| |
BISAC SUBJECT HEADINGS, 2008 Edition
Using BISAC Subject Headings, 2008
Edition
Tutorial and Frequently Asked Questions,
Version 1.0
Last Updated: December 18, 2008
Click on one of the four links below to jump to
a topic of interest:
GENERAL TOPICS
Index
What does BISAC stand for?
BISAC is an acronym for Book Industry Standards and Communications.
What
are BISAC Subject Headings? What do they look like?
The BISAC Subject Heading List is an industry-approved list of subject
descriptors, each of which is represented by a nine-character
alphanumeric code. The descriptor itself consists of two, three, or
four parts in the manner described above. For example, the code for the
descriptor representing general African history is HIS001000 and the
related descriptor is "HISTORY / Africa / General". There are 52 major
sections, such as COMPUTERS, FICTION, HISTORY, and TRUE CRIME. Within
each major section are a number of detailed descriptors that represent
sub-topics the BISAC Subject Heading Committee has deemed most
appropriate for the major topic.
What are
the BISAC Subject Headings used for?
The BISAC Subject Heading List (BSHL) was developed to standardize the
electronic transfer of subject information. The subjects can be used
for transmitting information between trading partners, as search terms
in the major bibliographic databases, as access points for database
searching, and as shelving guides. Many major businesses require that
publishers use the BISAC Subject Headings when submitting data.
Return to top
What
terms are used to describe elements in the BISAC Subject Headings List
(BSHL)? What do they mean?
The following terms are generally used in describing various aspects of
the BSHL:
Code
- refers to the nine-character
element attached to each subject listing. The code begins with a
three-character alpha segment which is usually mnemonic (e.g., HIS is
used for the HISTORY subject terms) and is followed by a six-character
numeric segment. In Version 1 of the BSHL, the codes had hierarchical
meaning but this is no longer the case. They should be treated simply
as surrogate codes.
Heading
- the English language
description attached to each code, i.e. the subject heading itself. The
heading description is constructed in two, three, or four parts, with
each part (or level) separated by a forward slash (/). A two-part
heading would consist of the section name (e.g., HISTORY) and a
subheading presenting a major aspect of the section, such as
"Medieval". Such a term would read "HISTORY / Medieval". Many headings
consist of only two levels; however, for more detail in some subject
areas, a third level is added. An example of such a term is "HISTORY /
Military / Vietnam War". Occasionally four levels are used, e.g.,
"HISTORY / Africa / South /
Republic of South Africa".
Descriptor
- synonymous with "heading", defined above.
Literal
- synonymous with "heading", defined above.
Term
- synonymous with "heading", defined above.
Value
- synonymous with "code", defined above.
Tree
- refers to a group of headings
with a common first and second level. For example, "GARDENING /
Flowers" are the first two levels in a tree that contains headings for
Annuals, Bulbs, Orchids, Perennials, and Roses in a manner such as
"GARDENING / Flowers / Roses". The first term in a tree almost always
ends with "General" (e.g., "GARDENING / Flowers / General") following
which are the more specific terms.
Branch
- refers to a distinctive
third level literal that belongs to a tree as defined above (in the
above example, "Roses" is the branch).
Who uses the
BISAC Subject Headings?
Many of the major businesses within the North American book industry,
including Amazon, Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble,
Bookscan,
Booksense, Bowker, Indigo, Ingram and most major publishers use the
BSHL in a variety of ways.
Return to top
How
do I determine the value for a BISAC Subject Heading?
Once you have determined the appropriate descriptor, you need the
official BISAC Subject Heading List in order to determine the
nine-character code for that term. To do this most effectively, one
would want to use the Excel version of the BSHL: find the descriptor
and then refer to Column A to find the code.
How
do I get a copy of the BISAC Subject Heading List?
With the release of version 2.9, BISG enabled the entire list to be
reviewed on the website at www.bisg.org/standards/bisac_subject.html
What format(s)
are the code documents?
Currently the codes are available on the BISG website.
However, organizations whose needs exceed the free online lookup
service and who require a way to incorporate the list into their
internal systems and databases can purchase the licensed version in
Word and Excel file formats for an annual fee.
Return to top
Do
I have to pay for the BISAC Subject Heading List?
If your company is a member of the Book Industry Study Group (BISG),
the BSHL documentation is free. A nominal fee is charged to
non-members.
Who can create
BISAC Subject Headings?
The BSHL is maintained by the BISAC Subject Heading Committee
consisting of volunteers interested in the intellectual challenge of
creating, revising, and amending an authority list of terms for the
industry. Terms and codes not appearing in the official list authorized
by the Committee would not be considered BISAC Subject Headings.
If
I need a heading that is not in the list, what can be done?
