Library of Congress Subject Headings: A Post-Coordinated Future

This paper is the result of a request from Library of Congress leadership to assess pre-coordinated versus post-coordinated subject cataloging. It argues that the disadvantages of pre-coordinated subject strings are perennial and continue to hinder progress, while the advantages of post-coordinated...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCataloging & classification quarterly Vol. 61; no. 5-6; pp. 491 - 505
Main Authors Cooey, Nancy, Phillips, Amy
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Routledge 18.08.2023
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
controlled vocabularies
facets
Library of Congress Subject Headings
postcoordination
precoordination
subject access
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Summary:This paper is the result of a request from Library of Congress leadership to assess pre-coordinated versus post-coordinated subject cataloging. It argues that the disadvantages of pre-coordinated subject strings are perennial and continue to hinder progress, while the advantages of post-coordinated subject cataloging have expanded, resulting in new opportunities to serve the needs of catalogers and end users alike. The consequences of retaining pre-coordinated headings will have long-term impacts that heavily out-weigh the short-term challenges of transitioning to new cataloging practices. By implementing post-coordinated, faceted vocabularies, the Library of Congress will be investing in the future of libraries.
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ISSN:0163-9374
1544-4554
DOI:10.1080/01639374.2023.2193584