Guidelines on Subject Thesauri
- Sal Hamerman
- Minjie Chen
- Jennifer Baxmeyer
- Lia Contursi
Updated
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The subject vocabularies indicated here are intended for use as a supplement to, not in lieu of, the Library of Congress Subject headings. The vocabularies are designed to provide additional access points relevant to specific communities, cultural identities, and areas of practice.
Non-LCSH subject terms from another controlled vocabulary receive a MARC 650 tag with a second indicator 7. A ‡2 should be added with the source code for the vocabulary, i.e. ‡2 homoit
A comprehensive list of codes can be found at the Library of Congress' Subject Headings and Term Source Codes page.
The Homosaurus
| Vocabulary Name | Maintained by | ‡2 code | List of Terms | Background Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Homosaurus | The Homosaurus Editorial Board | ‡2 homoit | Homosaurus Vocabulary | Homosaurus: About |
The Homosaurus is a specialized vocabulary for describing LGBTQIA+ materials in libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions. The Homosaurus vocabulary uses the current language of the LGBTQIA+ community, and is congruent with best practices for its description. It also includes a number of historical LGBTQIA+ terms with instructions on the subjects and periods to which these terms can be applied. It includes both narrower terms and more culturally-appropriate terms than are available in the Library of Congress Subject Headings.
Example: Supplementing an LCSH term with a more culturally-appropriate term from the Homosaurus
650 _0 ‡a Sexual minorities.
650 _7 ‡a LGBTQ+ people. ‡2 homoit
Rationale: "LGBTQ+ people" is more commonly used than "Sexual minorities" in contemporary discourse, colloquial and scholarly, by members of this community and those writing about them.
Example: Supplementing an LCSH term with a narrower term from the Homosaurus
650 _0 ‡a Gay men.
650 _7 ‡a Macho men. ‡2 homoit
Rationale: "Macho men" describes a specific sub-community within the broader gay community, reflecting a specific way of presenting one's gender and sexuality.
Note: If LCSH and the Homosaurus use identical terms to express the same concept, such as Bears (Gay culture), use the LCSH term in a 650 _0 field. If the terms are similar but not exactly identical, use cataloger's judgment to determine if adding a Homosaurus term is necessary.
Subject Headings for Chinese Rare Books
| Vocabulary Name | Romanized title | ‡2 code | List of Terms | Application |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 中國古籍善本書總目分類表 | Zhongguo gu ji shan ben shu zong mu fen lei biao | ‡2 sk | Chinese language vocabulary (rare materials) | pre-1795 publications |
| 中國古籍總目 | Zhongguo gu ji zong mu | ‡2 skbb | Chinese language vocabulary (rare materials) | post-1795 publications |
The bibliographic description of Chinese rare books requires the addition of more detailed, specialized Chinese subject headings to be integrated with the application of more general Library of Congress subject headings. The two resources above are used exclusively for Chinese subjects of rare materials, and are added with parallel fields in vernacular and in Romanized form. Ex.:
650_7 ‡a Zi bu ‡x Zhu jia lei ‡x Jidu jiao zhi shu ‡2 skbb
650_7 ‡a 子部 ‡x 諸家類 ‡x 基督教之屬 ‡2 skbb
and
650_7 ‡a Zi bu ‡x Tian wen suan fa lei ‡x Li fa. ‡2 sk
650_7 ‡a 子部 ‡x 天文算法類 ‡x 曆法. ‡2 sk
The second indicator of MARC field 650 must be 7, paired with subfield 2 with the appropriate vocabulary's approved code. Both vocabularies can be applied together.