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A controlled vocabulary is an organized set of terms (words and phrases) meant to facilitate description and retrieval of items in a collection. These terms can be in alphabetical or hierarchical order, and are often developed to describe a certain type of collection, such as the [http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabularies/aat/ Art & Architecture Thesaurus] or the [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/422762551 Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging] (although that does not mean that they can ''only'' be used for that type of collection). Controlled vocabularies can be used to describe the subject of an item, the form or genre of an item, or even provide information about its provenance.
A controlled vocabulary is an organized set of terms (words, phrases, and names) meant to facilitate description and retrieval of items in a collection. These terms can be in alphabetical or hierarchical order, and are often developed to describe a certain type of collection, such as the [http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabularies/aat/ Art & Architecture Thesaurus] or the [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/422762551 Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging] (although that does not mean that they can ''only'' be used for that type of collection), or a certain type of entity, such as the [http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabularies/ulan/index.html Union List of Artists' Names] (ULAN). For information about different types of controlled vocabularies and how to construct them, see the Getty Research Institute's [http://www.getty.edu/research/publications/electronic_publications/intro_controlled_vocab/ ''Introduction to Controlled Vocabularies'']''.''


== Controlled vocabularies==
==Controlled vocabularies in the catalog==
Controlled vocabularies can be organized in several ways. Two of the most common forms are subject heading lists and thesauri.
Folger catalogers use the following controlled vocabularies to:
::* categorize the subject of an item (what it is ''about'')
::* describe its physical and intellectual [[Genre and form|genre and form]] (what it ''is'' , or what is an example ''of'')
::* name a person, organization, or place consistently, regardless of how the name is spelled in the resource
::* describe a relationship with other items or entities using [[Relationship designators|relationship designators]]


===Subject headings===
=== Library of Congress Name Authority File (NAF) ===
Subject headings are words used for describing the subject of an item, in order to retrieve groups of items on a particular topic (i.e. books about Shakespeare, or art depicting Romeo and Juliet). Subject heading lists are usually arranged alphabetically rather than thematically or hierarchically; they provide the preferred terms for topics along with cross-references to alternative terms. The [http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects.html Library of Congress Subject Headings] are probably the best-known example of this kind of vocabulary.
The [http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names.html Library of Congress Name Authority File] (officially the "NACO Authority File") provides standardized names and cross references for people, organizations, places, events, and titles. For example, "Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616" is the authorized form of Shakespeare's name. For works ''by'' Shakespeare or adapted from Shakespeare, it appears in the "Name" field. For works ''about'' Shakespeare, it appears in the "Subject" field.


===Thesauri===
===Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)===
A thesaurus, in contrast, organizes its terms hierarchically, since its main emphasis is on the relationships between terms. Like a subject heading list, it provides preferred terms and cross-references, but also includes relationship indicators with each term. For instance, the Art & Architecture Thesaurus indicates that [http://www.getty.edu/vow/AATFullDisplay?find=books&logic=AND&note=&subjectid=300026497 '''Bibliographies'''] are a form of the concept '''Lists''' (which are in turn a '''Document Genre'''). A thesaurus represents a semantic network, not just a flat list of terms.
The Library of Congress Subject Headings is a general list, first developed by the Library of Congress in 1898, and actively maintained and updated since then. At the Folger, it is used to specify topics of both open stacks and vault materials.
::<pre> 600 10 Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 ‡x Homes and haunts ‡v Pictorial works </pre>
::<pre> 650  0 Political corruption ‡z England ‡v Early works to 1800 </pre>
(In the two examples above, notice that there is a subfield ‡v present, indicating a [[Genre and form|genre/form term]]. Genre subdivisions are gradually being phased out of practice as the Library of Congress develops more specialized vocabularies, such as [[Genre and form#LCGFT|LCGFT]], and library catalogs implement faceted browsing, but for now many are still actively used.)


Taxonomies, [[Authority control|authority files]], and classification schemes are all examples of controlled vocabularies as well. If you'd like to read about controlled vocabularies in more detail, the Getty Institute has produced a comprehensive and freely-available [http://www.getty.edu/research/publications/electronic_publications/intro_controlled_vocab/ ''Introduction to Controlled Vocabularies''].
The LCSH is a broad, generalized vocabulary, and it can describe a variety of materials, but like [[wikipedia:Library of Congress Classification|Library of Congress Classification]], LCSH was created to fit the Library of Congress's holdings, and not to encompass all areas of knowledge or topics. It is a subject list, and although the terms found therein ''may'' be used for form and genre, it's a clumsy fit. Folger catalogers turn to a selection of smaller, specialized vocabularies for genre and form: the [http://rbms.info/vocabularies/ RBMS controlled vocabularies], the [http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabularies/aat/ Art & Architecture Thesaurus], and occasionally the [http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/tgm/ Thesaurus for Graphic Materials] (as well as a small handful of local terms).  


