150 Mixed media painting [May Subd Geog] [sp 85086321]
* 550 BT Mixed media (Art)
Bouquet Anvers by Ger Van Elk
150 Nineteen ninety‑three, A.D. [Not Subd Geog] [sp2011001971]
450 UF 1993 A.D. 450 UF Nineteen hundred ninety‑three, A.D.
450 UF Year nineteen ninety‑fthree, A.D.
550 BT Nineteen nineties
Windows 3.11 screenshot, from Wikipedia
150 Islands—Macedonia [sp2011001898]
It seems there’s only one island in Macedonia, so it probably slipped through the cracks until now…but in that case perhaps there should be a new heading that reads “Island — Macedonia”?
click me!
150 Rainbow in art CANCEL
150 Rainbows in art [Not Subd Geog] [sp 85111207]
450 UF Rainbow in art [EARLIER FORM OF HEADING]
(C) 150 Vivisection in literature [Not Subd Geog] [sp2010012137]
or how ’bout in movies?
This story centers around a high-tech biotechnology lab. From its confines comes "Max," a genetically engineered killing machine in the guise of a household pet dog.
150 Bodies of water in art [Not Subd Geog] [sp2010010340] waterfall by Noemie Goudal
151 Turkey—Imprints [sp2010010950] this isn't actually what they meant.
150 Windows—Design and construction [sp2010010981] by Ayla87 on sxc.hu
Oddities
Amazing that “stuffed foods” is the broader heading. It makes sense, in a weird sort of way. 150 Burritos (Cooking) [May Subd Geog] [sp 91002636]
450 UF Burritos (Cookery) [EARLIER FORM OF HEADING]
550 BT Stuffed foods (Cooking)
(C) 150 Blondes in art [Not Subd Geog] [sp2010010078]
150 Cell phones in art [Not Subd Geog] [sp2010012003]
053 N8217.C269
On Libraries
Not sure I really think digital curation is synonymous with digital libraries. One is an action/process, the other is a thing, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. 150 Digital libraries [May Subd Geog] [sp 95008857]
* 450 UF Digital curation
150 Animal jumping [May Subd Geog] [sp 85005205]
* 450 UF Animal leaping
* 450 UF Jumping behavior in animals
* 450 UF Leaping behavior in animals
Humans jumping animals: “Gaito Loka becomes a man during his initiation ritual, sometimes called cattle jumping. Male friends and relatives hold the animals in place as the jumper runs along their backs. Afterward, the young Hamar man must adhere to a strict diet including blood, milk, and honey until he marries.” – National Geographic
150 Stop‑motion animation films [Not Subd Geog] [sp2010000786]
450 UF Object animation films
450 UF Stop‑action animation films
450 UF Stop‑motion animated films
450 UF Stop‑motion films
550 BT Animated films
vegetables and Star Wars to encourage us to buy organic!
[Youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocLbfdaONrs”%5D
150 History painting [May Subd Geog] [sp2008007183]
680 Here are entered works on narrative painting that depicts several figures enacting a scene usually drawn from classical history or mythology, or from the Bible.
550 BT Painting
150 Art objects in art [Not Subd Geog] [sp2010001816]
150 Bananas in popular culture [May Subd Geog] CHANGE GEOG [sp2006007645]
* 680 Here are entered works on the representation of bananas in popular culture.
150 Gifted Hawaiian children [May Subd Geog] [sp2010001320]
450 UF Gifted children, Hawaiian
450 UF Hawaiian gifted children
550 BT Gifted children—United States
550 BT Hawaiian children
150 Educational films [May Subd Geog] [sp2001000481]
* 680 This heading is used as a topical heading for works about films that are intended to impart knowledge and information, including those for classroom viewing. Works about films designed to impart skills or techniques to general audiences, typically in a “how‑to” manner, are entered under Instructional films. When used as topical headings they are subdivided by the appropriate geographic, topical, and/or form subdivisions.
151 NGC 300 (Galaxy) [sp2009009615]
667 This heading is not valid for use as a geographic subdivision.
451 UF Dun 530 (Galaxy)
451 UF GC 169 (Galaxy)
451 UF H 2359 (Galaxy)
451 UF NGC300 (Galaxy)
550 BT Spiral galaxies
(image from nasa.gov)
150 Peddlers and peddling in art CANCEL 150 Peddlers in art [Not Subd Geog] [sp 85099130]
450 UF Peddlers and peddling in art [EARLIER FORM OF HEADING]
(“Marchand d’abat-jour, rue Lepic” – Eugène Atget. albumen print (c.1900) from the George Eastman House collection on Flickr.)
