LCSH for Literature

1. LCSH for Literature Part 1. Overview, Collections, and Individual Works

2. Overview • Based on Subject Cataloging Manual (SCM): • H 1775 Literature: General • H 1780 Literature: Drama • H 1790 Literature: Fiction • H 1791 Literature: Poetry

3. SCM H 1775 Literature: General • Provides general guidelines • Always consult the specialized instruction sheets for guidelines on cataloging a particular form (e.g. H 1790 for Fiction) • H 1775 has the table of 9 commonly assigned subject categories (see next slide) • H 1775 documents standard practice for the 6 basic types of works (see slide x)

4. Topical Subject Concepts to Use

5. Literature is not Biography • Note that “Biography” is not one of the concepts listed in the table • If the focus is primarily literary rather than biographical, use, for example: • Poetry, Spanish. • NOT Poets, Spanish • French fiction—Women authors. • NOT Women authors—France. • American literature—African American authors. • NOT African American authors. • BUT African Americans—Literary collections.

6. 6 Categories of Literary Works • In this session we will discuss a.-b.-c.: • Collections of literary texts by several authors • Collections of literary texts by one author. • Single literary text • Discussion of several authors (session 2) • Discussion of a single author (session 2) • Discussion of a single text (session 2)

7. a. Collections of literary texts by several authors. Examples • The Norton anthology of African American literature / Henry Louis Gates, Jr., general editor, Nellie Y. McKay, general editor. • The rattle bag / edited by Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes.Summary: A collection of more than 400 hundred poems from all around the world.

8. a. Collections of Literary texts by Several Authors: Guidelines • Use any concept from the table • Use subdivisions to express: time period, translations, & locality • If nationality or language needs to be expressed, combine in a phrase with the form: German fiction; Latin poetry • Themes/topics expressed as [topic]—[subdivision] or phrase • Groups of authors expressed as subdivisions or phrases [but NOT as classes of persons]

9. a. Collections of Literary texts by Several Authors: Example with Subjects (1)

10. a. Collections of Literary texts by Several Authors: Example with Subjects (2)

11. a. Collections of Literary texts by Several Authors: Example with Subjects (3) • Comment: do not use class of persons headings to bring out the special type of author: • NOT: Canadian poets—Women authors. • NOT: Women authors—Canada.

12. a. Collections of Literary texts by Several Authors: Example with Subjects (4)

13. Exercises: Collections of Literary Texts by Several Authors • For review, do the quiz at:http://www.quia.com/quiz/1098711.htmlNote: quiz is still in draft form; when quiz is completed, use the browser back button to return to this slide

14. b. Collections of Literary Texts by One Author. Examples • The view from Castle Rock : stories / Alice Munro. • Overlord : poems / Jorie Graham. • The complete Western stories of Elmore Leonard. • Crumbs from the table of joy, and other plays / Lynn Nottage.

15. b. Collections of Literary Texts by One Author. Guidelines. • Theme or topic may be assigned • Genre topic may be assigned “if highly specific and emphasized in the work” • Nationality or language expressed only in combination with the specific genre topic • Translation subdivision is under the name of the author (not the topic) • Other categories from the table are not expressed (e.g. time period, locality where written, special type of author)

16. b. Collections of Literary Texts by One Author: Example without Subjects (1) • No subjects assigned if there is no specific theme or genre

17. b. Collections of Literary Texts by One Author: Example with Subjects (2)

18. b. Collections of Literary Texts by One Author: Example with Subjects (3)

19. b. Collections of Literary Texts by One Author: Example with Subjects (4)

20. b. Collections of Literary Texts by One Author: What NOT to Do • For the Paul Celan collection on the previous slide, you would NOT assign these subjects: • German poetry—20th century. • German poetry—Translations into English. • German poetry—Jewish authors. • Poetry, Modern—20th century.

21. Exercises: Collections of Literary Texts by One Author/Single Anonymous Work • For review, do the quiz at:http://www.quia.com/quiz/1099668.html Note: quiz is still in draft form; when quiz is completed, use the browser back button to return to this slide

22. c. Single Literary Text (One Author or Anonymous). Examples • Mad forest : a play from Romania / Caryl Churchill. • A flag for sunrise : a novel / by Robert Stone. • The bower of nil : a narrative poem / Frederick Glaysher. • Sir Gawain and the Green Knight / translated and edited by William Vantuono.

23. c. Single Literary Text: Guidelines for Poetry & Drama • For an individual poem or play, assign: • Headings for theme • Headings for “Highly specific form” • Phrase headings for nationality/language only if combined with [highly specific] genre or theme • Other concepts are not expressed

24. c. Single Literary Text (Play or Poem): Example with Subjects (1)

25. c. Single Literary Text (Play or Poem): Example with Subjects (2)

26. c. Single Literary Text: Guidelines for Fiction • Individual works of fiction: • Headings for persons • Headings for historical events* • Headings for historical periods* • Headings for animals • Other concepts are not expressed • *H 1790: • “Interpret the term historical fiction broadly to include works about entities such as movements, corporate bodies other than jurisdictions, camps, parks, structures, geographical features other than regions, ethnic groups, disasters, categories of events, etc.”

27. c. Single Literary Text (Fiction): Example without Subjects

28. c. Single Literary Text (Fiction): Example with Subjects

29. c. Single Literary Text (Fiction): Example with Subjects

30. c. Single Literary Text (Fiction): Example with Subjects

31. c. Single Literary Text: Special LC Practice for Fiction in English • For American novels and novels of other English language literatures, the Library of Congress practice is to assign, in addition to the standard H 1775 categories, headings for: • Specific form/genre, tagged as 655 #0 or 655 #7 with $2 gsafd • Legendary & fictional characters (if the fictional charcter was created by the author, the character must appear in at least 3 works) • Class of persons to which the primary character belongs (e.g. Women detectives) • Place if significant • Topics the author or publisher makes explicit (mentioned in title, series, dust jacket, etc.), if the topic can be used to distinguish the work from most other works. “Do not assign headings for vague and general topics, such as fate, evil, belief, psychology, interpersonal relations, emotions, social customs, or community life. … Normally no more than one or two topical headings should be assigned.” • The LC special practice is not applied by Yale cataloging; member & LC copy with additional LCSH is accepted as is

32. c. Single Literary Text (Fiction). LC Practice: Example with Subjects

33. Exercises: Collections of Literary Texts by One Author/Single Anonymous Work • For review, do the quiz at:http://www.quia.com/quiz/1121969.htmlNote: quiz is still in draft form; when quiz is completed, use the browser back button to return to this slide • Continue to Discussion and Criticism: Multiple Authors, One Author, Individual Workshttp://www.library.yale.edu/cataloging/Training/LCSH/LCSH%20for%20Literature2.ppt