==Controlled vocabularies at the Folger==
===Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) Controlled Vocabularies===
Folger catalogers use several controlled vocabularies (both subject heading lists and thesauri) to fit the needs of different materials. These controlled vocabularies are used in several ways:
The [http://rbms.info/ Rare Book and Manuscripts Section] (part of the [http://www.ala.org/ American Library Association]) maintains six controlled vocabularies relating to the physical evidence, provenance, and genre of rare materials. [http://rbms.info/vocabularies/index.shtml RBMS terms] are used extensively by the Folger as [[Genre and form|genre and form terms]] to describe our Vault collections, and some of our open stacks items as well (such as to note the presence of an author's inscription); they are also used to [[List of binding terms in the Bindings Image Collection|describe items in the Folger Bindings Image Collection]]. The RBMS vocabularies account for seven abbreviations on the list of [http://www.loc.gov/standards/sourcelist/genre-form.html source codes for genre & form terms] (printing and publishing terms get distinct abbreviations, despite being released as a single thesaurus).
:: to categorize the subject of an item
::<pre>Composition errors (Printing) ‡2 rbpri </pre>
:: to describe its physical characteristics
::<pre>Printed waste (Binding) ‡2 rbbin ‡5 DFo </pre>
:: to elaborate on its provenance, [[Genre and form|genre, and form]]
::<pre>Volvelles. ‡2 aat </pre>
:: to detail its relationship with other items or entities using [[Relationship designators|relationship designators]]


Controlled vocabularies may appear in MARC fields 600, 610, 630, 650, 651, and 655. When they are from any vocabulary other than LCSH, the source vocabulary is indicated in a subfield ‡2 following the term (see the [http://www.loc.gov/standards/sourcelist/subject.html Subject heading term source code list] and the [http://www.loc.gov/standards/sourcelist/genre-form.html Genre/form term source code list] for more information). The Folger generally uses non-LCSH terms as [[Genre and form|genre/form headings]] only; they can be found in the [[MARC 655 Index Term - Genre/Form|655 field]].  
===Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT)===
The [http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabularies/aat/ Art & Architecture Thesaurus] is a true hierarchical thesaurus. (By contrast, LCSH is not, despite its designation of broader and narrower terms.) Maintained by the Getty Research Institute, AAT is much broader than its name implies. Its coverage of art topics is useful at the Folger, but AAT is also designed to describe topics ''depicted'' in art. AAT is the Folger's thesaurus of choice for genre access in both bibliographic records and [[authority control]], supplemented by RBMS, LCSH, and LCGFT terms as necessary.  In terms related to the book trade, especially, AAT is more granular and expressive than LCSH.


===LCSH===
===Thesaurus for Graphic Materials (TGM)===
The Library of Congress Subject Headings thesaurus is a general thesaurus, first developed by the Library of Congress in 1898, and actively maintained and updated since then. At the Folger, it is used to specify subjects for both open stacks and Vault materials.
The Thesaurus for Graphic Materials was initially created by the Library of Congress to provide subject indexing for pictorial works, and was designed with automated systems, such as [[MARC|machine-readable cataloging]] in mind. At its creation in 1995, it consisted of two vocabularies: subject terms (TGM I) and genre and physical characteristic terms (TGM II). In October 2007, TGM I and TGM II were merged into a single thesaurus; however, due to their differing uses, they are still designated by two different sources codes in the MARC subfield ‡2. TGM I subject terms usually appear in the 650 field and are designated by ‡2 lctgm, while TGM II genre terms appear almost exclusively in the [[MARC 655 Index Term - Genre/Form|655 field]] and are designated by ‡2 gmgpc.
::<pre> 600 10 Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 ‡x Homes and haunts ‡v Pictorial works </pre>
::<pre> 650  0 Political corruption ‡z England ‡v Early works to 1800 </pre>
In the two examples above, notice that there is a subfield ‡v present. LCSH is unusual in that it does not include only subject terms, but also genre terms and chronological and geographical divisions. The subfield ‡v indicates a genre/form term: "Pictorial works" indicates that images are a central part of an item, and "Early works to 1800" indicates that the item is a work printed or issued before 1800. Even though the items are not necessarily about pictures or early modern printing, they are examples of those things. Genre subdivisions are gradually being phased out of practice as the Library of Congress develops more specialized vocabularies and library catalogs implement faceted browsing, but for now many are still actively used.  


