Queries on the subdivision "History" opens a real can of worms, since the
subdivision is sometimes used by LCSH to indicate historical treatment of a
topic and sometimes to indicate that the time period covered is
'historical' vis-a-vis us.
It is not only a problem for manuscript catalogers, as Jackie Dooley
pointed out, but for rare book catalogers. There is no way to distinguish
by subject heading a pamphlet printed in 1645 on the Battle of Naseby and a
1992 monograph on the Battle of Naseby. The first is a contemporary account
of the event ("historical" to us but not to the author or its original
readers); the second is an historical treatment of the topic.
This, along with the "History--Sources" problem is one of continual
vexation to me. I have a folder on the problem, and have what I realize are
unrealistically optimistic hopes that someday I can enlist some others to
help me think through this problem and propose a solution.
___________________________________________________
Deborah J. Leslie, Rare Book Catalog Librarian III
[log in to unmask] | http://www.library.yale.edu/~djleslie
Sterling Memorial Library | Catalog Dept., Rare Book Team | PO Box 208240
Yale University | New Haven, CT 06520-8240
(203) 432-8377 | (203) 432-7231 (fax)
|