This book is a companion to the 19th edition of the Sears List and a complete course in the theory and practice of the List for practitioners, teachers, and learners. The object of this small, practical introduction is to be simple, clear, and illustrative, assuming the reader has little prior knowledge either of the Sears List or of subject headings work in general.

Last published in 2010, this new update is filled with new subject headings created in the last four years. Delivering a core list of key headings, together with patterns and examples to guide the cataloger in creating further headings as required, Sears List of Subject Headings has been the standard thesaurus of subject terminology for small and medium-sized libraries since 1923.

Introduction to cataloging; Introduction to principles of cataloging; Choice of entry rules; Form of entry headings for persons; Form of entry headings for corporate bodies; Uniform titles; Descriptive cataloging; Serials; Cataloging of nonbook materials; Classification; Dewey decimal classification; Library of congress classification; Other general classification systems; Subject headings; Library of congress subject headings; Sears list of subject headings; Centralized services and cataloging routines.