Because there is a need for precision in searching (see Information Retrieval), coordinating the use of subject headings throughout our collections has become an important part of our coordinated access project.

Within the G. W. Blunt White Library alone, a number of different catalogs have existed independently of one another, with differing sets of headings. In addition to the library catalogs, other divisions also have developed headings over time.With the advent of computer catalogs and cross-collection searching, the need to coordinate those disparate headings has become very clear.

Since 1995, members of the library staff along with staff from other collections areas, have been meeting to work through the thousands of headings to come to agreement with ourselves, and when possible, with larger authorities, such as the Library of Congress. This project is closely associated with the Art and Architecture Thesaurus project, as the AAT can often provide us with the terms needed to construct local headings when sources such as LCSH (Library of Congress Subject Headings) does not have adequate coverage.

The database that we are constructing constitutes a fairly complete group of headings for maritime collections, and may consequently be of use to others.

View a list of subject headings (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

last updated on 06/21/02