The LCSH is a broad, generalized vocabulary, and it can describe a variety of materials. However, it can be difficult to describe certain items fully using only LCSH, especially in the case of the Folger's specialized early modern collections. To this end, Folger catalogers turn to a selection of smaller but more specialized vocabularies: the [http://rbms.info/vocabularies/ RBMS controlled vocabularies], the [http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabularies/aat/ Art & Architecture Thesaurus], and occasionally the [http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/tgm/ Thesaurus for Graphic Materials] (as well as a small handful of local terms).
One of TGM's strengths is its emphasis on providing subject access for both the "of" and the "about" of graphic materials - not just the subjects that are directly depicted, but also the broader meanings or symbolism that those subjects may suggest. TGM does not always have the granularity and deep hierarchical structure of AAT; however, it is a living vocabulary, and is regularly updated.  


Like [[wikipedia:Library of Congress Classification|Library of Congress Classification]], LCSH was created to fit the Library of Congress's holdings, and not to encompass all areas of knowledge or topics. This is another reason LCSH terms are often not ideal for Folger holdings.
Folger practice: when cataloging art, use TGM I for subject access (designated with ‡2 lctgm), and TGM II for form/genre access (designated with ‡2 gmgpc).


===RBMS===
===Local terms===
The [http://rbms.info/ Rare Book and Manuscripts Section] (part of the [http://www.ala.org/ American Library Association]) maintains six controlled vocabularies relating to the physical evidence, providence, and genre of rare materials. [http://rbms.info/vocabularies/index.shtml RBMS terms] are used extensively by the Folger as [[Genre and form|genre and form terms]] to describe our Vault collections, and some of our open stacks items as well (such as to note the presence of an author's inscription); they are also used to [[List of binding terms in the Bindings Image Collection|describe items in the Folger Bindings Image Collection]]. Terms from the Genre vocabulary are added to records as-is, but terms from the other RBMS vocabularies include the vocabulary name in following parentheses: i.e., "Prayer books" vs. "Prize books (Provenance)." The RBMS vocabularies account for seven abbreviations on the list of [http://www.loc.gov/standards/sourcelist/genre-form.html source codes for genre & form terms] (printing and publishing terms get distinct abbreviations, despite being combined into a single thesaurus).
Occasionally, the vocabularies above will not include the most precise term to describe an item, or Folger conventions may describe an item a particular way that does match a controlled vocabulary. For these cases, the Folger maintains a small group of local terms, identified by ‡2 local. While a group of local terms is technically considered a controlled vocabulary (it is a flat list of subject headings and/or genre terms, though it is not hierarchical), the Folger's local terms are not updated systematically, and are used or added to very rarely - only when there is no other option available for to describe a collection item.
::<pre>Composition errors (Printing). ‡2 rbpri </pre>
::<pre>Printed waste (Binding). ‡2 rbbin </pre>
::<pre>Volvelles. ‡2 rbgenr </pre>


===AAT===
Local terms used by the Folger:
The [http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabularies/aat/ Art & Architecture Thesaurus] is a true hierarchical thesaurus. By contrast, LCSH is not, though it does include broader and narrower terms. Maintained by the Getty Research Institute, AAT is broader than its name implies. Its coverage of art topics is useful at the Folger, but AAT is also designed to describe topics ''depicted'' in art. The Folger commonly uses AAT in [[authority control]]. In terms related to the book trade, especially, AAT is more granular and expressive than LCSH.
: Manuscripts from print
: Players' parts
: Prologues and epilogues
: Prophecies


===ITOAMC===
== Other controlled vocabularies ==
[[Index terms for occupations in archival and manuscript collections (ITOAMC)]] is a controlled vocabulary maintained as an Excel spreadsheet by Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress for use in authority and bibliographic records. It does not seem to be available on the Library of Congress web site, so the listing on Folgerpedia may be the easiest way to access the controlled vocabulary.


