Constructing a true LCSH tree of a science and engineering collection

  • Authors:

  • Charles-Antoine Julien;Pierre Tirilly;John E. Leide;Catherine Guastavino

  • Affiliations:

  • School of Information Studies, McGill University, Montreal, 3661 Peel Street, QuebecH3A 1X1, Canada;School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, P.O. Box 413, 2200 E. Kenwood Boulevard, Milwaukee, WI53201;School of Information Studies, McGill University, Montreal, 3661 Peel Street, QuebecH3A 1X1, Canada;School of Information Studies, McGill University & Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Music Media and Technology, 3661 Peel Street, Montreal, QuebecH3A 1X1, Canada

  • Venue:
  • Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology
  • Year:
  • 2012

Quantified Score

Hi-index 0.00

Visualization

Abstract

The Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) is a subject structure used to index large library collections throughout the world. Browsing a collection through LCSH is difficult using current online tools in part because users cannot explore the structure using their existing experience navigating file hierarchies on their hard drives. This is due to inconsistencies in the LCSH structure, which does not adhere to the specific rules defining tree structures. This article proposes a method to adapt the LCSH structure to reflect a real-world collection from the domain of science and engineering. This structure is transformed into a valid tree structure using an automatic process. The analysis of the resulting LCSH tree shows a large and complex structure. The analysis of the distribution of information within the LCSH tree reveals a power law distribution where the vast majority of subjects contain few information items and a few subjects contain the vast majority of the collection. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.