The Subject Heading Committee considers all requests from members of
BISG and the industry who have identified a need not currently covered
by the terms in the Heading List. Requestors should send an email to
the Committee Chair, Connie Harbison (bisac_subjectcodes@bisg.org).
Return to top
Are
there definitions for the various subjects headings?
As a general rule, the 3000+ subjects are not defined. The Committee
attempts to create clear and succinct subject descriptors that are not
duplicative within the list. Definitions and guidelines are provided at
the major subject level. (See the Specific Usage Notes section of the
BISAC Subject Heading List for guidelines specific to each major
subject.)
Are
there standards for the placement of the subject on the book?
At this time, there are no such guidelines. The subject descriptor may
be placed on the book in a convenient place based on the design of the
book, but does not need to be placed on the book at all. It is
recommended that the nine-character code not be placed on the book or
in catalogs - the code is merely designed for EDI exchange of
information about the book. If it is desired to reference the subject
heading represented by the code, use the descriptor itself, e.g.,
"BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Presidents & Heads of
State".
Because of its length, it is not advisable to connect the term to the
barcode, although it may be placed near the barcode. The most useful
position would be the lower left-hand corner of the back cover or
jacket cover.
Return to top
How
do I find the BISAC Subject Heading for a specific book?
The first step in determining the proper code for a book would be to
identify which of the 50 major areas within the list is most
appropriate for the title. Once that section is identified, look for
the term that most closely fits the content of the book. If the title
has numerous facets, it is recommended that the process be repeated for
other relevant major sections.
If database systems are sophisticated enough, a recommendation is to do
a Keyword or Find search on the entire list in order to identify all
the terms that may be appropriate for the book. This is especially
effective if it is difficult to determine the proper major section for
the term one imagines would be used. This will also help alert the user
to cases where similar subjects appear in different sections to reflect
different ways of approaching the topic (e.g., "HEALTH &
FITNESS /
Sexuality", "PSYCHOLOGY / Human Sexuality", "RELIGION / Sexuality
&
Gender Studies", "SELF-HELP / Sexual Instruction", not to mention
related subjects under JUVENILE FICTION, JUVENILE NONFICTION, and
SOCIAL SCIENCE).
How
do I find the descriptor for a specific BISAC Subject Heading?
If you know the code but not its meaning, you will need a copy of the
BISAC Subject Heading List. The first step is to find the proper major
section by using the first three letters of the code. The first three
letters are a mnemonic representation of the section name, e.g., COM
for the COMPUTERS section, HIS for the HISTORY section, and TRV for the
TRAVEL section. The exception is BODY, MIND & SPIRIT, which
uses
codes beginning with OCC due to the former name of the section.
Return to top
What do I do
with the cross-references?
Use of the cross-reference terms (which only appear in the Word
version) will vary according to the database and other infrastructure
within which the terms are used. The cross-reference terms are designed
to assist an individual searching for the proper term in finding its
location within the overall list. Cross-references generally describe
alternative ways of thinking about the content of a title or represent
subjects that have had their literals changed and have been
re-sequenced.
What
do I do if I have a question that is not answered here?
Please feel free to write the Committee Chair at bisac_subjectcodes@bisg.org.
The Committee or the Chair will do its best to answer your question
based on its members' collective experience.
Return to top
Who
on my staff should apply the subject to the title?
The best person to assign the codes to your titles is the person who
knows the most about the content of the book. Most likely this will be
the editor or, perhaps, a marketing department associate.
How
many subject headings can I use per title?
The Committee recommends from one to three headings depending on the
complexity of the title. In truth the answer to the question is
dependent on your system and that of your trading partners -
theoretically an unlimited number of headings may be used.
There are at least three philosophical approaches to assigning
headings. Some users prefer to apply the most specific code possible
within each major subject area, blocking any terms that are
hierarchically broader. For example, if "HISTORY / Military / World War
I" has been chosen, "HISTORY / Military / General" would not be used by
those that follow this philosophy.
A second approach would be to apply the World War I term, plus "HISTORY
/ Military / General" and perhaps "HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century".
A third philosophy is to apply a code that represents a best-selling
category of materials in the hopes the new title will ride the
coattails of the best-selling category. This is not recommended if that
category is not appropriate for the work in question.
Return to top
What
are the benefits of using BISAC Subject Headings?
BISAC Subject Headings:
- Provide the publisher with the opportunity to
tell
the retailer and the general book trade of the primary and secondary
store sections within which the title will best fit (and, hopefully,
sell best). There is further benefit in that the language of this
suggestion is standardized.
- Assist retailers in getting the titles on the
shelf more quickly.
- Provide an electronically compatible method of
describing the content of the book.
How
do I tell my trading partner which code applies to my books?
