Notes on LC Subject Headings for Literature:
Collections by Multiple Authors

Introduction

These notes provide guidelines on the construction of subject headings for literature and literary genres of particular nationalities, regions, languages, or religions.  They include information on the form of such literary headings and on valid types of subdivisions and combinations of subdivisions used with them.

For further information, see Subject Cataloging Manual:  Subject Headings, section H1156, “Literature.”

Major literary genres

Headings for literature and the following five major literary genres are combined with adjectives for nationality, which precede the genre term in the subject heading.

… literature

1. … drama
2. … essays
3. … fiction
4. … poetry
5. … prose literature

E.g.    650  0 ‡a Argentine literature

E.g.    650  0 ‡a Vietnamese fiction

E.g.    650  0 ‡a American prose literature

E.g.    650  0 ‡a Nigerian poetry

In some cases, in place of nationality, a term for a broader geographical grouping, language, or combination may be used.

E.g.    650  0 ‡a African literature

E.g.    650  0 ‡a Basque drama

E.g.    650  0 ‡a Spanish American fiction

A term for a religion or religious denomination may also be used.

E.g.    650  0 ‡a Islamic poetry

E.g.    650  0 ‡a Catholic literature

A heading for a major literary genre may include a qualifier for language, in parentheses.  This construction is used to specify an applicable language when literatures in more than one language are found in a country or broader geographic area.

E.g.    650  0 ‡a Swiss poetry (German)

E.g.    650  0 ‡a North African fiction (French)

For inverted headings consisting of combinations of major genre with multiple terms not in parentheses, e.g., both religion and language or both religion and nationality, see below.

Subdivisions

• Period (‡y):  Headings for major literary genres generally may be subdivided by period.  The recent centuries are used regularly:

  ‡y 19th century

  ‡y 20th century

  ‡y 21st century

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a Ecuadorian essays ‡y 20th century.

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a Arabic poetry ‡y 21st century.

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a Polish fiction ‡y 19th century.

  Check the authority file for appropriate earlier period subdivisions used with literature.  Also check the authority file for major East Asian literatures.

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a Spanish American drama ‡y To 1800.

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a English literature ‡y Middle English, 1100-1500.

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a Japanese poetry ‡y Edo period, 1600-1868.

  Exception:  A heading for a major literary genre that includes a language qualifier in parentheses may not be subdivided by period on a freefloating basis.  Instead, provide a separate heading with the major genre without language qualifier, subdivided by period.

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a African literature (Portuguese)

  650  0 ‡a African literature ‡y 21st century.

  A period subdivision may only be used after a literary genre heading with language qualifier when it is explicitly established in the LC/SACO authority file.

  E.g.    authority record:  150    ‡a African literature (Portuguese) ‡y 20th century

  so

      bib record:  650  0 ‡a African literature (Portuguese) ‡y 20th century

  is valid.

• Place (‡z): Headings for major literary genres may also usually be subdivided by place.

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a Peruvian poetry ‡z Peru ‡z Ancash.

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a French drama ‡z France ‡z Rouen.

  Exception:  Headings that include broader geographical groupings are not subdivided by place (since they would be used only when a specific place is not involved).

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a Spanish American fiction.

  Please note:  With major literary genre headings, a ‡y chronological subdivision and a ‡z geographic subdivision may not be combined in a single heading.  Instead, provide two separate headings.

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a Peruvian poetry ‡z Peru ‡z Ancash.

  650  0 ‡a Peruvian poetry ‡y 20th century.

• Author group (‡x):  Headings for major literary genres may be subdivided by author group to indicate subordinate bodies of literature, provided that the designation of the literature does not correspond to the author group.  An author group subdivision can reflect nationality, ethnic group, religion, or gender.  A list of free-floating author group subdivisions is listed in SCM H1156, section II; others have been established under headings for particular literatures.

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a English fiction ‡x South Asian authors.

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a German essays ‡x Lutheran authors.

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a Algerian literature (French) ‡x Women authors.

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a American drama ‡x Cuban American authors.

  but

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a German essays ‡x German authors … would not be valid.

  Please note:  With major literary genre headings, a ‡x author group subdivision may not be combined in a single heading with either a ‡y chronological subdivision or a ‡z geographic subdivision.  Instead, provide two or more separate headings.

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a American essays ‡x Mormon authors.

  650  0 ‡a American essays ‡y 19th century.

  650  0 ‡a American essays ‡z Utah.

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a English fiction ‡x South Asian authors.

  650  0 ‡a English fiction ‡z England ‡z Bradford (West Yorkshire)

  650  0 ‡a English fiction ‡y 21st century.

• Topical (‡x) and form (‡v) subdivisions:  Headings for major literary genres may be subdivided by topical and form subdivisions, as listed in SCM H1156, section III.

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a Spanish American fiction ‡x History and criticism ‡x Theory, etc.

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a North African fiction (French) ‡v Sources.

  Except when otherwise noted in the SCM H1156 list, these topical and form subdivisions may be combined with subdivisions for either period, place, or author group.

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a Polish fiction ‡y 19th century ‡x History and criticism.

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a Ecuadorian essays ‡y 20th century ‡v Bibliography.

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a Peruvian poetry ‡z Peru ‡z Ancash ‡x Shamanistic influences.

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a French drama ‡z France ‡z Rouen ‡v Translations into English.

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a Algerian literature (French) ‡x Women authors ‡x Themes, motives.

  E.g.    650  0 ‡a English fiction ‡x South Asian authors ‡v Film and video adaptations.

Minor literary genres

Literary genres other than the five major ones listed above (drama, essays, fiction, poetry, and prose literature) are treated by LC as minor genres.  They are combined with an adjective for nationality, which in most cases follows the genre term in the subject heading.

E.g.    650  0 ‡a Short stories, English

E.g.    650  0 ‡a Love poetry, Brazilian

E.g.    650  0 ‡a Melodrama, Russian

E.g.    650  0 ‡a Religious fiction, Argentine

E.g.    650  0 ‡a Historical drama, Italian

A few exceptions exist in which a minor form is preceded by nationality.

E.g.    650  0 ‡a American letters

In some cases, in place of nationality, a term for a broader geographical grouping, language, or combination may be used.  A term for a religion or religious denomination may also be used.

E.g.    650  0 ‡a Detective and mystery stories, Latin American

E.g.    650  0 ‡a Political poetry, Scottish Gaelic

E.g.    650  0 ‡a Sonnets, Bengali

E.g.    650  0 ‡a Autobiographical fiction, Assyro-Babylonian

E.g.    650  0 ‡a Funeral sermons, Jewish

A heading for a minor literary genre may include a qualifier for language, in parentheses.  This construction is used to specify an applicable language when literatures in more than one language are found in a country or broader geographic area.