Dominican University
Graduate School of Library and Information Science

Last  updated May14, 2008

LIS 731                                                                                                                                                        G. Koh
LC Subject Analysis                                                                                                                                                                 Summer 2008

Gertrude S. Koh
Office: Crown 324
E-Mail: kohgsl@dom.edu
Phone: (708) 524-6867
http://domin.dom.edu/faculty/kohgsl/index.htm

This syllabus is subject to modification.  
This syllabus is to be used for reference purposes only; consult your instructor for any changes or updates!


Catalog Description of the Course:

In-depth study of the Library of Congress classification system, including L.C. subject headings, the application of L.C. systems to general and special libraries and the question of reclassification. Analysis of subject headings and other vocabulary approaches to information. Comparative study of the Library of Congress Classification system with other significant classification systems.

Prerequisite: 703
 

Course Schedule:    Note: No class on Memorial Day, Monday May 26.

Class #

Class Date

Class Topic

Assignments/Exams

1

May 12

Introduction: classification concepts and theory of library classification

 

2

May 14

Concepts of pre-/ post-coordination and controlled/ natural language

Select Project Topic

3

May 19

Historical backgrounds and general structure of LCC; Classes A and L

 

4

May 22

Introduction to LCSH and SCM: SH

LCSH:  Introductory examination and analysis

 

5

May 28

Purpose and nature of a subject authority file: Geographic names and features

Class Z:  Challenges for relating classification with subject headings

Project DUE

Comparison projects

6

June 2

Intensive experience in the relationship between subject headings and classification:  classes H, C, D and E‑F

Take-Home Exam

7

June 4

Subject authority file

MARC authorities:  subject headings and classification

Tentative Mid-Term Exam

8

June 9

Further applications of subject headings and classification

Research on subject headings and classification

 

9

June 11

Introduction to Class B

Local subject authority control, and Thesaurus construction theory and principles

DUE: Comparison projects

Class Team Project

10

June 16

Introduction to Class P

Presentations and reports

11

June 18

Discussion on management of subject analysis, including reclassification challenges

Presentations and reports

12

June 23

Discussion on pros and cons of reclassification

Team presentation and discussion:  investigation on the management for and procedures of reclassification

DUE: Class Team Project

13

June 25

Future of library classification and subject headings

 

14

June 30

Review and Overview/ FINAL EXAMINATION

 

 


Goal:

In-depth study on the theory of subject analysis and concepts behind, as well as the principles in organizing and approaching library materials and information by subject. The focus is on the methods used by the Library of Congress in its subject headings and classification schedules.
 


Objectives:

At the completion of this course, the student will be able to:

1. Understand and explain the basic principles of classification theory and the use (if any) of these principles as demonstrated by the Library of Congress classification system and as implied in FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records), including FRAD (Functional Requirements for Authority Data) and FRSAR (Functional Requirements for Subject Authority Records).

2. Evaluate and discuss different methods of subject analysis such as full text natural language and controlled vocabulary as exemplified in the Library of Congress Classification Schedules (L.C.C.) and the Library of Congress Subject Heading Lists (L.C.S.H.).

3. Classify "books" by using L.C. classification schedules, as well as to be able to assign subject headings to individual "books" by using the LCSH (L.C. list of subject headings) and to provide MARC tagging in preparation for online input.

4. Compare and contrast the Library of Congress classification system, including its subject headings, with other significant classification systems so that the question of reclassification is appropriately evaluated.

5. Analyze problems of L.C.S.H. and L.C.C. and explain the procedures, methods and techniques necessary for the integrity of the classification and maintenance of the database.
 
