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Library of Congress Subject Headings Evaluation

Until the 1990s, Subject Headings were very rigid and unchanging, causing controversy and creating difficulties in retrieving specific information. Sanford Berman, head cataloger of Hennepin County Library, advocated the inclusion and re-evaluation of the LoC Subject Headings. o Removed certain inherently racist subject headings from the Hennepin Library Catalogue (i.e. kafir, the Jewish Question, and Yellow Peril) and later submitted the same request to the LoC o Found the LCSH to be ethnocentric, Christian-oriented, and male-dominated Once one finds a relevant subject heading, it may be easier to find many books on that specific subject, however the limited language of the subject headings makes it difficult to search. Browsing is nearly impossible for some subjects such as History topics. History books may be found in numerous locations throughout the LoC because of its interconnectedness with so many other subjects (i.e. the history of cars would be found under technology while music history would be under music). With the advances of Web 2.0 tools, the subject headings of the LoC have become more of a formal establishment, and less of a research tool. o Web 2.0 tools allow users to tag collections and items with their own relevant tags. o Keyword searches have become more popular than subject searches with the advent of Google and other online search engines o OPACs (Online Public Access Catalogues) have accommodated keyword searches, and once an item is located, LCSH are displayed for that item to find related information. The Library of Congress Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control has suggested allowing library users the ability to tag items and collections. o These user tags can more accurately and more quickly accommodate new ideas than the rigid LC Subject Headings. o Although the LCSH uses a controlled vocabulary created and maintained by professionals, user tags by regular people can be more relevant because they reflect the perspective of different generations and can adapt quicker to changes nuances. o User tags may run into politically incorrect controversy as well. LibraryThing, a Web 2.0 tool, utilizes user tags. On average, a LibraryThing record is appended to approximately 43 tags, while a LCSH record has about 4. These user tags may have personal significance, and an unrelated term to the information within the record or book.

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LoCs limited vocabulary also relies on a hierarchical structure starting with broader terms and working toward narrower descriptions that is not visible, and usually unknown to traditional researchers. o The LC Working Group is striving to make this hierarchy visible. LoC Subject Headings, though cumbersome to browse, have the advantages of identifying very specific works, displaying certain chronologies of works, and uniting records that may be in different languages because of their professional oversight. LoC Subject Headings are difficult for the traditional researcher to use especially because of the advent of Web 2.0 technologies and online search engines. Researchers are accustomed to the use of keywords rather than subject headings. User tags can be helpful to create a relevance to certain records, but many times cannot be specific enough for the information needs. LCSHs are necessary for a basic structure of organization for the many records within, but for usability, the LoC should look into a new way to classify records. User tags can find items more quickly, but for a stricter organization (for which Librarians strive), the LCSHs are necessary for now.

References
Gilyard, B. (1999). Sandy Berman's Last Stand. City Pages, 20, 971. Retrieved from http://www.sanfordberman.org/cityp/ber1t.htm Library of Congress. (n.d.). Library of Congress. Retrieved July 10, 2009, from http://www.loc.gov/ Rolla, P. J. (2009). User Tags versus Subject Headings: Can User-Supplied Data Improve Subject Access to Library Collections? Library Resources & Technical Services, 53(3), 174-184. Retrieved from LISTA.