IML555 Subject Cataloging

and Classification
Subject analysis

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What is Subject analysis?

 The process of identifying the intellectual

content of a work.
 The results may be displayed in a
 catalog or
 bibliography by means of notational
symbols as in a classification system or
 by verbal terms such as subject headings or
indexing terms.

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Why the need to do
subject analysis?

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Subject Analysis

Subject analysis involves three steps:

 First, examines the work in hand
 Then, decide on several keywords that
could represent the subject
 Next, using the keywords as a starting
point, go to each term in the list to
identify appropriate headings

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Steps in SA

1. Determining overall subject content of

the item being cataloged
 The most reliable and certain way to
determine the subject content by reading
or examining the work in detail.
 Not always practical for reasons of cost
and time.

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Determining the subject

The cataloguer should examine the work in hand

 Title: may or may not be helpful
 E.g.
An Introduction to Biochemistry implies what its contains,
 but
Tourist Attraction is a novel rather than a travel book.
 Titles are sometimes but not always a fair indication
of content.
 It is always wise to check beyond the title for the
subject content of the work.

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Determining the subject…
 Subtitle: often more useful
 Author: may provide an indication of the broad
topic if the author has published in the area
 Foreword, preface, introduction: usually state
the author’s intention
 Publisher: may given an indication if the
publisher specializes in a particular subject
area

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Determining the subject…
 Series: may be useful
 Contents and index: usually a good
indicator of the main topics
 Text: use to confirm your ideas about the
subject
 Cataloguing in publication: useful but use
with care, as CIPs are prepared prior to
publication, often without the work in hand.

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Steps in SA…
Other features of the work that provide information to the
content are:
 Abstracts

 tables of contents

 chapter headings

 prefaces

 introductions

 indexes

 book jackets

 slipcases (non-book materials).

 other accompanying descriptive materials (non-book

materials).

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Steps in SA…

 External sources to be sought if the

above elements are not working;
 bibliographies
 catalogs

 review media

 other reference sources

 subject specialists may be consulted if alien

subject or unfamiliar subject

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Steps in SA…

2. Identifying multiple subjects and/or

subject aspects and interrelationships
 to identify the main and subsidiary
subjects, including different aspects of the
subject, such as author’s point of view,
time and place.
 A work may deal with several subjects
separately or with two or more subjects
related to each other.

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Steps in SA: Phase relations

the interrelationships of subjects in a work;

1. Influence phase:
 the influence of one thing, one concept, or one
person on another is a very common approach
in scholarly work.
The effect of smoking to young people
The impact of deforestation to slope stabilization
Drinking habits among adults

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Steps in SA: Phase relations…
2. Bias phase:
 some works on a particular subject have a bias
toward, or aim at, a specific group of readers or
audience,
 e.g.

Fundamentals of Chemistry for A-level students.

Pengetahuan agama Islam untuk Sekolah
Rendah
Geography for Malaysian students

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Steps in SA: Phase relations…
3. Tool or application phase:
 a relationship particularly among scientific or
technical works,
 e.g.

Chemical calculations: an Introduction to the use of

Mathematics in Chemistry
Computers in libraries
Statistics for library managers

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Steps in SA: Phase relations…
4. Comparison phase:
 which is common in literary and social science
studies.
 E.g.
 Success in careers : comparison study of graduates
of government universities to private universities
 Reading habits among Malaysian readers
 Computer literacy levels of graduates in Malaysian
universities

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Steps in SA…

3. Representing both in the language of

the subject headings list in hand
 The final step to represent the content
according to a particular system or scheme.
 The first two steps are similar for all subject
analysis operations.

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Steps in SA: final steps
 The last step here will varies according to
 Subject heading lists (which one to use),
 Indexing terms (which thesaurus)
 Classification numbers (which classification scheme?)
 In most cases, the cataloger or the indexer will
starts with
 a tentative wording or
 phrasing and
 tries to match it with the tool chosen for the purpose.

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Steps in Subject Cataloging
 Identify subject (s) of the item being
cataloged
 example:
 an item about breeding of dogs
 Select important concepts of that subject
 example: 
 important concepts are "breeding" and "dogs"
 Translate concepts into tentative subject
headings
 example: 
 Tentative subject heading: Dogs - Breeding
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Subject authority control

 check subject headings against actual

subject heading list
 "Dogs" is a legal subject heading and
 "Breeding" can be used as a subdivision
under kinds of animals. 
 So "Dogs - Breeding" is a legal/authorized
subject heading.

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Rule of Three

 Basic rule is to limit to three subject

headings, if you need more, first
consider a broader topic
 Use as many as needed to give your
patrons access
 Subject should represent approximately
one third of the contents

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