EPC Exhibit 129-14
February 13, 2008
THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Decimal Classification Division
To:
Caroline Kent, Chair
Decimal Classification Editorial Policy Committee
Cc:
Members of the Decimal Classification Editorial Policy Committee
Jeffrey Heynen, Acting Chief, Decimal Classification Division
From:
Rebecca Green, Assistant Editor
Dewey Decimal Classification
OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc.
Via:
Joan S. Mitchell, Editor in Chief
Dewey Decimal Classification
OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc.
Re:
025.4 Subject analysis and control
Relocations
From
025.4028
025.48
025.482
025.484
025.49
To
025.41
025.47
025.47
025.47
025.47
Expansions
From
To
025.4
025.48
025.46
025.47
025.46001–025.46999
025.472–025.479
025.48
025.487
Discontinuations
From
To
025.393
025.39
025.396
025.39
Topic
Abstracting
Subject indexing
Precoordinate indexing
Coordinate and postcoordinate indexing
General controlled subject vocabularies (subject
authority files, subject headings, thesauri)
Topic
Subject cataloging and indexing based on natural
language
Classification of specific disciplines and subject
General subject cataloging and indexing schemes in
specific languages
Social tagging
Topic
Recataloging
Reclassification
Exhibit EPC 128-13 addressed 010-090 Information & general works. Major changes approved in
connection with that exhibit included the following:
 General catalogs in 017-019 were merged into a single development at 017.
 011-017 were modified to apply equally to bibliographies and catalogs throughout.
 Archival vocabulary was added to relevant entries under 025 to make their intent clearer.
 Provision was made under 025.04 Information storage and retrieval systems for World
Wide Web; Internet and World Wide Web were separated; interdisciplinary works on
World Wide Web were relocated from 004.678 Internet to 025.042.
This exhibit reexamines several areas of concern from 025.4 Subject analysis and control that were
not resolved during Meeting 128:
 the treatment of abstracting, both on its own and in relationship to its common co-treatment
with indexing,
 subject indexing and its relationship to subject cataloging,
 provision for specific subject cataloging schemes, in parallel with general classification
schemes, and
 provision for subject cataloging and indexing based on natural language.
Two further issues arose in reviewing the current development:
 the treatment of using classification in searching and navigating information storage and
retrieval systems (given the surge in use of faceted classification for this purpose), and
 lack of literary warrant for recataloging and reclassification.
The underlining and strikethroughs in this exhibit reflect only those changes proposed in this
exhibit; changes approved previously, but not yet in the production database, are not marked.
Abstracting
The vast majority (at least 51 of 63) of the WorldCat records classed in 025.4028 Abstracting
techniques; auxiliary techniques and procedures; apparatus, equipment, materials are about
abstracting; over half (30 of 51) of them also concern indexing. (History note: Until the 19th
edition, abstracting was at 029.4, under 029 Documentation. Some amount of the [older]
abstracting [and indexing] literature is there.) There are another 101 WorldCat records classed at
025.48 Subject indexing, 28 of which are not about indexing alone, but about indexing and
abstracting, subjects that are often written about together. At the same time, the recent literature
on abstracting includes an emphasis on automatic abstracting/text summarization. The current
situation calls for change for at least three reasons:
 Abstracting is a core technique of subject analysis and control and is an uneasy neighbor
with “auxiliary techniques and procedures.”
 Comprehensive works on abstracting and indexing should be explicitly provided for, since
they are currently scattered.
 Classifiers should be given direction on how to handle automatic abstracting/text
summarization.
We recommend taking the following actions:
 Relocate abstracting techniques from 025.4028 to (a newly expanded) 025.41. The only
other numbers available for expansion under 025.4 are 025.44 and 025.45, sandwiched
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

between general classification schemes at 025.43 and discipline/subject-specific
classification schemes at 025.46, which are in essence reserved by their neighbors for
something classification-oriented. It makes sense to put abstracting first, since it originally
served only the role of subject description and thus has affinities with 025.324
Bibliographic description. In the past several decades abstracting has increasingly also
served a subject access role, in line with other topics under 025.4.
Make 025.41 the comprehensive number for works on abstracting and indexing—not
strictly necessary, since it accords with the first-of-two rule, but these works are now
scattered, so a clear indication of where they should go would probably be beneficial.
Add an entry for computer applications for abstracting at 025.410285, with automatic
abstracting and text summarization in a class-here note. (Depending on the outcome of the
discussion surrounding computational linguistics initiated in EPC Exhibit 129-21, this
number could change.)
