Issue 30

1. Subiect Headings Book

There is no list of amendments, additions and deletions to the SCIS Subject Headings List as over the past few months the cataloguing team under the direction of Cherryl Schauder, the SCIS National Cataloguing Manager, have been busily working on the 4th Edition. We are pleased to announce that we have almost completed the process in readiness to be sent to the printer. An order form is being sent to all schools with this issue of Connections outlining details about the cost and delivery. A copy of the information will be available on our website and orders may be placed at any time. However, by placing an order immediately you will be guaranteed of receiving a copy from the first print run.

Customers placing early orders will be able to take advantage of a discounted price. (See SCIS website for details.)

2. Table of Contents

Background

When the appropriate subject heading for a resource is a broad general term, like Science, it can be difficult for a student to know which aspects of the subject are covered in that resource. In these cases, one way of indicating the content of the resource is to include the titles of the chapters or sections from the Table of Contents. The words in the Table of Contents note are accessible by a 'keyword anywhere' search. These keywords are in 'natural language' and complement the SCIS headings.

Project for enriching SCIS records

The SCIS agencies and Curriculum Corporation are trialing a project to add the titles from the Table of Contents to selected bibliographic records, as a note. The resources that will have the additional information, at present, will be those resources classified by a broad subject heading that does not sufficiently disclose the contents of the resource. In this trial only the titles will be included, not the names of authors of sections because the project is intended to enhance keyword access to subject content. An evaluation of the project will be made after a few months to determine whether the project will be incorporated into the general cataloguing process.

3. Subiect Headings for Aboriginal Peoples

When the Stolen Generations report was catalogued, the subject headings available in the SCIS subject headings list were found to be inadequate. A major revision of the headings for Aboriginal peoples began. The first step was to consult the Aboriginal Education Officers in the Curriculum Support Directorate, NSW Department of Education and Training, in order to devise the best method for constructing a list that included terms acceptable to the Aboriginal community and the school education sector in Australia.

The Education Officers and the NSW Cataloguing Agency collaborated on a list to be presented for comment to the Aboriginal community. Unacceptable or inappropriate headings were revised. Appropriate headings for areas like Aboriginal resistance, Reconciliation and Self-determination not covered by the list were created.

An excellent resource, The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Thesaurus, compiled by Heather Moorcroft and Alana Garwood and published by the National Library of Australia, was consulted in making changes to the headings. The Aboriginal Liaison Officers in the State Library of NSW, who were also involved in the construction of The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Thesaurus, commented on the proposed headings. The Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia and many websites containing information on Aboriginal peoples were examined for appropriate terminology. All the feedback was considered and the list adjusted.

A draft list of headings was presented to the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group, at a Conference in Coffs Harbour, for their comment. Their participation in creating a list of headings acceptable to the Aboriginal and Education communities was sought and gained. The list was adjusted further to incorporate their feedback.

The list was sent to Curriculum Corporation and each State cataloguing agency for comment. Both the agency and the Aboriginal Education officers in each State examined the proposed list of headings. The feedback was considered by the NSW Education Officers, the Aboriginal Liaison Officers and members of the NSW AECG. A final list was compiled, incorporating all the feedback from each stage of the consultation process.

Because of the wide consultation with the Aboriginal community, Teacher Librarians from the North Coast of New South Wales, the State agencies and the Aboriginal Education officers, the list is now in a vocabulary that reflects the language of the Aboriginal Studies curriculum of each state and is acceptable to the Aboriginal peoples