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MLA Meeting |
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Washington, D.C. |
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February
2004 |
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John N. Mitchell |
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The Subject Authority component of the PCC |
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OBJECTIVES |
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At the conclusion of this session, |
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MLA
attendees should be able to: |
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1) Identify who is eligible to participate in
the subject proposal process through the SACO Program. |
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2) Decide when to propose a new subject heading |
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3) How to propose a new subject heading or
submit a change proposal to alter an existing LCSH subject heading |
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4) Know where to find the proposal form and online help and documentation |
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5) Why participate in the SACO Program. |
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6) What happens to submitted proposals. |
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It is highly recommended that catalogers consult |
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with their supervisors before beginning to send |
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forward subject or classification proposals. |
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SACO participation is currently not an |
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institution-based program. Any individual |
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cataloger at any institution who needs a subject |
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heading or LC classification number not found in |
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LCSH or in the LC schedules may send forward |
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a proposal to SACO. |
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There are no membership fees to join the SACO
Program. |
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Requirements include having a basic knowledge of
the procedures and guidelines contained in the |
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1) Subject Cataloging Manual: Subject Headings
(SCM), and familiarity with |
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2) LCSH |
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3) Free-Floating Subdivisions: An Alphabetical
Index, |
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4) MARC 21 Authority Format, and |
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5) Standard reference sources. |
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If you are cataloging a work on a discrete,
identifiable |
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subject and after searching a current version of
the |
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subject authority file and checking appropriate
free- |
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floating subdivision lists, you do not find a
specific |
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subject heading to use, it's time to consider
making a |
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proposal. |
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Remember to search the name authority file. |
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Some subjects are represented by name headings,
or |
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by subdivisions used under name headings. |
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It may also be helpful to check bibliographic
records |
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for works similar to what you are cataloging to
see |
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what subject headings have been assigned to
them. |
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You might find that an appropriate subject
heading |
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does exist in LCSH that uses another term or
phrase |
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than your work does. |
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In that case, you might consider proposing a |
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UF (Used For) reference (4XX field) to the
existing |
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heading from the terminology used in your work. |
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Principles that govern the formation of new
subjects are: |
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1) Specificity, and |
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2) Natural word order |
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However, some earlier practices still exist in
assigning headings. |
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LCSH reflects current and past policies of
subject heading construction |
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LCSH still contains headings for subjects that
have not been written about in many years and contains “old-fashioned”
terms |
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To acquaint you with the basic steps of working
through the Web form proposal |
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To bring attention to pitfalls to be avoided
when submitting proposals via the Web form |
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To illustrate the SACO workflow following the
arrival of a proposal in the Coop Team |
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To give you an opportunity to ask questions |
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You
should become familiar with: |
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1. The LC Subject Authority Web form |
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2. Online resources for working with the Web
proposal form |
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3. Problems that are associated with submission
of proposals via the Web form and
how to resolve them |
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1. Use the pull-down menus to select the |
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appropriate MARC 21 tag for each field. |
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2. Do not explicitly code for an initial
subfield |
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in
any field (i.e., $a, $w, $z) |
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3. Use the dollar sign $ to note a delimiter
before the subfield code (e.g, $x, $z) |
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4. If
the proposed heading is tagged as |
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100, 110, 111, or 130 |
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then
supply the appropriate indicator. |
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Topical headings tagged as 150s, and geographic
headings tagged as 151s do not
require an indicator. |
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Apply this instruction to 4xxs and 5xxs also. |
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5. 1XX, 4XX, or 5XX headings with subdivisions
require keying the subfields by: |
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1) using a delimiter ($), and |
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2) the appropriate MARC subfield code. |
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6. Add diacritics preceding the affected letter
(e.g., M(acute)exico) as appropriate. |
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Please save time by copying and pasting from the
list of diacritics. |
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Using this lists helps prevent typos and
provides a uniform name for the diacritic. |
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7. When citing geographic coordinates, |
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spell out the coordinates, for example, |
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47deg. 35min. 34sec. N |
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8. For additional help go to the Guidelines for
formulating LCSH proposals. |
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Staying up-to-date about new and changed |
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headings is made possible through the |
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dissemination of the |
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Subject Headings Weekly Lists |
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available via the SACO Home Page at: |
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http://www.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/saco.html |
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Notes
