The or SWD (translated as ''Subject Headings Authority File'') is a controlled vocabulary

index term In information retrieval, an index term (also known as subject term, subject heading, descriptor, or keyword) is a term that captures the essence of the topic of a document. Index terms make up a controlled vocabulary for use in bibliographic recor ...

system used primarily for

subject indexing Subject indexing is the act of describing or classifying a document A document is a writing, written, drawing, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of nonfiction, non-fictional, as well as ...

library catalog A library catalog (or library catalogue in British English) is a register of all bibliography, bibliographic items found in a library or group of libraries, such as a network of libraries at several locations. A catalog for a group of libra ...

s. The SWD is managed by the

German National Library The German National Library (DNB; ) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to collect, permanently archive, comprehens ...

(DNB) in cooperation with various

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

networks. The inclusion of keywords in the SWD is defined by (RSWK) (English: Rules for the keyword catalogue). Similar authority systems in other languages include the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) and the (). Since April 2012 the SWD is part of the (GND) (English: Integrated Authority File).

Scope

The SWD has about 600,000 descriptors and 700,000 non-descriptors ( synonyms and quasi-synonyms) as well as synonymous descriptor chains with references to a descriptor. Its growth rate is about 5.5% per year. About three-quarters of the descriptors refer to individual concepts (language identifier, person, entity, title, ethnography etc.) and a quarter are abstract concepts. Linking using hierarchical (about 115,000) and associative (26,000) relations is not very dense, so the SWD cannot be viewed as a thesaurus (as of mid-2003). The terms in the SWD are also arranged in a separate

classification Classification is the activity of assigning objects to some pre-existing classes or categories. This is distinct from the task of establishing the classes themselves (for example through cluster analysis). Examples include diagnostic tests, identif ...

with nearly 500 classes in 36 main groups.

Structure

The various terms are placed in a classification scheme and also contain references to sources, related terms, preferred term and to a lesser extent hierarchical links. But the SWD is probably not a complete thesaurus because of the low degree of linkage. The SWD is available online through the catalogue database ILTIS and is available for a fee as BIBLIODATA, together with the (PND) (English: Name Authority File) and the (GKD) (English: Corporate Bodies Authority File) on the standard data CD-ROM and the standard file TITAN. In both cases, the user interface of the SWD leaves much room for improvement. Instead of making SWD accessible as a user-friendly navigation tool, it assumes that users are familiar with SWD and its classification scheme and enter the appropriate descriptor in the correct form before running a search. Navigating the system or moving from one concept to another by means of hyperlinks is not possible. The strategy of the German Library to distribute authority records commercially makes the extended use of the SWD difficult, e.g. in other keyword systems. For the exchange of authority records, there is a separate machine exchange format for libraries called MAB-SWD. The head official of the Southwest German Library Network (SWB) offers online access (OSWD).

External links

Searching the OSWD

about the SWD * Rules for the Keyword Catalogue (RSWK) 3rd edition, Deutsches Bibliotheksinstitut, 1998

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlagwortnormdatei 2012 disestablishments in Germany Library cataloging and classification Identifiers Thesauri

Scope

Structure

See also

External links