No earlier than August 2012, the Policy and Standards Division of the Library of Congress will begin an experiment to add subject category codes (MARC 21 tag 072) to authority records for LC subject headings. It is anticipated that the addition of this information will enhance the usability of LCSH on the Semantic Web; assist catalogers by allowing integrated library systems (ILSs) and resource discovery platforms to provide a list of the subdivisions that are appropriate to headings being assigned; and improve automatic heading string creation and validation in ILSs and resource discovery platforms.
For the full announcement, which includes background on the need to include subject category codes in authority records, an explanation of the computer manipulations that they should enable, and also the parameters of the experiment, please see http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/field_072_announcement.pdf.
Questions on this experiment may be addressed to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>.
Janis L. Young Policy and Standards Division Library of Congress [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
