Does anyone know where I can purchase the latest copies of Sears and Dewey. Lifeway doesn't order them any longer, same for Barnes and Noble. I haven't been able to find them online. I really need to replace mine, but am having trouble where to order them from.
Thanks.
Replies
The 21st edition of Sears is available this month. Older editions can be found at reduced prices.
Concourse makes it easy to review subject heading that have been used. (I think real MLS librarians call this a thesaurus.) I refer to it frequently to insure uniformity. Links to items that use each heading are supplied.
I found the 19th edition on line at http://support.epnet.com/uploads/kb/sears_19th_edition.pdf I think this would be a violation of copyright, but the site belongs to EBSCO.
I think with keyword search that subject headings are not as important as before. Don't tell Eva Nell, but I have mixed Sears headings with some Library of Congress headings.
I use lower case for subject headings and end each with a period. I believe all upper case is a left over from the card catalog days where it was used to show the difference between subject and title headings. I do not use spaces when adding a subheading.
The 23rd edition of Dewey is available on Amazon including an abridged edition. The Sears Subject Heading book is on Amazon too. Very expensive though.
Thanks, Paul. I will look into it.
You might consider purchasing from LifeWay the book "A Classification System for Church Libraries" which is based on the Dewey Decimal System, especially for church libraries. Click on the LifeWay sponsor box in the right-hand column of this page to go directly to the library products. This book is adequate for church libraries which have collections of up to about 20,000 volumes.
Also, on the bottom of the main page of this website is a list of resources -- included is an up-to-date list of Subject Headings based on the Sears list. This list may be printed for your use. It does not have explanations of the terms, so I use it in addition to my older Sears book, so that we do not have to purchase a new, very-expensive Sears list.
Thank you, Sandra. I have had that book for years, but prefer the Abridged Dewey Decimal System for our library.. I do like to refer to it from time to time, however. Do you know if it has been updated? Also, thanks for the info on the additional subject headings. I will print that one out. I believe the one I have is older. It is great to have someone answer my questions.
I'd love also to get a copy of the Sears List of Subject Headings, but Sandra's piece of advice helps me a great deal as I use A Classification System for Church Libraries and the list provided on this website. Maybe someday we may purchase the Sears book, but until then I've found everything I need in the sources Sandra cited.
The other day I thought surely chocolate wouldn't be even mentioned in A Classification System for Church Libraries, but lo and behold! I found what I needed for a child's book about God and how chocolate is made. I just had to chuckle as I was pleasantly surprised. This book is quite thorough for our small church library needs.
Here's the link for Sears Subject Headings. Since recently printing this out, I've used this list numerous times along with the book mentioned above.
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I "LIKE" that you have found the resources on this website and from LifeWay Church Library so helpful!
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Thank you, Eva Nell and Pat Brown, and those whose articles appear on this website!
http://www.amazon.com/
Thank you.