Subject Headings
| The Cataloging, Metadata, and Processing Unit (CMP) adds three or more subject headings created by the Library of Congress to each item in our online catalog (CatSearch), in order to make items more discoverable. |
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)
This widely-used controlled vocabulary was created by the Library of Congress in 1898. LCSH is used internationally and updated constantly. It was created to be used as subject headings in library catalog records. Libraries add subject headings to every item in their collections to make items discoverable by users. It is also invaluable to have a standard consistently used vocabulary for subjects. If there wasn’t a standard, something as simple as using a plural form of the subject (i.e.: frogs), versus the single form (i.e.: frog) could mean that users only found half of the items with that subject.
FAST
Faceted Application of Subject Terminology (FAST) is a simplified version of LCSH. We use these in our online catalog as well.