An Empirical Examination of Subject Headings for Women’s Studies Core Materials

The ACRL Women’s Studies Section Technical Services Committee investigated the assignment of subject headings to core works in women’s studies. Annotations for the works were compared with subject headings on OCLC cataloging copy, mainly created by the Library of Congress. Inadequacies were identified and traced to three sources: inadequacy of terminology, the complexities of assigning headings in interdisciplinary and/or emerging fields, and standard cataloging practices. Recommendations for amelioration of these problems are made.