PSP Subject Discovery
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A discussion of the various subject classifications for published books and ebooks. This slide deck provides insight into the type of subject classification to include, and the depth needed for discovery purposes. Includes BISAC, BIC and Thema subject classifications.
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PSP Subject Discovery
- 1. PSP Subject Discovery Panel Michael Olenick Business Analyst michael.olenick@bowker.com
- 2. Self-Portrait with Classification • BIO025000 BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Editors, Journalists, Publishers • LAN025030 LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Library & Information Science / Cataloging & Classification • BUS070060 BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Industries / Media & Communications • LAN026000 LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Public Speaking • OCC010000 BODY, MIND & SPIRIT / Mindfulness & Meditation 1
- 3. 2 Assign the most specific, non-redundant subject(s) from the list(s) you are using.
- 4. For example: BISAC • ART015030 ART / European • ART015080 ART / History / Renaissance • ART016000 ART / Individual Artists / General • ART035000 ART / Subjects & Themes / Religious • ARC016000 ARCHITECTURE / Buildings / Religious Library of Congress • Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1475-1564--Criticism and interpretation. • Cappella Sistina (Vatican Palace, Vatican City) • Bible. Old Testament--Illustrations. • Mural painting and decoration, Italian--Vatican City. • Mural painting and decoration, Renaissance--Vatican City. 3
- 5. 4
- 6. Where My Work Goes… 5
- 7. Where My Work Goes… • www.BooksInPrint.com: libraries, retailers, online discovery • ONIX/ASCII: wholesalers, retailers, textbook resellers • Subject schemas identified • Source identified (publisher-supplied or Bowker- assigned) • Partners decide which subjects they will use and which source they prefer 6
- 8. 7 Libraries • LCSH subjects • Deweys • LC Class Booksellers • BISAC • BIC • Thema Customer Preferences
- 9. Why Standardized Subjects? • Uniformity of usage • One place for all books on topic (standardization of terminology) • Specificity depends on the list • Grouping data together for – Analytical purposes – Data retrieval – Sales – Shelving 8
- 10. Do I Need to Tell You What BISAC Subjects Are? • North American book industry standard maintained by BISG • Issued annually in the Fall and available on BISG site • 4499 codes/subjects grouped under 54 main sections • Mappings also available (BIC and Thema) • Subjects are hierarchical based on text • Codes are not “smart” except that first three characters reflect section • Not as specific as LC subjects but this allows for statistically significant groupings 9
- 11. BISAC Subjects ARC000000 ARCHITECTURE / General ARC022000 ARCHITECTURE / Adaptive Reuse & Renovation ARC023000 ARCHITECTURE / Annuals ARC024000 ARCHITECTURE / Buildings / General ARC024010 ARCHITECTURE / Buildings / Landmarks & Monuments ARC011000 ARCHITECTURE / Buildings / Public, Commercial & Industrial ARC016000 ARCHITECTURE / Buildings / Religious ARC003000 ARCHITECTURE / Buildings / Residential ARCHITECTURE / CAD (Computer Aided Design) see Design, Drafting, Drawing & Presentation ARC019000 ARCHITECTURE / Codes & Standards ARC001000 ARCHITECTURE / Criticism ARC002000 ARCHITECTURE / Decoration & Ornament ARC004000 ARCHITECTURE / Design, Drafting, Drawing & Presentation ARCHITECTURE / Feng Shui see BODY, MIND & SPIRIT / Feng Shui 10
- 12. • First global subject category system for the book trade • Not a replacement for BISAC (possibly for BIC) • Maintained by EDItEUR (free download available) • Variable length, hierarchical codes Introduction to Thema 11
- 13. Subject Heading DNBS Biography: Sport SFC Baseball • First global subject category system for the book trade • Not a replacement for BISAC (possibly for BIC) • Maintained by EDItEUR (free download available) • Variable length, hierarchical codes • Consists of subject headings… Introduction to Thema 12
- 14. Qualifier 1KBB-US-NAKC New York City Subject Heading DNBS Biography: Sport SFC Baseball • First global subject category system for the book trade • Not a replacement for BISAC (possibly for BIC) • Maintained by EDItEUR (free download available) • Variable length, hierarchical codes • Consists of subject headings… • …modified by qualifiers (not repeated for each subject) Introduction to Thema 13 modifies
- 15. Qualifier 1KBB-US-NAKC New York City Subject Heading DNBS Biography: Sport SFC Baseball • First global subject category system for the book trade • Not a replacement for BISAC (possibly for BIC) • Maintained by EDItEUR (free download available) • Variable length, hierarchical codes • Consists of subject headings… • …modified by qualifiers (not repeated for each subject) • Qualifiers used for fiction or nonfiction, adult or juvenile Introduction to Thema 14 modifies
- 16. Code Heading L Law LA Jurisprudence & general issues LN Laws of specific jurisdictions & specific areas of law LNJ Entertainment & media law LNJD Defamation law, slander & libel More Detail (Attention Optional) 15 HIERARCHY Subject Headings The variable-length codes are hierarchical and determine the order in which the subjects are presented. The text of the subject or qualifier does not contain all parts of the hierarchy and is meant to stand on its own when output.