ITOAMC, as its name implies, focuses on occupations (e.g., Archivists, Pianists) and other designations for persons (e.g., Civil libertarians, Quakers). At the Folger, it is used almost exclusively in [[authority control]]. But like LCSH, ITOAMC has American bias by design. It has terms, like "American loyalists" and "Chaplains, U.S. Senate", that would rarely come up here—and none particular to, say, the English Civil War. Thus, ITOAMC is often a third choice for Folger catalogers, after AAT and LCSH.
=== Index terms for occupations in archival and manuscript collections (ITOAMC) ===
[[Index terms for occupations in archival and manuscript collections (ITOAMC)]] is a controlled vocabulary maintained as an Excel spreadsheet by [https://www.loc.gov/rr/mss/ Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress] for use in authority and bibliographic records. It does not seem to be available on the Library of Congress web site, so the listing on Folgerpedia may be the easiest way to access the controlled vocabulary.


===TGM===
ITOAMC, as its name implies, focuses on occupations (e.g., Archivists, Pianists) and other designations for persons (e.g., Civil libertarians, Quakers). At the Folger, it is used almost exclusively in [[authority control]]. However, like LCSH, ITOAMC has an American bias by design. It has terms, such as "American loyalists" and "Chaplains, U.S. Senate", that would rarely come up at the Folger - and none particular to, say, the English Civil War. Thus, ITOAMC is often a third choice for Folger catalogers when doing authority work, after AAT and LCSH.


===Local terms===
=== Language of Bindings ===
Like AAT, the [http://www.ligatus.org.uk/lob/ Language of Bindings] database, or LoB, is a highly-structured thesaurus. It is one of the projects of Ligatus, a research center of the University of Arts London, and was released in June 2015. It's a young project, and will continue to develop with community involvement. Eventually, they hope to have pictures. We have not officially adopted the use of LoB at the Folger, but will keep a close eye on what, if anything, develops between LoB and the RBMS Controlled Vocabularies.


==External links==
==External links==

Latest revision as of 15:48, 6 April 2023

A controlled vocabulary is an organized set of terms (words, phrases, and names) meant to facilitate description and retrieval of items in a collection. These terms can be in alphabetical or hierarchical order, and are often developed to describe a certain type of collection, such as the Art & Architecture Thesaurus or the Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging (although that does not mean that they can only be used for that type of collection), or a certain type of entity, such as the Union List of Artists' Names (ULAN). For information about different types of controlled vocabularies and how to construct them, see the Getty Research Institute's Introduction to Controlled Vocabularies.

Controlled vocabularies in the catalog

Folger catalogers use the following controlled vocabularies to:

  • categorize the subject of an item (what it is about)
  • describe its physical and intellectual genre and form (what it is , or what is an example of)
  • name a person, organization, or place consistently, regardless of how the name is spelled in the resource
  • describe a relationship with other items or entities using relationship designators

Library of Congress Name Authority File (NAF)

The Library of Congress Name Authority File (officially the "NACO Authority File") provides standardized names and cross references for people, organizations, places, events, and titles. For example, "Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616" is the authorized form of Shakespeare's name. For works by Shakespeare or adapted from Shakespeare, it appears in the "Name" field. For works about Shakespeare, it appears in the "Subject" field.

Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)

The Library of Congress Subject Headings is a general list, first developed by the Library of Congress in 1898, and actively maintained and updated since then. At the Folger, it is used to specify topics of both open stacks and vault materials.

 600 10 Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 ‡x Homes and haunts ‡v Pictorial works 
 650  0 Political corruption ‡z England ‡v Early works to 1800 

(In the two examples above, notice that there is a subfield ‡v present, indicating a genre/form term. Genre subdivisions are gradually being phased out of practice as the Library of Congress develops more specialized vocabularies, such as LCGFT, and library catalogs implement faceted browsing, but for now many are still actively used.)

The LCSH is a broad, generalized vocabulary, and it can describe a variety of materials, but like Library of Congress Classification, LCSH was created to fit the Library of Congress's holdings, and not to encompass all areas of knowledge or topics. It is a subject list, and although the terms found therein may be used for form and genre, it's a clumsy fit. Folger catalogers turn to a selection of smaller, specialized vocabularies for genre and form: the RBMS controlled vocabularies, the Art & Architecture Thesaurus, and occasionally the Thesaurus for Graphic Materials (as well as a small handful of local terms).

Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) Controlled Vocabularies

The Rare Book and Manuscripts Section (part of the American Library Association) maintains six controlled vocabularies relating to the physical evidence, provenance, and genre of rare materials. RBMS terms are used extensively by the Folger as genre and form terms to describe our Vault collections, and some of our open stacks items as well (such as to note the presence of an author's inscription); they are also used to describe items in the Folger Bindings Image Collection. The RBMS vocabularies account for seven abbreviations on the list of source codes for genre & form terms (printing and publishing terms get distinct abbreviations, despite being released as a single thesaurus).

Composition errors (Printing) ‡2 rbpri 
Printed waste (Binding) ‡2 rbbin ‡5 DFo 
Volvelles. ‡2 aat 

Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT)

The Art & Architecture Thesaurus is a true hierarchical thesaurus. (By contrast, LCSH is not, despite its designation of broader and narrower terms.) Maintained by the Getty Research Institute, AAT is much broader than its name implies. Its coverage of art topics is useful at the Folger, but AAT is also designed to describe topics depicted in art. AAT is the Folger's thesaurus of choice for genre access in both bibliographic records and authority control, supplemented by RBMS, LCSH, and LCGFT terms as necessary. In terms related to the book trade, especially, AAT is more granular and expressive than LCSH.

Thesaurus for Graphic Materials (TGM)

The Thesaurus for Graphic Materials was initially created by the Library of Congress to provide subject indexing for pictorial works, and was designed with automated systems, such as machine-readable cataloging in mind. At its creation in 1995, it consisted of two vocabularies: subject terms (TGM I) and genre and physical characteristic terms (TGM II). In October 2007, TGM I and TGM II were merged into a single thesaurus; however, due to their differing uses, they are still designated by two different sources codes in the MARC subfield ‡2. TGM I subject terms usually appear in the 650 field and are designated by ‡2 lctgm, while TGM II genre terms appear almost exclusively in the 655 field and are designated by ‡2 gmgpc.

One of TGM's strengths is its emphasis on providing subject access for both the "of" and the "about" of graphic materials - not just the subjects that are directly depicted, but also the broader meanings or symbolism that those subjects may suggest. TGM does not always have the granularity and deep hierarchical structure of AAT; however, it is a living vocabulary, and is regularly updated.

Folger practice: when cataloging art, use TGM I for subject access (designated with ‡2 lctgm), and TGM II for form/genre access (designated with ‡2 gmgpc).

Local terms

Occasionally, the vocabularies above will not include the most precise term to describe an item, or Folger conventions may describe an item a particular way that does match a controlled vocabulary. For these cases, the Folger maintains a small group of local terms, identified by ‡2 local. While a group of local terms is technically considered a controlled vocabulary (it is a flat list of subject headings and/or genre terms, though it is not hierarchical), the Folger's local terms are not updated systematically, and are used or added to very rarely - only when there is no other option available for to describe a collection item.

Local terms used by the Folger:

Manuscripts from print
Players' parts
Prologues and epilogues
Prophecies

Other controlled vocabularies

Index terms for occupations in archival and manuscript collections (ITOAMC)

Index terms for occupations in archival and manuscript collections (ITOAMC) is a controlled vocabulary maintained as an Excel spreadsheet by Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress for use in authority and bibliographic records. It does not seem to be available on the Library of Congress web site, so the listing on Folgerpedia may be the easiest way to access the controlled vocabulary.

ITOAMC, as its name implies, focuses on occupations (e.g., Archivists, Pianists) and other designations for persons (e.g., Civil libertarians, Quakers). At the Folger, it is used almost exclusively in authority control. However, like LCSH, ITOAMC has an American bias by design. It has terms, such as "American loyalists" and "Chaplains, U.S. Senate", that would rarely come up at the Folger - and none particular to, say, the English Civil War. Thus, ITOAMC is often a third choice for Folger catalogers when doing authority work, after AAT and LCSH.

Language of Bindings

Like AAT, the Language of Bindings database, or LoB, is a highly-structured thesaurus. It is one of the projects of Ligatus, a research center of the University of Arts London, and was released in June 2015. It's a young project, and will continue to develop with community involvement. Eventually, they hope to have pictures. We have not officially adopted the use of LoB at the Folger, but will keep a close eye on what, if anything, develops between LoB and the RBMS Controlled Vocabularies.

External links