Subject Headings

Two major systems of subject headings are used for maps: the Library of Congress subject headings, and the Boggs & Lewis subject headings.

Library of Congress
The Library of Congress subject headings are used to describe books that are classified using either the Library of Congress Classification system or the Dewey Decimal Classification system. The Library of Congress subject headings are designed to capture the “aboutness” of the object being catalogued. Once the main subject has been determined, subject authorities are referred to in order to determine the proper subject heading and specific rules are adhered to in regards to subdividing subjects. The geographic area that is being represented is usually the main subject, which may be divided further by another subject or time period, and then finally by the form. By placing the form last, the subject headings do not parallel the Library of Congress classification system which groups all cartographic material first by form, and second by geographic area. This is a clear indication that the Library of Congress system was not made for providing access to maps. Below are instructions of how these subject headings are put into the MARC fields:

In a MARC record, the 650 Subject field is for topical names and the 651 field is reserved for Geographic Names. In regards to maps, Field 651 (Subject Added Entries - Geographical Names) can be used for the following Library of Congress subject headings:

1. Political jurisdictions on their own or subdivided by subject terms. Political jurisdictions with a title are also considered corporate names and should be indicated in the 610 field.
e.g. 651 $a Texas $x Officials and employees.

2. Natural features, such as bays, capes, rivers, mountains, deserts, etc.
e.g.: 651 $a Amazon River.

3. Geographical regions and celestial bodies, such as names of continents, land masses, planets, stars, etc.
e.g. 651 $a Jupiter (Planet).

4. Archaeological sites.
e.g. 651 $a Altamira Cave (Spain).

5. Parks, neighborhoods.
e.g. 651 $a Central Park (New York, N.Y.).

6. Local place names, such as names of cities, towns, etc.
e.g.: 651 $a Winnipeg (Man.)

Within the 651 field, subfields are used to indicate Library of Congress subject heading subdivisions, which are also based on authorized headings. Subfields $v, $x, and $z are repeatable. Subfields $v, $x, $y, and $z do not have to be in alphabetical order. "Maps" is an authorized subdivision within the ($v) bibliographic form division. This $v subdivision is not only used in the 651 field, but other fields such as the 650 field (Subject Added Term - Topical Term). "Maps" may also be added as a ($x) general subject subdivision. The subfield $v indicates that the item is in fact a map, whereas the $x subfield relates to a the subject of a map and is not in map format. Examples of the use of subdivisions in both the 650 and 651 fields include:

e.g. 650 $a Postal zones $z Canada $v Maps.
e.g. 650 $a Roads $z Canada, Western $v Maps.
e.g. 651 $a Iqaluit Region (Nunavut) $v Maps, Topographic.
e.g. 651 $a Riding Mountain National Park (Man.) $v Maps.
e.g. 651 $a Canada $x Maps $y 19th century

Whenever a cataloguer uses the subfield 651 or a geographic subdivision, he or she must use an 043 field using the code for that area from the US MARC Code List for Geographic Areas in subfield $a. The source of a local code in subfield $b is indicated in subfield $2. The source of codes used in subfield $c is ISO 3166 (Part 1 and Part 2). That any particular item is a map can also be indicated within field 245 (Title Statement). The subfield $h within the title statement of the item will indicate whether the item is a map as subfield $h is reserved for medium (general material designation). For example: 245 $a The map of Canadian legends. $h [cartographic material].

Boggs and Lewis
In 1937, Samuel Whittemore Boggs and Dorothy Cornwell Lewis advocated that geographic resources should be arranged by area first in order to meet the needs of geographers, who were the primary users of such resources. Boggs proposed at the American Geographical Society a new combined subject heading and classification system which he believed to be simpler than the Library of Congress system.

Boggs and Lewis devised their own list of subject headings. Some of the subjects are taken or adapted from Library of Congress's 4th edition of subject headings. Others were created specifically for the Boggs and Lewis system, in situations where the Library of Congress system was found to be inadequate to describe the subject of the cartographic material. The Boggs & Lewis subject headings were completed in 1945 and have never been officially revised. This lack of currency is one of the weaknesses of the system. Those libraries that continue to use Boggs & Lewis must update the subject headings themselves.

With Boggs & Lewis, the subject headings closely parallel the classification system. For a map with one or more subjects, the geographic area is indicated, then the main subject followed by the date. If there is no discernable subject, simply listing the geographic area and the date is acceptable.

An example provided by Boggs & Lewis is:
California--Roads--1931 (Boggs, 1945, 65).

The one exception to the precedence of geographic area is if the subject is in the Boggs & Lewis list of subject headings as an entry, not a subdivision. In such a case, two headings should be listed, the first with the geographic area first, and the second with the subject first. For example:

Japan--Volcanoes--1929.
Volcanoes--Japan--1929.


"Subject Headings" Bibliography

Boggs, Samuel W., and Dorothy Cornwell Lewis. The Classification and Cataloging of Maps and Atlases. New York: Special Libraries Association, 1945.

Library of Congress. "MARC 21 Concise Format for Bibliographic Data". In MARC Standards. 2004. Accessed March 15, 2005. <http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/ecbdhome.html>.

Library of Congress. "Understanding MARC Bibliographic". In MARC Standards. December 2003. Accessed March 15, 2005. <http://www.loc.gov/marc/umb/um07to10.html>.

 

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