Subject cataloging
We are at a loss to provide a clear and meaningful distinction between 025.47 Subject cataloging
and 025.48 Subject indexing. The number 025.47 tends to be used when the LCSH Subject
cataloging is assigned as the first subject heading, which tends, in turn, to reflect the topic of the
assignment of subject headings. It appears that in the past the intent was to assign 025.47 to
represent subject indexing of entire book-length documents, but to assign 025.48 to represent the
subject indexing of article-length documents. In concert with a paper by Marcia Bates, entitled
“Rethinking Subject Cataloging in the Online Environment” (Library Resources & Technical
Services 33 (October 1989): 400-412), this is not a distinction we wish to maintain:
A note on terminology: Throughout this article, the terms “indexing” and “subject
cataloging” are used interchangeably. Similarly, “thesaurus” is used to refer both to Library
of Congress Subject Headings (ordinarily called a subject heading list), as well as to other
term lists more conventionally referred to as thesauri. The distinctions between subject
cataloging and indexing as processes, and between subject heading lists and thesauri are
important more for historical reasons than present practice. Though differences may still be
discerned, so many changes in thinking about these are necessitated by the new
circumstances associated with the online environment, that traditional distinctions are largely
meaningless anyway.
We recommend taking the following actions:
 Merge subject cataloging and subject indexing by relocating comprehensive works on
subject indexing from 025.48 to 025.47 and changing the caption of 025.47 to Subject
cataloging and indexing (temporarily Subject indexing and cataloging because of the
editorial rule calling for relocated topics to come first in headings and notes).
 Relocate 025.482 Precoordinate indexing to 025.47. There are only 33 WorldCat records
assigned this number, most of which are related to various string indexing systems (e.g.,
PRECIS, NEPHIS, POPSI). Additional assignment to this class would be unlikely.
 Relocate 025.484 Coordinate and postcoordinate indexing to 025.47. Only 3 records have
been assigned this number.
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Subject cataloging schemes
In response to a request from EPC member Welna van Eeden, we recommend providing for
general subject cataloging schemes as follows:
 Expand at 025.47 Subject cataloging for specific general subject cataloging and indexing
schemes, conceptually in parallel with the development for general classification schemes
at 025.43. Since such schemes (e.g., LCSH, RVM [Répertoire de vedettes-matière], SWD
[Schlagwortnormdatei], Soggetario per i cataloghi delle biblioteche italiane) are usually
language-specific, the development is best handled through the addition of Table 6
notation. At present there does not appear to be significant literary warrant for subject
cataloging schemes other than LCSH in WorldCat, but they are likely to exist in other
catalogs and/or to come into WorldCat through batch load.
 Provide for bilingual/multilingual schemes by giving an instruction to add notation for the
language coming last.
Subject cataloging and indexing based on natural language
At present, 025.486 Title manipulation is the only class for subject indexing that is not based on a
controlled vocabulary. Clearly many subject searches are conducted that neither use controlled
vocabulary nor rely on title manipulation. We recommend providing for such subject access by
taking the following actions:
 Recast 025.48 as Subject cataloging and indexing based on natural language.
 Change the caption at 025.486 from Title manipulation to Keyword indexing.
 Delete catchword indexing from the including note at 025.486 (a WorldCat search on kw:
catchword and dd:025.486* retrieves no records).
 Develop a class for social tagging at 025.487. Literary warrant in WorldCat has not yet
reached the 20-record threshold, but this threshold will probably be reached and exceeded
within the next year or two.
Peripheral actions
The past few years have seen a steadily increasing use of facets, traditionally an aspect of
classification and indexing, in navigating/browsing/searching information storage and retrieval
systems. A class-elsewhere note from 025.42, where faceted classification is classed, will direct
the classifier to 025.04 (where the class-here note, “Class here search and retrieval in information
storage and retrieval systems . . .” already covers the situation on the in-bound side).
At present the scheme has separate subdivisions for recataloging and reclassification, for which
there is little literary warrant (there are only 3 WorldCat records at 025.393 and 025.396 combined
and only 10 records in 025.39*). These classes are best discontinued to their superordinate class.
Minor changes in spelling, word order, etc., have been made for the sake of consistency.
We will add a Relative Index term for descriptive metadata to 025.3.
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Proposed schedule
025.39
*Recataloging, reclassification, re-indexing reindexing
Standard subdivisions are added for any or all topics in heading
Class recataloging, reclassification, re-indexing reindexing of special materials in
025.34
025[.393]
Recataloging
Including descriptive and subject
Number discontinued; class in 025.39
See also 025.396 for reclassification
025[.396]
Reclassification
Number discontinued; class in 025.39
025.4 Subject analysis and control
Class here standards for subject analysis and control
...