- 17. Geographical Qualifiers 1D Europe 1DS Southern Europe 1DST Italy 1DST-IT-T Central Italy 1DST-IT-TS Tuscany 1DST-IT-TSF Florence Language Qualifiers 2H African languages 2HC Niger-Congo languages Time Period Qualifiers 3K CE period up to c 1500 3KB c 1 CE to c 500 CE 3KBF 1st century, c 1 to c 99 Educational Purpose Qualifiers 4C For all educational levels 4CD For primary education 4CX For adult education Interest Age & Special Interest Qualifiers 5A Interest age / level 5AN Interest age: from c 12 years Style Qualifiers 6B Styles (B) 6BA Baroque 6BB Barbizon school Qualifiers: Six Different Types 16
- 18. What Publishers Should Provide • At least 1 valid code • From the latest version of that subject schema • Most specific subjects(s) applicable • Multiple, unique subjects when necessary • Avoid subjects more general than others (especially from the same section) • All formats & editions consistently classified • Subjects should not clash with each other or with other metadata 17
- 19. How Many Subjects Does an ISBN Need? • No correct number • Do not force multiple subjects • New information is valuable • Redundant or general information is not 18 10
- 20. Sample Search Results Titles Pages general fiction 63126 2254 Asian American fiction 412 15 What audience is this title most relevant to? Are subjects consistently applied across products? Where would title be more easily discovered?
- 21. To Map or Not to Map? 20 Benefits Drawbacks Utilizes previously classified data Cannot replicate accuracy or detail of direct assignment Minimizes the number of schemas to be manually assigned Two things have to be correct rather than one (original assignment and mapping) Uniformity of usage (this always maps to that) Even if both things are “correct” you still get results that could be improved Can serve as a good starting point for fine- tuning Results are almost never reviewed because that negates the time-saving benefit Lots of data classified quickly (once in place) Getting it in place may take more time in the short-run Works well if going from a very specific schema to a more general schema Works okay with schemas of equal specificity; does not work from specific to general (is not “reversible”) Helpful for version upgrade (change mapping vs. changing each ISBN) Mapping must be maintained (both source and target)
- 22. Links • BISAC – US industry standard for over 20 years maintained by the Book Industry Study Group https://www.bisg.org/bisac/complete-bisac-subject-headings- 2015-edition • BIC – the UK equivalent of BISAC maintained by Book Industry Communication http://www.bic.org.uk/7/BIC- Standard-Subject-Categories/ • Thema – an internationalized version of BIC maintained by EDItEUR– not officially a replacement for BIC but if the uptake is strong, it effectively will be (not a replacement for BISAC) http://www.editeur.org/151/thema/ 21
Notes de l'éditeur
- As a way of telling you about myself and what I do, I thought I’d start with a little attempt at self-classification…which turns out not to be that easy. I’ve known myself pretty much all my life and have been working with subjects for about half of it. Long-time Bowker employee working on several projects including statistical analysis and subject classification. This is the best I could come up with…I really wanted to avoid BIO / General because later on I’m going to be telling you to avoid general codes…but I don’t really fit anywhere else. I do editorial work to some degree, and Bowker is kind of a publisher…or at least in the publishing industry. Oversees the assignment of Bowker’s proprietary, LC-style subjects (over 400K ISBNs per year in the Books In Print database of 30 million ISBNs) as well as mappings to industry-standard subjects. Participant in several industry committees dealing with standardized subjects, such as BISAC and Thema. There is a Publishing subject in the LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES section of BISAC but in this case I’m trying to accentuate the business aspect. Not really comfortable with ….despite….
- On a basic level, the object of subject classification is to assign the most specific, non-redundant subject(s) from the subject heading list you are using to allow the user/client/purchaser to access books on that subject (and, in theory, just books on that subject). I don’t want to oversimplify…otherwise there would be no more slides…there’s more to it and it’s easier said than done. I guess it’s like saying all of economics is just supply and demand.
