On Teaching Subject Cataloging

Abstract

SUMMARY The authors, Professor Arlene G. Taylor and her doctoral student, Daniel N. Joudrey, discuss their approach to teaching subject cataloging in the graduate library and information sciences (LIS) program at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Information Sciences. This essay discusses the authors' thoughts on the importance of subject cataloging in graduate LIS education, the theory versus practice debate, goals, class work, grading, making it concrete to the students, ordering topics in the courses, separating subject analysis from descriptive cataloging, and concerns for the future. In the not too distant past, library schools considered the teaching of Dewey Decimal Classification and Library of Congress Subject Headings to be totally adequate preparation for graduates to function subject-wise in their chosen profession. As time has moved on we have gone through periods in which even these were considered unnecessary “because keyword searching is better than subject headings” and “classification is only a location device.” The complexities of the current world of subject access (or lack thereof), however, demand that a more complex and thorough approach be taken.