150 Precarious employment [May Subd Geog] [sp2009008937]
680 Here are entered works on labor that is poorly paid, unregulated, and lacks job
security.
450 UF Employment, Precarious
550 BT Labor Gus Powell – from “Voetganger Amsterdam” series
for now I went with a more literal interpretation of “precarious”.
150 Ceilings—Decoration [May Subd Geog] [sp2009010550]
550 BT Decoration and ornament
(a picture of a ceiling at the Library of Congress, from my Flickr)
150 Corn—Utilization [May Subd Geog] [sp 86004524]
* 681 Example under Plants, Useful CANCEL
* 681 Example under Plants, Useful; Wildlife utilization
(vintage postcard from Jasperdo’s Flickr photostream)
(USA Today article)
I have actually been to the Corn Palace!
150 Rock musicians in art [Not Subd Geog] [sp2009010571]
150 Crime in music [sp2009009410]
680 Here are entered works on the depiction of crime in musical compositions. General works on the relationship between crime and music are entered under Music and crime.
550 BT Music
681 Notes under Music and crime
150 Landscapes in music [Not Subd Geog] [sp2009009236]
680 Here are entered works on the depiction of natural landscapes in musical
compositions.
550 BT Music
Mood films [Not Subd Geog] [sp2008025676]
680 This heading is used as a genre/form heading for films that emphasize a mood or
atmosphere rather than a plot.
555 BT Fiction films
The record for the above heading indicates that there’s a genre of Japanese fiction film to which the term “mood film” has been applied. A friend suggested that something like Wavelength might be considered a “mood film”. However, it also seems to be a common term in the advertising field, where it refers to things like this. According to NTC’s Dictionary of Advertising, 2nd ed, a “mood commercial” is a “commercial message designed to establish a particular atmosphere.” Or perhaps a commercial that encourages you to match your fridge to your mood?
Odeon of Agrippa (Athens, Greece) [sp2009008379]
410 UF Agrippa, Odeon of (Athens, Greece)
410 UF Agrippeion (Athens, Greece)
410 UF Ōdeio tou Agrippa (Athens, Greece)
410 UF Odeion of Agrippa (Athens, Greece)
410 UF Odeum of Agrippa (Athens, Greece)
550 BT Theaters—Greece
I’m including this next one not because I’m a Potter fan, but because I find it bizarre and amusing that there was probably a discussion (or a lively debate?) about whether Hogwarts should be considered a place or an organization. I guess imaginary places are as worthy of accurate subject headings as real places, or, um, organizations…?
150 Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Imaginary place) CANCEL
(C) 150 Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Imaginary organization) [Not Subd Geog] [sp 00002633]
450 UF Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Imaginary place) [EARLIER FORM
OF HEADING]
150 Legislators’ pets [May Subd Geog] [sp2009009244]
550 BT Pets
In My senator and me : a dog’s eye view of Washington Senator Kennedy’s dog, Splash, follows the senator around for a day and introduces readers to the White House.
DjahalLand (Illustration, concept art and design for visual development)
Parthenon (Athens, Greece) in literature [Not Subd Geog] [sp2009007816]
At the height of the Napoleonic Wars, the 21-year-old newly wedded Mary Nisbet, Countess of Elgin, a Scottish heiress and celebrated beauty, enchanted the power brokers of the Ottoman Empire, using her charms to obtain their permission for her husband’s audacious plan to deconstruct the Parthenon and bring its magnificent sculptures to England. Two millennia earlier, Aspasia, a female philosopher and courtesan who presided with her lover, the visionary politician Pericles, over Athens’ Golden Age, plied her wits and allure with equal determination, standing with him at the center of vehement opposition to his ambitious plan to construct the most exquisite monuments the world had ever seen.
In parallel stories that resonate hauntingly, Aspasia witnesses the dramatic events that lead to the construction and dedication of the Parthenon, and Mary Nisbet witnesses that same magnificent building’s deconstruction and demise.
According to pugsinformation.org, a series of pug figurines created by German sculptor and porcelain modeller Johann Joachim Kändler served as a secret emblem for an underground German Freemason lodge, the “Mopsorden” – the “Lodge of the Order of the Pug”.
