PCC Resources for
Topical Heading Proposal Checklist
Created: 29 September 2023
Latest update: 8 March 2024
This checklist aligns with the Topical Heading Proposal form in Classification Web Plus and was created to account for the common issues in subject proposals. It does not account for all considerations for all types of subject proposals, and it may include considerations not relevant to all proposals. Generally, consult the Subject Headings Manual (SHM) when preparing a proposal, but especially for headings that have special guidance in the SHM.
If you are proposing at least 20 headings on a similar theme, or if your proposal changes a base heading that will result in changes to more than 10 headings, you have a project. Contact PTCP for assistance by emailing [email protected].
Please examine your proposal against this checklist before submitting your proposal for review. If you have questions, please consult the SHM first; if you still have questions, please send them to [email protected].
Note: Be careful when copying and pasting into Classification Web Plus. Always change curly quotation marks (or smart quotes) to straight quotes. Use the dollar sign ($) as a subfield delimiter instead of the double dagger (‡).
| MARC field | Include/Check for | SHM sheet |
|---|---|---|
| 008/06 | Always select a radio button for geographic subdivision. The system defaults to May Subd Geog, which may not be appropriate for your proposal:
|
H364 |
| 053 | Determine whether a class number is needed for your proposal. This is not always required. | H365 |
| 1XX | When proposing a new heading, first determine whether the entity belongs in the subject file or the name file. Next, consider:
|
H202 H362 H405 |
| 4XX (UF) | Used for references provide access to equivalent terms, variant spellings, etc.
|
H202 H373 |
| 5XX (BT) | Most, but not all, proposals require at least one broader term:
|
H370 |
| 5XX (RT) | Related terms are not common. Consult H370 first before adding an RT. When appropriate, RTs are listed after BTs and are alphabetized separately from BTs. | H370 |
| First 670 | It is important to cite sources relevant to your proposal as specified in instruction sheets:
|
H200 H202 H203 |
| All 670s | Use good judgment in providing citations. Your 670s should not be an exhaustive bibliography of all source considered. Rather, supply enough to justify/define/show usage of the 1XX, UFs, BTs, and RTs. | H200 H202 H203 |
| 675 | If information to support the heading is not found in sources required by instruction sheets, record that fact here. | H203 |
| 952 (Bib. records to be changed) | Note the number of bibliographic records in LC's catalog that will need to be updated as a result of the new proposal. SACO members are encouraged to supply this number, but it is not required. | H200 |
| 952 (LC pattern) | Existing LC headings that are relevant and analogous to your proposal can be useful in the creation and review of proposals. If you include a 952 for a pattern heading, be sure to compare its content/structure against your proposal (check the 008/06, 5XXs, etc.) to verify consistency to the extent that it is useful to your proposal. This is not required if no pattern can be cited. | H200 H202 |
| 952 (Cataloger's comments) | Use this space to alert PTCP to any comments or complexities you would like to share about the proposal. This is not required. | H200 |
| Include your email address to receive notifications when the proposal has been scheduled and reviewed. This is not required, but it is the only way to receive notifications. |
