Evolution of a Subject Heading: The Story Continues

• Published in: Library resources & technical services Vol. 66; no. 2; pp. 66 - 76
• Main Author: Ferris, Anna M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago American Library Association 01.04.2022
• Subjects: Access to materials; Berman, Sanford; Bibliographic control; Bibliographic records; Concentration camps; Ethics; Language; Librarians; Library associations; Library catalogs; Library collections; Library materials; Library of Congress Subject Headings; Noncitizens; Political aspects; Prejudice; Proposals; Quality control; Revisions; Subject heading schemes; Union catalogs; Vocabularies & taxonomies
• ISSN: 2159-9610; 0024-2527; 2159-9610
• DOI: 10.5860/lrts.66n2.66

In 2018, the author published a paper that describes the process by which catalogers at Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) institutions create and propose new subject headings for inclusion in the Library of Congress Subject Heading (LCSH) controlled vocabulary. In a related vein, this paper describes the process of proposing a revision to an established subject heading via the Subject Authority Cooperative (SACO) Program’s Subject Heading Proposal System. Two separate proposals are presented: one to revise the authority record for the subject heading, Concentration camps [150] by removing the cross reference, Internment camps [450], from that authority record; the other proposal is to establish the cross reference as an authorized subject heading. The reasons for revising subject headings are explored, and a detailed review of the revision process using the SACO Proposal System is presented for the benefit of other catalogers seeking to make changes to subject headings they encounter in their own collections.