Subject

Repeatable

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A term or phrase representing the primary topic(s) on which a work is focused

Table of Contents

  1. Purpose
  2. Guidelines
  3. Subelements
    1. Topic
    2. Geographic
    3. Name
    4. Title
    5. Occupation
    6. Temporal
  4. Attributes
    1. Type
    2. Authority
    3. Value URI
  5. See Also

Purpose

  • To allow users to filter and explore resources by topic, place, time period, name subject, and work subject

Guidelines

  • Generally, Subject elements will be imported (from catalog records, finding aids, or TMS records) or added by Metadata Services Unit (MSU) staff
  • Determine the appropriate method to add a subject based on whether you wish to add a new, distinct subject or a subdivision
    • To add a new, distinct subject as its own element, click + Subject 
    • To add a subdivision to create a complex subject heading, click the relevant type link to the right of Add within an existing Subject element
  • When adding a new Subject element, start by searching within the available controlled vocabularies using the MMS authorities module
    • Select the appropriate subject type (Topical, Geographic, Temporal, Name, Title, or Occupation) for each subject you enter
    • Click Select from controlled terms to bring up the authorities module
    • Look up the subject you wish to add in the search box
      • The selected subject type will determine which Authority is searched, and consequently which terms are available
      • Reference relevant guidelines for the record’s division and material to determine whether there is any relevant preference for terms from a particular Authority
    • To verify a result is appropriate, click the linked Authorized Term to view the corresponding record in the source Authority
      • Review the selected record to ensure the subject you are adding can be used as you intend, i.e. do not add subdivision as a main subject
    • Once you have confirmed the correct result, click the Use this term button in the Action column
    • Selecting a subject from the MMS authorities module automatically populates the Type (where applicable), Authority and Value URI attributes
  • If you are not receiving the result you expect by searching the MMS authorities module, try searching the Library of Congress Linked Data Service
  • If you are unable to find a subject using the Authority data search, you may add it as free text
    • If the authority exists in a particular vocabulary but it is not appearing for selection from the MMS authorities module, input the label, Authority, and Value URI from LCSH or LCNAF manually
    • If you are uncertain of the subject type, either:
      • Review the Instance Of section of the subject authority
      • Open the MARC/XML (linked under Alternate Formats), and compare the number to tag of the authorized form to the numbers on the MARC 21 Format for Authority Data

Subelements

Topic

Repeatable

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Used as the tag for any topical subjects that are not appropriate in the <geographic>, <temporal>, <titleInfo>, <name>, <genre>, <hierarchicalGeographic>, or <occupation> subelements, or where the type is unknown

Guidelines

  • Use the Topic subelement of Subject when the content of a resource is not described by one of the other categories of subelements
  • Searching the authorities module within a Topical subelement will return Authorized Terms from the following vocabularies, listed here in order of preference: 
  • Do not select an Authorized Term from Virtual International Authority File (VIAF)
  • See MARC 650 and resources listed under See Also for information on when and how to use Topical subject headings and subdivisions, including when it is appropriate to enter a term that does not appear in one of the vocabularies

Geographic

Repeatable

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Used for simple geographic subject terms

Guidelines

  • Use the Geographic subelement of Subject when the content of the resource is about a place
    • Geographic subjects are commonly used as subdivisions of Topic subjects
  • Searching the authorities module within a Geographic subelement will return Authorized Terms from the following vocabularies, listed here in order of preference: 
  • Do not select an Authorized Term from Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names (TGN)
  • See MARC 651 and resources listed under See Also for information on when and how to use Geographic subject headings and subdivisions, including when it is appropriate to enter a term that does not appear in one of the vocabularies

Name

Repeatable

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A name used as a subject

Guidelines

  • Use the Name subelement of Subject when the content of the resource is about a person, organization, or event
    • Use the top-level Name element when adding people, organizations, families, or events associated with the creation or production of the resource or part of the resource
    • For personal names, use indirect order (e.g. “last name, first name”)
  • Searching the authorities module within a Name subelement will return Authorized Terms from the following vocabularies, listed here in order of preference:
  • See MARC 600, MARC 610, MARC 611 and resources listed under See Also for information on when and how to use Name subject headings and subdivisions, including when it is appropriate to enter a term that does not appear in one of the vocabularies

Title

Repeatable

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A title used as a subject

Guidelines

  • Use the Title subelement of Subject when the content of the resource is about a titled work
  • Searching the authorities module within a Title subelement will return Authorized Terms from the following vocabularies, listed here in order of preference:
  • See Preferred Titles–General Information and resources listed under See Also for information on when and how to use Title subject headings and subdivisions, including when it is appropriate to enter a term that does not appear in one of the vocabularies

Occupation

Repeatable

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An occupation described by the resource

Guidelines

Temporal

Repeatable

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Used for chronological subject terms or temporal coverage

Guidelines

  • Use the Temporal subelement of Subject when the content of the resource is about a time period, date, or event
    • Temporal subjects are often added as subdivisions of Topic or Geographic subjects
  • See resources listed under See Also for information on when and how to use Temporal subject headings and subdivisions, including when it is appropriate to enter a term that does not appear in one of the vocabularies

Attributes

Type

Required if Applicable

The type of nameView MODS Documentation for Name › Type →

OR

Identifies what type of title is recordedView MODS Documentation for Title › Type →

Guidelines

  • Appears only for Name and Title subjects
    • See Name › Type documentation for more information on name types
  • Select the appropriate Type

Authority

Required if Free Text and Applicable

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The name of an authoritative list of terms for an element whose values are controlled

Guidelines

  • Adding a Subject using the authorities module automatically populates Authority
  • If you are inputting a subject subelement from LCNAF, LCSH, LCGFT, TGM, AAT or VIAF as free text, select the appropriate Authority from the dropdown

Value URI

Required if Free Text and Applicable

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When the authoritative list is a linked data vocabulary, @valueURI can point directly to the term

Guidelines

  • Adding a Subject using the authorities module automatically populates Value URI
  • If you are inputting a name from LCNAF or VIAF as free text, manually add the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) to the Value URI field
  • For AAT, click Semantic View at the top of the record, and the URI is the value listed as the Source just below the AAT term, e.g. http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300025427

See Also