025.402 8
Abstracting techniques; Auxiliary techniques and procedures; apparatus,
equipment, materials
Class composition of abstracts in 808.062
Abstracting relocated to 025.41
025.41
*Abstracting [formerly 025.4028]
Class here comprehensive works on abstracting and subject indexing
Class composition of abstracts in 808.062
For subject indexing, see 025.47
025.410 285
Computer applications
Class here automatic abstracting, automatic text summarization
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025.42
*Classification and shelflisting
Standard subdivisions are added for classification and shelflisting together, for
classification alone
Class use of classification for search and navigation in information storage and
retrieval systems in 025.04; class classification of special materials in 025.34; class
cooperative classification in 025.35; class reclassification in 025.396
For general classification systems, see 025.43; for classification of specific
disciplines and subjects, see 025.46
...
025.43
*General classification systems
Class parts of general classification schemes applied to a specific subject or
discipline or subject with the subject or discipline or subject in 025.46, e.g., Library
of Congress Class L Education 025.4637
...
025.46
Classification of specific disciplines and subjects
Add to base number 025.46 notation 001—999, e.g., classification of education
025.4637
025[.460 001-.460 009]
Standard subdivisions
Do not use; class in 025.4201–025.4209
025.460 01-.469 99
*Specific disciplines and subjects
Add to base number 025.46 notation 001–999, e.g., classification of
education 025.4637
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025.47
*Subject indexing [formerly 025.48] and cataloging
Standard subdivisions are added for either or both topics in heading
Class here comprehensive works on subject indexing [formerly 025.48];
precoordinate indexing [formerly 025.482], coordinate and postcoordinate indexing
[both formerly 025.484]; general controlled subject vocabularies (subject authority
files, subject headings, thesauri) [all formerly 025.49]; comprehensive works on
subject indexing and cataloging using natural language and controlled vocabulary
Class subject cataloging and indexing of special materials in 025.34; class
cooperative subject cataloging and indexing in 025.35; class recataloging and
reindexing in 025.393. Class parts of general controlled subject vocabularies
(subject authority files, subject headings, thesauri) applied to a specific discipline or
subject with the discipline or subject in 025.49, e.g., Library of Congress Subject
Headings for law 025.4934
For classification, see 025.42; for subject cataloging and indexing based on
natural language, see 025.48; for subject cataloging and indexing of specific
disciplines and subjects controlled subject vocabularies, see 025.49
025.472–.479 *General subject cataloging and indexing schemes in specific languages
Add to base number 025.47 notation —2–9 from Table 6, e.g., list of Italian
subject headings 025.4751
A bilingual or multilingual scheme is classed with the language coming last in
Table 6, e.g., a general thesaurus in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic,
and Chinese 025.47951
025.48
*Subject cataloging and indexing based on natural language
Including citation indexing
Comprehensive works on subject indexing relocated to 025.47
Class indexing of special materials in 025.34; class cooperative indexing in 025.35;
class re-indexing in 025.39 comprehensive works on natural language and
controlled vocabulary subject indexing and cataloging in 025.47
For controlled subject vocabularies subject cataloging and indexing of specific
disciplines and subjects, see 025.49
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025[.482]
*Precoordinate indexing
Including chain indexing, relative indexing
Relocated to 025.47
See also 025.42 for precoordinate classification; also 025.47 for
precoordinate subject cataloging
025[.484]
*Coordinate and postcoordinate indexing
Standard subdivisions are added for either or both topics in heading
Relocated to 025.47
025.486
* Title manipulation Keyword indexing
Including catchword, KWIC (Key Word in Context, KWOC (Key Word Out of
Context) indexing
025.487
*Social tagging
Variant names: collaborative tagging, collaborative indexing, folksonomy,
social classification, social indexing
025.49
Subject cataloging and indexing of specific disciplines and subjects Controlled
subject vocabularies
Class here subject authority files, subject headings, thesauri
General controlled subject vocabularies (subject authority files, subject headings,
thesauri) relocated to 025.47
Class general subject cataloging and indexing using controlled vocabulary in
025.47; class general subject cataloging and indexing based on natural language in
025.48
025[.490 001-490 009]
*Standard subdivisions
Do not use; class in 025.4701–025.4709
025.490 01-.499 99
Vocabularies of specific Specific disciplines and subjects
Add to base number 025.49 notation 001–999, e.g., subject headings in
science 025.495
*Do not use notation 0218 from Table 1; class in base number
8