- So for BISAC subjects you’re limited to the specificity that allows. If you’re using LC subjects, you can offer a lot more detail. But the idea is the same in both cases. You’re giving the most specific information you can give and even multiple codes within the same section are fine if the are giving additional info.
- Abridged version of what appears on booksinprint.com just showing subjects. We use a mapping…all the subjects here are a result of that. I will talk about the benefits and drawbacks of that later on. In this case it works pretty well (like I would show you an example where it didn’t) but I will say that the subject “Mural Painting and Decoration” creates a BISAC subject I would not have assigned manually. Also LC Class, and Dewey (as received from LC) and publisher BISACs (Individual Artists).
- So after all these amazing subjects get assigned what happens to them.
- BISAC, BIC, Bowker, Sears….search by or link by subjects
- Why not just keywords…don’t get me started on keywords…keywords vs. subjects is a whole ‘nother presentation. The lend themselves to uniformity of usage (assuming people follow the guidelines for subject assignment the list they are using). A subject authority list provides headings that serve as the one place to put all titles on that subject (often with cross-references for variant spellings and phrasing and for cases where a heading has been changed). There are several terms commonly used for people of a certain age: Aged, Older People, Senior Citizens, the Elderly, Older Persons, Geezers (in the US) – Library of Congress used to use Aged and now uses Older People with references from the others. But the key is that there is one heading designated as the place for all books on that subject. Or Sistine Chapel vs. Cappella Sistina – goes from 4 to 8 and it doubles! Sistine Chapel (not statistically significant) vs. Religious Buildings. The specificity you can achieve depends on the list. LC very specific, BISAC less so – both have their benefits. Subjects are very useful for grouping data together for analytical purposes as well as data retrieval…and these days to a lesser extent, shelving.
- BISAC is the subject language we all speak so I’m sure (or hope) all of you know about BISAC subjects. For over 20 years, BISAC subjects have been the North American book industry standard for subject classification. BISAC stands for Book Industry Standards and Communications – the former name for BISG – the subjects retained the name when BISG adopted that name. They are maintained by the BISAC Subject Committee of BISG which meets monthly and new version is issued in the Fall. 4499 codes/subjects (we really should have added just one more last year) grouped under 54 main sections (cross-references are included in the Word and PDF versions). The subject list is available on the BISG site at no cost for lookup purposes. You need to license the list (or join BISG) in order to download versions in Excel, PDF and Word for unlimited use and incorporation in your company's internal databases.
- Here’s a sample of the beginning of the ARC section. All codes begin with ARC 000000 first Effectively random codes otherwise ARC001000 way down the list Hierarchy based on text Xrefs within section and outside of section (in this case subject was moved)
- Contributions from various national groups.
- Unlike LC or Bowker….
- The longer the code is, the farther down it is in the hierarchy and the more specific it is – only the most specific code is needed. This applies to subject codes and qualifier codes. While all codes are available for assignment, some are there more as headers than as codes that would be expected to be assigned.
- Number indicates the type of qualifier. Each set of qualifiers has its rules. E.g., for Geographical qualifiers: USE: to indicate the geographical scope or applicability of book content (such as the location of a travel guide, the setting of a novel, the jurisdiction to which laws apply, etc.). DO NOT USE: to indicate the literary tradition of the work or to indicate the location or nationality of the author, publisher, etc. (e.g., literature of Peru).
- There really aren’t a “correct” number of subjects to assign so the only answer I can think of is “as many as are needed to adequately describe a book without being redundant”. You do not have to force multiple codes if one will suffice. If a book is about calculus, “MAT005000 MATHEMATICS / Calculus” pretty much covers it. But if it is a study aid for an advance placement test, that can be conveyed by additional subjects from the STUDY AIDS section. But something like a sports biography should get a BIO code and a SPO code. As long as the subjects being assigned are conveying new information, they’re all equally valuable. But it is generally advisable to put the primary code first because some systems only take one code.
- Not sure what it is about publishing that people think it’s easier to find things in a more general category. If the fruit section is a supermarket just piled all the fruit in one pile instead of separating it…or even mixed all the different apples together and you were looking for a macoun or an empire…you’d probably shop somewhere else.
- Just to be clear…a mapping is not a lookup function…it’s not “I am receiving a code and translating it to a text”. It’s, “I am assigning a subject from one schema and want to auto-populate another schema”.