Page 82 - Cataloging and Classification for Library Technicians, 2nd Edition

68 Cataloging and Classification for Library Technicians

5. If the work is about two or three topics and the general heading
includes more than these topics, assign the two or three specific
headings.
6. If there are four subtopics, assign four specific headings instead
of a general heading.
7. Use names of persons, families, corporate bodies, projects,
places, etc., as subject headings. Check any name authority file
for the proper spelling, order, etc.
8. When more than one subject heading is chosen, the first one
should represent the main topic of the item.

To as sign ap pro pri ate sub ject head ings to ma te ri als is most im por tant
because most li brary users re trieve ma terials by subject. If the as signed
subject headings are too broad, too many not-so-use ful ma terials may be
retrieved. On the contrary, if they are too nar row, not enough in forma-
tion can be retrieved. Many more rules ex ist for as signing sub ject head-
ings than those cited here. Con sult Sub ject Head ing Man ual: Sub ject
Head ings for ad ditional information. One has to keep in mind that Li -
brary of Congress pol icy and prac tice on as signing sub ject headings
was de signed for the card catalog en vironment, and, therefore, min i-
mal re dun dancy was re quired. In an au to mated en vi ron ment, how-
ever, it is con venient to increase the num ber of sub ject headings and
to build in any de gree of re dundancy, with the intention of rep resent-
ing the subject com pletely.
In Library of Con gress Sub ject Head ings, under each head ing, the
conditions of use are ex plained through five kinds of ref erences.

1. Scope note. Scope note fol lows the head ing im mediately to en-
sure con sistency of sub ject us age. Scope note clarifies the range of
subject matter to which a heading is ap plied. It also brings at tention to
the dis tinc tions be tween re lated head ings.

Ex am ple: Art (May Subd Geog)

Here are en tered gen eral works on the vi sual arts. Works on the
arts in gen eral, in cluding vi sual arts, literature, and the performing
arts, are en tered un der Arts.