 


Course Outline:

I. Introduction to Course Content and Procedures.

A.  Class Meetings

B.  Role of the Instructor and of the Students

C.  Requirements Expected

II. General Concepts of Classification.

A.  Definitions and Purposes

B.  Prerequisites

C.  Structural Arrangements

III. Introduction to Classification Theory.

A.  General Classification

B.  Library Classification and Its Components

C.  Types of Library Classification

D.  Purposes of Library Classification, Including Classification as a Search Tool

E. FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records), including FRAD (Functional Requirements for Authority Data) and FRSAR (Functional Requirements for Subject Authority Records)

IV. Historical Backgrounds and General Structure of Library of Congress Classification System.

A.  Historical Backgrounds for LCSH (Library of Congress Subject Headings) and SCM: SH (Subject Cataloging Manual: Subject Headings)

B.  Historical Backgrounds for LCC (Library of Congress Classification)

C.  Subject Analysis/Access vs. Shelf Browsing vs. Marking & Parking Location

D.  Trends in Subject Analysis and Access

          E.  Natural Language and Controlled Vocabulary

          F.  Pre-coordination and Post-coordination

V. General characteristics of the LCC (Library of Congress classification) schedules.

A.  Principles of Organization

B.  Methods

C.  Techniques

VI. General Characteristics of the LCSH (Library of Congress subject headings) Lists.

A.  Purpose and Method

          B.  Linguistic Analysis and Theory of Subject Headings

          C.  Thesaurus Construction: Principles and Theory

          D.  Thesaurus Use and Information Services

E.  Relationship of Verbal Vocabulary to Classification

VII. Intensive Experience in the Use of Library of Congress Classification Systems, Including the LCSH and SCM: SH.

          A.  Applications of LCSH and of LCC, with examples in various subjects and disciplines.

          B.  Understanding of MARC formats (bibliographic, subject and classification) in relation to automatic indexing and user searching

          C.  Study the Use of LCSH and of LCC in various catalogs and other tools, including OPACs (Online Public Access catalogs)

VIII. Comparative Study of the Library of Congress Classification System and Other Significant Classification Systems.

          A.  Investigation and Discussion of Special Topics, with a Focus on Research Models

          B.  Investigation and Discussion of Subject Access for Particular User Groups

          C.  Investigation and Discussion of DDC vs. LCC, Including Classification on Internet 

          D.  Investigation and Discussion of Reclassification Issues

          E.  Investigation and Discussion of Merging of LCSH with another system such as MeSH


Course Organization, Requirements Expected and Grading:  (Please consult the class handouts.)

The course consists of lectures, discussions in class and on the course Blackboard, outside readings, homework exercises, assignments (including team projects) and exam(s).  The course Blackboard is at http://Blackboard.dom.edu.

LIS 731 is listed in the Blackboard course catalog under the discipline of Graduate School of Library and Information Science, so all of you can properly enroll in Blackboard version of the course.

Below is the link for the student documentation, including a viewlet for students on how to establish an account and enroll:

http://domin.dom.edu/documents/blackboardstu.htm

A list of reserve materials is included in the course syllabus. Assigned readings from your recommended textbook are required. Do your best to do exercise problems and other recommended and additional required readings from other sources. The reserve list includes some supplemental texts that may be of interest to you to examine or read. Additional materials may be put on reserve during the semester. 

Student Output and Grading

  • Discussion and Exercises (20%)
  • Project (20%)
  • Classification comparison (20%)
  • Class Team Project (20%)
  • Examination(s) (20%)


Textbooks:

(Required are all in bold.)

Chan, Lois Mai.   A Guide to the Library of Congress Classification. 5th ed. Littleton, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1999. Or, the latest edition.

Chan, Lois Mai. Library of Congress Subject Headings: Principles and Application. 4th ed. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2005.  

Mann, Thomas. The Oxford Guide to Library Research. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Rosenfeld, Louis and Peter Morville.  Information Architecture for the World Wide Web.  3rd ed.  O’Reilly, c2007.

ANSI/NISO Z39.19-2005.  Guidelines for the Construction, Format and Management of Monolingual Thesauri.  4th ed. Bethesda, MD:  NISO Press, 2005.  (Accessed 5/09/08). <http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/resources/html/help/Z39-19-2005.pdf>

Mann, Thomas. Library Research Models: A Guide to Classification, Cataloging, and Computers. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.

