Subject heading- control vocabulary
Subdivisions are terms that are placed after Library of Congress subject headings to identify a narrower category of information.
There are four main types of subdivisions:
a) Topical Archeology - Methodology
b) Form Archeology - Fiction
c) Chronological Archeology - History-18th century
d) Geographic Archeology - Egypt
Topical subdivisions
Topical subdivisions are used under all types of subject headings — personal, corporate, family, and geographic names, uniform titles, and topical headings — to represent a particular subtopic and narrow down the broader subject. A topical subdivision may represent a concept, attribute, aspect, action or process, methodology or technique, a part of the whole, or another category of term. Some examples include:
- E.g. $x Philosophy [concept]
- $x Density [attribute, under types of chemicals]
- $x Psychological aspects [aspect]
- $x Employee participation [action or process]
- $x Aging [action or process]
- $x Statistical methods [methodology]
- $x Respiratory organs [part of the whole, under types of animals]
- $x Museums [part of the whole, under names of corporate bodies]
Form subdivisions indicate the nature of the material rather than something about its content; in other words, they indicate what a work is, not what it is about. Examples include:
- E.g. $v Bibliography
- $v Catalogs
- $v Dictionaries
- $v Early works to 1800
- [considered to be a form subdivision, not a chronological one, because the approach to the subject matter may not be chronologically based]
- $v Exhibitions
- $v Periodicals
- $v Textbooks
Chronological subdivisions are applicable when the work covers the history, or an aspect of the history, of a given topic, corporate body, or place during a limited time period.
Modern history: Century subdivisions may be used under “$x History” from “$y 16th century” through “$y 21st century,” as applicable.
- E.g. 650 0 $a Iroquois Indians $x History $y 17th century.
- 650 0 $a Coal mines and mining $z Pennsylvania $x History $y 19th century.
- 610 20 $a Harvard University $x History $y 20th century.
Geographic subdivisions may be used under topical subject headings and following topical subdivisions when they are specifically authorised, as indicated by:
- Subject Cataloging Manual: Subject Headings: The phrase “(May Subd Geog)” following a subdivision.
- The “red books” (printed LCSH list): The phrase “(May Subd Geog)” following a subject heading.
- E.g. Free floating subdivision in the Subject Cataloging Manual: $x Government policy (May Subd Geog)
- Therefore: 650 0 $a Wetland conservation $x Government policy $z Poland
- is valid
