User’s Guide to Sears List of Subject Headings

The Sears List of Subject Headings, an outstanding name amongst subject headings lists, is used all over the world in small and medium sized libraries. It has constantly been revised and kept up to date, both in its methods and contents, by incorporating new subjects and updated organizational machinery. Being handy, simple, inexpensive and always current, the Sears List is a convenient choice for teaching subject headings work in library schools.

User’s Guide to Sears List of Subject Headings, 2nd Edition is a companion book which, although based on the 222nd edition of the Sears List, should also be useful to the libraries using some previous edition. It attempts to explain the theoretical foundations, history and application of the Sears List as well as of the subject headings work ion general. It explicates the various hidden potentials of the system to construct subject headings needed for local situations. The object of this small, practical introduction is to be simple, clear and illustrative.

The book assumes no prior knowledge either of the Sears List or of subject headings work in general. It is a manual for beginners to understand the importance of vocabulary control, the process of subject analysis, the structure and organization of the Sears List, and the methods to locate, specify and construct subject headings and provide cross references for the public catalogue. Subject headings in the complex areas of languages, literatures, biographical and geographical works are given a chapter each. Review questions and exercises conclude most chapters. A bibliography and glossary are valuable features of this work