Hunter, Eric J.  Classification Made Simple.  Aldershot, Eng.: Ashgate, 2002.

Foskett, A. C. The Subject Approach to Information. 5th ed. London: Library Association, c1996.

Marcella, Rita and Maltby, Arthur, ed.  The Future of Classification.   Aldershot, Eng.; Brookfield, Vt.:  Gower, c2000.

Olson, Hope A.  Subject Analysis in Online Catalogs.  Englewood, Colo.:  Libraries Unlimited, 2001.  

Schwartz, Candy.  Sorting Out the Web:  Approaches to Subject Access.  Westport, Conn.:  Ablex Publishing, 2001.

Thomas, Alan R., ed. Classification: Options and Opportunities. New York: Haworth Press, 1995.

Library of Congress. Cataloger's Desktop. Washington, DC: LC Cataloging Distribution Service, 1994- . Windows version, 1995- . Quarterly, fully cumulated issues.  [Web version http://desktop.loc.gov]

Library of Congress.  Classification Web, (or Class Web), 2002-   http://classweb.loc.gov/ (Previously, Classification Plus.  Windows version.  1996-2002.  Quarterly, fully cumulated issues.)

Understanding FRBR : what it is and how it will affect our retrieval tools / edited by Arlene G. Taylor. Libraries Unlimited, 2007. ISBN: 9781591585091 (alk. paper); 1591585090 (alk. paper)

 

Maxwell, Robert L. FRBR : a guide for the perplexed. Chicago, American Library Association, 2008. ISBN: 9780838909508 (alk. paper); 0838909507 (alk. paper)

 

Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records: Final Report. IFLA Study Group on the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records. München: K.G. Saur, 1998.

Available on the IFLA web site at: http://www.ifla.org/VII/s13/frbr/frbr.pdf

 

Functional Requirements for Authority Data: A Conceptual Model. IFLA UBCIM Working Group on Functional Requirements and Numbering of Authority Records. (FRANAR). Draft 2007-04-01. Available on the IFLA web site at: http://www.ifla.org/VII/d4/FRANAR-ConceptualModel-2ndReview.pdf

 


Internet Sources

Banerjee, Kyle. The Cataloging Calculator --

http://calculate.alptown.com/

Beyond Bookmarks: Schemes for Organizing the Web --

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~CYBERSTACKS/CTW.htm

Koch, Traugott. (1999)  The role of classification schemes in Internet resource description and discovery. Work Package 3 of Telematics for Research project DESIRE (RE 1004)

http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/metadata/desire/classification/

Kunz, M. (2002). Sachliche Suche in verteilten Ressourcen: ein kurzer Überblick über neuere Entwicklungen  [Subject retrieval in distributed resources: a short review of recent developments] Paper presented at 68th IFLA Council and General Conference, Aug. 18-24, 2002, Glasgow, UK.

            http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla68/papers/007-122g.pdf   

            http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla68/papers/007-122e.pdf [English translation]

Doerr, M. (2001). Semantic problems of thesaurus mapping. Journal of Digital information, 1 (8).

 http://jodi.tamu.edu/Articles/v01/i08/Doerr/

”Bicentennial Conference on Bibliographic Control for the New Millennium: Confronting Challenges for Networked Resources and the Web,” (2000) sponsored by the Library of Congress Cataloguing Directorate – held Nov. 15-17, 2000.

http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/bibcontrol/

MAchine-Readable Cataloging (MARC) --

http://www.loc.gov/marc

http://www.loc.gov/marc/classification/ (MARC21 classification)

http://www.itsmarc.com/crs/clas0001.htm (Cataloger's Reference Shelf by Library Corporation)

