Teaching the Use of Library of Congress Subject Headings as a Research Strategy for Undergraduate Students

Abstract

Library of Congress subject headings (LCSH) are such a powerful tool that ACRL recognized them in the Information Literacy Competency Standards. The Standards state that the information-literate student should be able to select discipline-specific controlled vocabulary and construct a search strategy. The authors, recognizing this often-forgotten Standard, surveyed instruction librarians to determine if LCSH are still taught in the library instruction classroom, and, if so, which strategies are used for identifying relevant subject headings. Survey results were mixed. While teaching the use of controlled vocabulary has clearly fallen from popularity, it is still recognized as a valuable tool.

KEYWORDS:

• ACRL Literacy Competency Standards
• controlled vocabulary
• LCSH
• library instruction
• Library of Congress subject headings
• research strategies