Words or phrases that describe what a book, article, or other document is about. The official set of subject headings used in most catalogs is the Library of Congress Subject Headings. See Guide to Subject Headings.

An alphabetical list of words or phrases that represent a concept that is under authority control, e.g., the Library of Congress Subject Headings.

the main ideas of a book

Words used in library catalogs and indexes to describe an item's content. Because there are many possible words to use for the same subject, catalogs and indexes often use controlled vocabulary (such as the Library of Congress Subject Headings).

This is a controlled vocabulary that is used to describe the different subjects into which a library catalog is broken down. In the Library of Congress Classification System, this aspect is central to searching by subject heading. In other words, you need to know exactly what phrases are used to describe the aspects of the subject you are researching. The subject headings are listed in the record of the item in the catalog.

Words or phrases assigned to books and articles and used to index these items by topic. Determining the correct headings for a specific database or catalog is an important part of effective research. See also Thesaurus.

Words used in library catalogs and in indexes to describe the contents of a book, periodical, article, or other work. Because there are many possible words to use for the same subject, catalogs and indexes use a controlled vocabulary (such as the Library of Congress Subject Headings).

a word or groups of words that are assigned to books, articles, and other materials in order to indicate the subject matter and to group or organize similar materials by topic. As an important element of effective research, subject headings are needed to determine the correct headings as indexed within a specific database or catalog. See also Descriptors and Thesaurus.

The word or group of words under which books and other material on a subject are entered in a catalog.

Lists of words designated as appropriate words or phrases to describe particular topics and which are assigned to library catalog records. Use the "Back" button at the top of your screen to return to the previous screen.

Official terms used to precisely describe the content of books, articles, videos, or other materials and publications. Librarians, indexers, or sometimes the authors themselves assign the terms by reviewing the content of the item and selecting appropriate terms from an official, standardized list. Sometimes called controlled vocabulary. See: Search Techniques.

Subject headings describe the content of a work. Librarians assign subject headings to books and manuscript collections using a controlled vocabulary and format from the Library of Congress Subject Headings.

Specific words or phrases assigned to library items that describe what they are about, for example 'International Business Enterprises' is the subject heading used to describe library materials that deal with multinational corporations. Books and other library items are indexed in the catalogue by Library of Congress subject headings. Journal articles are indexed in periodical indexes and databases by specialist subject terms/descriptors. It is often a good idea to do a keyword search before a subject search. For assistance make an Inquiry.

Terms used to describe and classify areas of knowledge. Addison uses Library of Congress subject headings. (See ADDISON).

see Library of Congress Subject Headings. Subject Librarian Services Subject Librarians are information specialists assigned to a specific academic subject, department or programme. They liaise between academic departments and the Library and provide a personalised service in support of the teaching, learning and research of students and academic staff. Services include: research consultations and assistance with in-depth information queries; course-specific seminars and tutorials for individuals or groups; current awareness; tailored resource web pages for specific courses; instruction in information retrieval and research skills; information on managing citations and bibliographies; and assistance with books and serials collection development in their subject areas. Please see the Subject Librarian contact page to find contact details.

Words or phrases assigned to books and articles to describe what the item is about. These words and phrases come from controlled lists that are available in library reference areas so researchers can know which terms to use in their searches. LCSH, MeSH and ERIC descriptors are examples of subject headings.

Assigned terminology to describe the subject of a book or journal article. Nimitz Library follows the Library of Congress Subject Headings.

words or phrases given to books or articles to index them by topic. In Swansea, we use the Library of Congress list of subject headings.

Words or phrases assigned to books and articles which are used to index these items by topic

Headings under which the item will be listed. Such as dogs, books on dogs and canines would all be listed under Dogs.

Standardized terms used to provide subject access to library materials. Most school libraries traditionally have used the Sears List of Subject Heading as a standard. Automated libraries often use the Library of Congress Childrens Subject Headings.

terms or phrases assigned to books or articles to describes their subjects. The catalog displays standardized subject headings known as LC (Library of Congress) SUBJECT HEADINGS to describe each book or media title in the catalog. (SEE also Controlled vocabulary)

Used when searching by a controlled vocabulary, subject headings are those words or phrases, assigned to a document or book, that contain the intellectual subject of that resource. Found in thesauri and specific subject heading books (such as the Library of Congress volumes), search terms must be entered exactly as noted for an accurate search. In some databases, subject headings are called descriptors.

Controlled vocabulary, established by the publisher of the catalog or index in use, to describe the contents of the material included in the resource. Also called descriptors, subjects.

Words or phrases assigned to books and articles to index these items by topic. Determining the correct headings (also called descriptors) for a specific database or catalog is important for effective research. See also Controlled Vocabulary and Thesaurus.

See: LCSH, Descriptor, MESH

Authorized subject terms used for indexing documents. LCSH (Library of Congress Subject Headings) is the index used for finding books. For many databases articles can be found by using a specialized thesaurus such as the one for education (ERIC).

Standardized terms or phrases that are assigned to a publication and used to describe the contents of that publication; same as Controlled Vocabulary.

Subject headings, sometimes just called subjects, are words or phrases from a controlled vocabulary used to describe the subject of a document. Library of Congress Subject Headings are used in library catalogs like Blais. In some databases, the term descriptor is used instead of subject heading.

standardized words or phrases used to find library information by subject.  Ask the librarian for help in finding standard subject headings for use in searching the Spanish-American Institute Library Catalog or electronic databases.

Set words that are selected to describe an article. Searching by subject offers more precise results than keyword searching, since each article is assigned subject headings as descriptors.

Topical headings that describe the main focus of the content of a library resource. These are usually assigned from a " controlled vocabulary" or thesaurus of terms.

A controlled vocabulary assigned by an indexer. Subject headings are used in catalogs and indexes to group together items by subject. See also Descriptors, Library of Congress Subject Headings.

the specific word or phrase used to find a book or article on a specific topic in a catalog or periodical index.

Subject headings are those words or phrases, assigned to a document or book, that contain the intellectual subject of that resource. Subject headings are used when searching by a controlled vocabulary. The most commonly used subject headings in academic libraries are those devised by the Library of Congress Classification System.

Words used in library catalogs (in print or online) to describe the contents of a book, journal, or other items. Since there are often many terms to describe a topic, libraries attempt to standardize the vocabulary in their catalogs. Hagerty and many other academic libraries use the LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SUBJECT HEADINGS. The Health Sciences Libraries use MeSH or MEDICAL SUBJECT HEADINGS.

Standard terms used to precisely describe the content of information sources in a database (books, Web sites, etc.). They are sometimes called descriptors.

terms, names, or phrases that are assigned to a publication (book, journal article, video, etc.) and used to describe the contents of that publication. They form a standardized set of terms that are consistently used to group materials together.

Standardized words or phrases used to find information by subject (sometimes also called descriptors). Significance: It is important to match your subject terminology with the actual terminology being used by the system you are searching. For example, searching for Death Penalty may turn up nothing if the standardized subject heading is actually Capital Punishment. Standardized subject headings are only valid for a particular system, and may or may not change when you search a different system. For example, The Library Catalog might use Death Penalty and Sociological Abstracts might use Capital Punishment, so you need to be willing to experiment.

Predetermined topic-based categories or index terms assigned to books, journal articles, or other documents. Subject headings are often used as search terms in the library catalog and databases. In some databases they may also be referred to as descriptors or subject terms. The Alvin Sherman Library uses the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) for indexing library materials.

words or phrases expressing a subject, under which all items on that subject are indexed. See The Big Red Books for detailed information.