Library of Congress Cataloging Directorate WWW Home Page --

http://www.loc.gov/catdir/catdir.html

Library of Congress – Cataloging and Acquisitions Home Page –

             http://www.loc.gov/aba/

Library of Congress - Classification Web, or Class Web

              http://classweb.loc.gov/      http://classweb.loc.gov/Auto/

LC Subject Headings Weekly List

                    CPSO Web site: http://www.loc.gov/aba/cataloging/subject/weeklylists/

LC Classification Weekly List

                    CPSO Web site: http://www.loc.gov/aba/cataloging/classification/weeklylists/

LC Classification Outline

                    http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/lcco.html

Library of Congress Classification Schedules

                    http://www.loc.gov/cds/classif.html

Library of Congress Thesauri website

                    http://www.loc.gov/lexico/servlet/lexico/tgm1/brsearch.html


LC Cataloging Newsline --

http://www.loc.gov/catdir/lccn/lccn.html

Program for Cooperative Cataloging –

                        http://www.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/

 

OCLC   --   http://www.oclc.org/
 

Consult: The Searching WorldCat Quick Reference (in both HTML and PDF formats) at:  http://www.oclc.org/support/documentation/worldcat/searching/refcard/

          Searching for WorldCat User Guide;

Connexion: Searching WorldCat Quick Reference;

Bibliographic Formats and Standards;

Authorities Quick Reference;

Authorities User Guide;

Authority Record Format;

Dublin Core Metadata Element Set;

CONNEXION (formerly, CORC);

CORC (Cooperative Online Resources Catalog) Users Group Homepage;

Dewey Decimal Classification;

OCLC Research;

Dublin Core Metadata Initiative Home Page.


International Federation of Library Associations. Cataloging and Indexing of Electronic Resources.

http://www.ifla.org

 
Technical Services and Cataloging Departments of other libraries list various useful tools for subject catalogers and classifiers.
 

Some examples are Morton Grove Public Library, Chicago Public Library and libraries of Colby College, University of Michigan, University of Illinois, University of Chicago, Northwestern University.

Northwestern University Library. Files for the Public.

Authority records for form/genre headings, gsafd
                    http://www.library.northwestern.edu/public/gsafd/gsafd.mrc.txt

Mississippi State University. LCSHDB (Library of Congress Subject Headings Database)
                    http://fantasia.cs.msstate.edu/lcshdb/index.cgi

Memorial University of Newfoundland. Queen Elizabeth II Library. “Cataloger's Toolbox”
http://staff.library.mun.ca/staff/toolbox/index.html

Princeton University Library's Cataloging Documentation. Catalog Division Documentation
http://library.princeton.edu/departments/tsd/katmandu/catman.html

TPOT: Cataloging--Subject analysis and classification
http://tpot.ucsd.edu/Cataloging/subj.html

 

Resources in Specific Subject Areas --
 

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/inside/projects/metadata/classify/
at Columbia University Libraries' internal page for metadata projects.

http://library.stritch.edu/web/web.htm for Internet Resources at Cardinal Stritch University Library

http://vlib.org/Overview.html at WWW Virtual Library

http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/index.html (the modified LCC classificatory arrangement at at the Internet Scout Project's Signpost for the advancement of resource discovery on the Internet) 
 

General Resources for Knowledge Organization --
 

o        The DMOZ directory:

Reference: Knowledge Management: Knowledge Retrieval: Classification

o        Bella Haas Weinberg, "Complexity In Indexing Systems -- Abandonment And Failure: Implications For Organizing The Internet" (http://www.asis.org/annual-96/ElectronicProceedings/weinberg.html)

·        http://www.hero.ac.uk/uk/reference_and_subject_resources/subject_oriented_directories3810.cfm Subject oriented directories available at HERO (Higher Education & Research Opportunities in the UK)

·        http://www.udcc.org/ (Universal Decimal Classification Consortium)

·        http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/classwebtutorial/1intro.html (LC Classification Web demo site)

·        http://www.itcompany.com/inforetriever/ (Internet Resources for Cataloging by Vianne Tang Sha)

·        http://www.itcompany.com/inforetriever/cat_subj.htm (Subject Cataloging and Classification)

 

Updated 05/14/2008