the fields of literature and the arts, for which the geographic qualification is conveyed by a modifying adjective rather than by a subdivision. Many of these subjects have a general reference similar to this reference at the subject Authors:

―SA authors of particular countries or regions, e.g. American authors.

e.g. World’s Statesman Year Book

National Geographical Atlas of the world

Name of the places sub-divided by subject

e.g. topics in the field of History, Geography, and Politics Census of Delhi

3. Chronological Subdivisions: Chronological subdivisions, which correspond to generally accepted periods of a country‘s history or to the spans of time most frequently treated in the literature, make such a search much simpler by bringing together all works on a single period of history, such as United States—History; United States— History—1945- 1953 ; United States—History—1600-1775, Colonial period. The Sears List includes chronological subdivisions only for those countries about which a small library is likely to have much historical material, with the greatest number of period subdivisions under United States, Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, and a few subdivisions only under several other countries. For other countries, the above subject headings to be followed.

e.g. India-History-1857-1947, Revolution

Lebnan-History-1982-1984, Israeli intervention

4. Form Subdivisions: Form headings tell what an item is rather than what it is about. Some of the most common form subdivisions are Bibliography; Catalogues; Dictionaries; Directories; Gazetteers; Handbooks, manuals, etc.; Indexes; Maps; Pictorial works; Portraits; Registers; and Statistics. Form subdivisions are particularly valuable under headings for the large fields of knowledge that are represented by many entries in a library ‘s catalogue. In applying form sub-divisions, the cataloguer should be guided by the character of an item itself, not by the title. For example: Children’s literature— Bibliography or Geology—Maps

e.g. Biography

Bibliography

Catalogues

Dictionary

Maps

Gazetteers etc.

There can be used as a subject alone and also can be used with some other subject or form of headings.

e.g. English language dictionary

Biography of Biographics Bible-Pictorial Works film-Dictionary Complication in the Application of Some Areas

In many areas the application of subject headings and their appropriate subdivisions is a simple and straightforward matter. There are, however, areas in which either the complexity of the material or the vagaries of the English language create persistent problems. By maintaining sound principles, following instructions carefully, and using common sense to catalogue library materials in such a way that users can find what they need. Some of these problem areas are dealt with here.

1. Biography: Biography as a form of writing are given the topical subject heading Biography as a literary form. Works that are themselves biographies are given either the form heading Biography or the form subdivision Biography. Such works are considered here in two groups, collective biographies and individual biographies. Collective Biographies: Collective biographies are works containing biographies of more than three persons. Collective biographies not limited to any area or to any class of persons.

For example: Lives of Famous Men and Women assigned the heading as Biography. Leaders of the Arab World assigned the heading as Arab countries—Biography, Dictionary of American Biography assigned the heading as United States—Biography; Who’s Who among Hispanic Americans assigned the heading as Hispanic Americans—Biography; Dictionary of American Biography or Who’s Who in America United States—Biography—Dictionaries. Class of persons or occupational group with the subdivision Biography, such as Women— Biography or Librarians—Biography. Any or all persons connected with a particular industry, institution, or field of endeavour, such as Computer industry—Biography; Catholic Church— Biography; Baseball—Biography.

e.g. International Who’s Who

Asia-Biography

Individual Biographies: Usually the only subject heading needed for the life of an individual is the name of the person, established in the same way as an author entry. Subdivisions are added to the person‘s name to specify the various aspects treated, among them Biography. As examples of such persons, the Sears List includes Jesus Christ and Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616, with subdivisions appropriate to material written about them. The subdivisions listed under Shakespeare may also be used, if needed, under the name of any voluminous author. The subdivisions provided under Presidents— United States may also be used under the name of any president or other ruler, if applicable.

e.g. Ranganathan-Biography

Nehru-Biography

Literature: A work about the history of poetry or about the criticism of poetry would be entered under Poetry—History and criticism. Form subdivisions may also be used under these headings to indicate the form the work takes, such as Drama— Dictionaries or Poetry—Indexes. The second consists of literary works themselves, and those works are assigned form headings to describe what the item is rather than what it is about, such as Literature—Collections; Poetry— Collections; or Drama— Collections. Genre headings with national or linguistic adjectives, such as Australian science fiction or Latin epic poetry, are applicable to collections but are never assigned to individual works.

e.g. English Language-Grammar

Indian Literature-history and Criticism

Nonbook Materials: Subject headings for electronic media and for audio-visual and special instructional materials should be assigned based on same principles that are applied to books. The uniform application of the same headings to book and nonbook materials alike is especially important in an integrated catalogue, which brings all materials on one subject together regardless of format. There are many form and genre headings that apply equally to nonbook materials and to books about such materials, such as Biographical films; Comedy television programs; and Science fiction comic books, strips, etc. Topical subject headings assigned to nonbook materials should not include form subdivisions to describe physical format, such as motion pictures, slides, sound recordings, etc.

Procedure to Derive Subject Headings

General Provisions:

1. Find out specific subject I.e. keywords

2. SLSH has subject headings in two types/faces (1) Bold Face (ii) Ordinary Face

3. SLSH provides headings arranged in Alphabetical form with see and see also reference (see SA)

e.g. Automobiles Birds

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Sears List of Subject Headings

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