The Work Architecture of the Sears List of Subject Headings (SLSH), Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), and Medical Subject Heading (MeSH): An Introduction

Subject headings are the creative initiative of a librarian from his love to organise things. Technically, subject headings are the standardized words assigned to a concept. Using subject headings helps to decrease the “junk,” or irrelevant results. And it is based on the theme of the topic, not the words that appeared in the text. According to Charles A. Cutter, the most important subject cataloguing principle was a consideration of the best interest of the catalogue user. Cutter stated: “The convenience of the public is always to be set before the ease of the cataloguer”. This project focuses on the three most popular subject heading lists: Sears List of Subject Headings (SLSH), Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), and Medical Subject Heading (MESH). Starting from an overview and background study, this project further nurtures the work architecture, functionalities, usage, advantages and disadvantages of each of the selected subject heading lists.