Jesse Higman – “Spiral”
“This Wave Painting was poured on a table specially constructed to curve the flow of water. You can still see the hole in the canvas at the apex of the spiral. For the texture, I mixed a special Golden medium called GAC which lists as a precaution that it may cause foam if stirred aggressively. I use an egg beater to mix. The “paint” I use contains tiny mica flakes which give the painting an iridescent sheen. As the foam bubbles make their way along to the hole, they collect particles of mica which make tiny islands.” -from the artist’s website
I’m on the ARLIS/NA email list, which periodically includes an update on new or changed subject headings of interest to art librarians. Sometimes it seems like the art-related headings are some of the weirdest. Here are a few I found especially bizarre or interesting from the most recent update:
Topical headings:
150 Chivalry in art [Not Subd Geog] [sp2009007299]
150 Figural corkscrews [May Subd Geog] [sp2009007238]
150 National characteristics, Australian, in art [Not Subd Geog] [sp2009007592]
150 National characteristics, Mexican, in art [Not Subd Geog] [sp2009007058]
150 Streaming video [May Subd Geog] [sp200500523
150 Women typographers [May Subd Geog] [sp2009007103]
1150 Wounds and injuries in art [Not Subd Geog] [sp2009007464]
150 Young volunteers in museums [May Subd Geog] [sp2009007185]
Unfortunately “Museums” is a BT for “Young volunteers in museums”.
Does “figural corkscrews” mean people are carving corkscrews into shapes? I’ve been looking for a new hobby. This sounds like a good candidate. Upon further investigation, turns out it’s not necessarily carving that’s behind these corkscrews. I’m always impressed when someone chooses an everyday item and then does such a thorough job researching its history. Who knew there were corkscrew enthusiasts?! And a newsletter called “The Weekly Screw“.
I was watching Kill Bill vol. 2 last night. Wounds and injuries in art? Probably not. I’m guessing the heading is meant more for things like this. Though it would be really useful for cataloging images, like Gericault’s severedheads. Learning about art through the changes of subject headings kind of feels like following current events through Twitter. But much less annoying.
I just read this great article by Tom Reamy in KMWorld. It’s about popular (and widespread) misconceptions about taxonomies and folksonomies. I loved the attitude in this piece, and it expressed frustrations I’ve had with the hype around folksonomies, and with the misconception that hierarchical classification systems maintained by experts are an outdated effort that only librarians still care about. Reamy emphasizes how a hybrid approach, using a taxonomy and user-generated terms, is where the real value lies. He also points out the myth that folksonomies allow us to break free from the authority of “those dictatorial librarians”:
…folksonomy sites do have a central authority, and it is the most oppressive and most dangerous type of central authority there is — the authority of the majority. Against the will of the people, there is no recourse, no way of insuring the rights of the minority[…] It seems to me that having a system in which there is a central group of authorities or librarians that you as a minority can appeal to might work better than letting the collaboratively emergent dictatorial majority unconsciously ride roughshod over the minorities.”
The other thing I wish people would shout from the mountaintops is that the LCSH is (are?) not a thesaurus. Mary Dykstra says it best in her 1988 rant in Library Journal: just because LC decided to use the terminology of thesauri (RT, BT, NT, UF) doesn’t mean the semantic relationships between the headings are on par with those in real thesauri. Citing the 1974 ISO standard on what constitutes hierarchical relationships between terms, Dykstra uses the example of the heading: Oysters
NT Cookery (Oysters)
In LC’s defense, this subheading doesn’t appear to exist anymore. I checked some of Dykstra’s other examples:
Proposal writing in business
BT Contracts, letting of
(Contracts, letting of is now an RT, and the BTs are Business and Business writing)
Children
NT Television and children
(still in there)
Here’s one I found: Fortune-telling by Chinese characters
BT Chinese characters
Fortune-telling and Chinese characters are different types of entities. Fortune-telling by Chinese characters is not a type of Chinese character.
A lot of these issues stem from the extreme degree of pre-coordination in the LCSH. Headings often represent multiple concepts, while in thesauri, terms represent only one concept. “With the use of a thesaurus, several terms (analyzed) may be strung together (synthesized) according to syntactic rules to form a subject” (Dykstra, 1988). I’m not saying LCSH isn’t useful and that it’s not currently serving many of us (relatively) well. It’s just frustrating that many people seem to think the LCSH is representative of thesauri in general. Reamy makes a similar point at the beginning of his article, but his complaint is with the use of the term “taxonomy”, not “thesaurus”:
A fundamental flaw in the vast majority of articles on folksonomies and taxonomies is the almost universal use of the Dewey Decimal System (or Library of Congress Subject Headings) as the example taxonomy. Using the Dewey Decimal System as your example taxonomy shows that you have no understanding of taxonomy creation and use in today’s world.
This brings me to a question that keeps bothering me. What really is the difference between a classification system, a taxonomy, a thesaurus, and an ontology? A nice set of definitions is available on this Hedden Information Management site (the creator teaches at Simmons College). These tools are too important to be so confused with one another, especially by professionals!
