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Using Controlled Vocabularies

Jan Herd, FLICC, Libraries and Emerging Technologies

Joyce Koenemann, National Transportation Library

Tamas Doszkocs, National Library of Medicine

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Wikipedia

Social Tagging or Controlled Vocabulary?

Jan Herd

Federal Library and Information Center Committee

Content Management Working Group

February 2007

Comparing Wikimedia and LC Subject Heading instructions

• If you wish to see more like instances of disambiguation go to http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Disambiguation

• Disambiguation in The Library of Congress Subject Headings list is explained in the Subject Cataloging Manual H 357 Parenthetical Qualifiers in Subject Headings, H 373 Cross-references and Used for references.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Disambiguation





Comparing Wikimedia and LC Subject Heading Instructions

1.Wikicommons:“A category page should contain category-links that

put it into one or more parent categories.”LC: “Make at least one BT when establishing a new

heading.”and “If a new heading is a member of more than one hierarchy, link it to the next broader heading in each hierarchy.”

From SCM H 370 outline references to broader term, narrower term, and related term references for subject headings.

Comparing Wikimedia and LC Subject Heading Instuctions

2. Wikicommons: “A short description text that explains what should be in

the category.” LC: • “Scope notes are especially useful under headings that

represent new concepts or that employ terminology not yet firmly established in the language.”

• SCM H 400 provides guidance for scope notes written for LC subject headings to provide guidance for consistent usage of a given concept.

Comparing Wikimedia with LC Subject heading instructions

3. Wikicommons: “Category names should always be in English. It still lacks internationalization for category names. Creating intermingled category structures in different languages would only make things worse.”

LC: “Establish topical subject headings in a language other than English only if ... no English term for the concept exists, and the concept is normally expressed in foreign terms even in English -language works and reference sources ...or if the concept appears to be unique to the language of the work being cataloged.” SCM H315


4. Wikicommons: Categories for life forms should use the scientific (Latin) name.

LC: “Prefer the common name if it is in popular use and unambiguous. Use reference sources …., recent textbooks, popular field guides, and lists of official common names issued by societies or government agencies. Prefer the common name for animals and plants of economic importance, such as pests or cultivated plants. Prefer Latin when the common name represents several levels (species, genus, family) or the term is not in general lay usage.” SCM H 1332


5. Wikicommons: “Category names that refer to objects or people should generally be in plural form: Category:Tools, Category:Artists, Category: Lakes, etc, as opposed to Category:History, Category:Weather, Category:Music.”

LC: “Use the plural form when establishing topical headings that designate entities capable of being enumerated. Use the singular form when establishing topical headings that designate abstract concepts.” e.g. Teachers, Love

SCM H 285


6. Wikicommons: Do not over categorize. You should not assign two

categories in the same hierarchy, e.g. If you categorize something under Paris you do not also place it under France

LC: Assign at least one or two headings from the subject authority file and/or the name authority file to represent the primary subject and/or form of the work at the appropriate level of specificity.

SCM General guidelines

http://www.niso.org/standards/standard_detail.cfm?std_id=814

Controlled VocabulariesUsed for Search

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