Month: May 2013

When PLAFSEP magazine asked its readers to nominate the silliest library subject heading, the hands-down winner was BUTTOCKS (IN RELIGION, FOLK-LORE, ETC.).

Other highlights, gathered by columnist John R. Likins:

• AMERICAN GIANT CHECKERED RABBIT
• BANKRUPTCY–POPULAR WORKS 
• CATASTROPHICAL, THE, see also COMIC, THE 
• CHILD ABUSE–STUDY AND TEACHING 
• CONTANGO AND BACKWARDATION 
• DENTISTS IN ART 
• FANTASTIC TELEVISION PROGRAMS 
• FOOD, JUNK 
• GHOSTS–PICTORIAL WORKS 
• GOD–ADDRESSES, ESSAYS, LECTURES 
• HEMORRHOIDS–POPULAR WORKS 
• JESUS CHRIST–PERSON AND OFFICES 
• LABORATORY ANIMALS–CONGRESSES 
• LOVE NESTS–DIRECTORIES 
• MANURE HANDLING 
• MUD LUMPS 
• ODORS IN THE BIBLE 
• PRAYERS FOR ANIMALS 
• SICK–FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS 
• URINARY DIVERSIONS, see also URINE DANCE
• WASPS (PERSONS)

That’s from Likins’ article “Subject Headings, Silly, American–20th Century–Complications and Sequelae–Addresses, Essays, Lectures,” in Technical Services Quarterly, vol. 2, no. 1/2, Fall/Winter 1984, using data from the Library of Congress and Cataloging in Publication.

In The Library at Night (2006), Alberto Manguel gives these:

• Banana research 
• Bat binding 
• Boots and shoes in art 
• Chickens in religion and folklore 
• Sewage: collected works 
• Sex: cause and determination 
• Tic: see also toc

And the Whole Library Handbook (1991) offers these, collected by the Library of Congress Professional Association: 

• Adult children 
• Beehives; see Bee–Housing 
• Diving for men 
• Drug abuse — Programmed instruction 
• Feet in the Bible 
• Hand — Surgery — Juvenile literature 
• Lord’s Supper — Reservation 
• Low German wit and humor 
• Monotone operators 
• Running races in rabbinical literature 
• Standing on one foot; see One-leg resting position 
• Stupidity; see Inefficiency, Intellectual

I think some of these may now be out of date, but there’s certainly no shortage of curious headings — in doing research for this site I recently ran across “Raccoon — Biography.”

When PLAFSEP magazine asked its readers to nominate the silliest library subject heading, the hands-down winner was BUTTOCKS (IN RELIGION, FOLK-LORE, ETC.).

Other highlights, gathered by columnist John R. Likins:

• AMERICAN GIANT CHECKERED RABBIT
• BANKRUPTCY–POPULAR WORKS 
• CATASTROPHICAL, THE, see also COMIC, THE 
• CHILD ABUSE–STUDY AND TEACHING 
• CONTANGO AND BACKWARDATION 
• DENTISTS IN ART 
• FANTASTIC TELEVISION PROGRAMS 
• FOOD, JUNK 
• GHOSTS–PICTORIAL WORKS 
• GOD–ADDRESSES, ESSAYS, LECTURES 
• HEMORRHOIDS–POPULAR WORKS 
• JESUS CHRIST–PERSON AND OFFICES 
• LABORATORY ANIMALS–CONGRESSES 
• LOVE NESTS–DIRECTORIES 
• MANURE HANDLING 
• MUD LUMPS 
• ODORS IN THE BIBLE 
• PRAYERS FOR ANIMALS 
• SICK–FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS 
• URINARY DIVERSIONS, see also URINE DANCE
• WASPS (PERSONS)

That’s from Likins’ article “Subject Headings, Silly, American–20th Century–Complications and Sequelae–Addresses, Essays, Lectures,” in Technical Services Quarterly, vol. 2, no. 1/2, Fall/Winter 1984, using data from the Library of Congress and Cataloging in Publication.

In The Library at Night (2006), Alberto Manguel gives these:

• Banana research 
• Bat binding 
• Boots and shoes in art 
• Chickens in religion and folklore 
• Sewage: collected works 
• Sex: cause and determination 
• Tic: see also toc

And the Whole Library Handbook (1991) offers these, collected by the Library of Congress Professional Association: 

• Adult children 
• Beehives; see Bee–Housing 
• Diving for men 
• Drug abuse — Programmed instruction 
• Feet in the Bible 
• Hand — Surgery — Juvenile literature 
• Lord’s Supper — Reservation 
• Low German wit and humor 
• Monotone operators 
• Running races in rabbinical literature 
• Standing on one foot; see One-leg resting position 
• Stupidity; see Inefficiency, Intellectual

I think some of these may now be out of date, but there’s certainly no shortage of curious headings — in doing research for this site I recently ran across “Raccoon — Biography.”