The best way is to use the ONIX protocol, an XML document designed to
convey metadata about books between trading partners. For details on
ONIX, see documentation at www.bic.org.uk. Some of your trading
partners may have other electronic vehicles that include elements for
the BSHL code.
Return to top
I
already categorize my titles for my catalogs and jackets; how should
the BISAC Subject Headings be related?
The Committee recognizes that many publishers have long-standing
marketing and merchandising subject-oriented syntax. For those who do
not want to abandon these, it is suggested that the proprietary syntax
be mapped to the BISAC Subject Heading List. Since most proprietary
syntax will be far less detailed than the BSHL, this will result in the
use of only a small portion of the list. A suggestion would be that the
first code sent in messages is based on the internal mappings while
subsequent codes are used to provide more detailed BISAC Subject
Headings.
Do
I need to print the codes or the descriptors on my book?
Printing the descriptors is a very good idea although not an official
recommendation at this time due to the desire on the part of most
publishers to continue use of their traditional merchandising syntax.
An idealistic view of the future would have all publishers using the
BISAC Subject Headings as the basis of their merchandising syntax and
thus print them in catalogs and on books.
How do I find the BISAC Subject Heading for
a specific book?
See discussion under same query in the GENERAL TOPICS section.
(Click
here to jump to that topic in the GENERAL TOPICS section.)
Return to top
I
notice many of the subheadings use the term "General"; how do I use
those terms?
"General" occurs as the first second-level term in all major sections
except NON-CLASSIFIABLE (e.g., "HISTORY / General"). It is also used as
a third-level term within tree structures that have been built (e.g.,
"HISTORY / Africa / General"). The "General" terms can be applied in
either of two ways. First, and most obvious, the heading should be used
for books covering the topic at the broadest level. Second, it can be
used for books of a very narrow scope that cannot be better described
by one of the other terms within the relevant tree or section.
How
do retailers use the codes; do they all use the same codes?
Retailers use the codes in a variety of ways:
- One primary use is to assist in shelving the
book
with others of a similar topic. Some retailers have developed mappings
between the BISAC Subject Heading List and their store sections, so
that any title on a given topic is always initially shelved in the same
section.
- Online and automated retailers use the
subjects as
searching terms in order to assist the consumer in finding titles on
topics of interest. Some retailers use the terms directly; others map
them to their own merchandising schema.
All
retailers should use the same official list of codes - although if they
were mapping the codes to an internal schema, the mapping itself would
vary.
What do I do with the
cross-references?
See discussion on this topic in the GENERAL TOPICS section.
(Click
here to jump to that topic in the GENERAL TOPICS section.)
What are the benefits of using BISAC
Subject Headings?
(1) BISAC Subject Headings facilitate
consistent shelving and merchandising of similar material in your
store.
(2)
If the store is automated, the BISAC Subject Headings can be added to
the store database and provide a more granular searching mechanism to
assist customer service in finding the proper book for the customer.
My
store sections are well established; how do I factor in the use of
BISAC Subject Headings?
It would be most appropriate to map the Subject Headings to store
sections, e.g., "HISTORY / Africa / West" might well be mapped to the
History section. On the other hand, your store may have an African
Studies section and you may wish to map the subject to that area.
Return to top
How
do I map my current store sections to BISAC Subject Headings?
A review of the complete BISAC Subject Heading List is in order.
Examine each term from "ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES / General"
through
"TRUE CRIME / Organized Crime" and then determine the appropriate
subject heading to which each store section would be mapped.
What do I do with the
cross-references?
See discussion on this topic in the GENERAL TOPICS section.
(Click
here to jump to that topic in the GENERAL TOPICS section.)
What
is the latest version of the BISAC Subject Heading List?
The 2008 Edition, which was approved in November 2008 and posted in
December 2008, is the latest version.
What
happens if my trading partner is not using the same version that I am?
As a sender of Subject Headings, if you are using the ONIX protocol a
data element allows you to advise your trading partner of the version
of the BSHL you are using. The options for differences between lists
lie with the receiver in a trading partner relationship:
Return to top
What
happens if I do not deactivate the inactivated codes?
The Committee anticipates that most users would not recategorize
backlist. After all, in due time, most titles with inactivated codes
will go out of print and the codes will retire with the books.
Receivers of inactivated codes have a decision to make. They must
decide whether to maintain such codes, often leading to duplication or
near duplication within their subject database, or they must
re-categorize titles in the database with such codes.
What
should I do about titles previously coded with inactive codes?
Ideally, it would be appropriate to recategorize these titles,
particularly if they will stay in print for a number of years -
although as noted above, we recognize that this is not always
practical, especially for users with large databases. Maintaining such
codes in an in-house database is a viable option. However, if the codes
are to be sent to trading partners, bringing the codes up to date is
preferable.
|
