Bar-Ilan University's Wurzweiler Library's "Hebrew Subject Headings" (see references below)

A new 3 volume edition of Bar-Ilan University's Wurzweiler Library's "Hebrew Subject Headings" (HSH) has recently appeared. HSH is the end-product of an on-going project of the library's Hebrew Classification and Cataloging Department. This project began in 1983 as an outgrowth of the computerization of the library. All new books acquired by the library, in the Hebrew alphabet, as well as those entered into the computerized catalog retrospectively, were assigned subject headings in Hebrew. The computerized "Hebrew Subject Headings" uses as its model the Subject Headings of the Library of Congress. Applicable subject headings are translated into Hebrew, and, when a subject heading in the Judaica or Israeli field is not found in LCSH, the Hebrew Cataloging Dept. adapts an existing subject or creates a new one. The librarians often consulyt the academic staff of the University in their fields of expertise in order to ensure use of the most accurate terminology. Bar-Ilan original subject headings exist in the following fields: Judaism, Jewish history, Hebrew literature, Israel, Hasidism (HSH lists 90 dynasties vs. 6 dynasties listed in LCSH), Holocaust, Zionism, Cabala, etc. Original subject headings are marked as such. Of particular interest to many academic institutions is the large collection of several hundred "Yizkor Books" and the specific subject headings given to them. A great deal of research is done to identify the particular shtetl that is memorialized. In addition the town or city has to be placed in the current geographical designation. All this is provided by the Hebrew Cataloging Departments's HSH. Today the database of HSH contains over 40,000 subjects and continues to grow daily.

Two volumes contain the Hebrew subjects with their English translations as well as scope notes and "see" and "see also" references, particularly in the Judaica/Israeli fields. The third volume is an English index to the Hebrew subjects.

This ongoing project of "Hebrew Subject Headings" received the prestigious Ruth Kahn-Ever Award from the Israel Ministry of Education, Libraries Division. Prof. Bella Hass Weinberg in her review of HSH which appeared in "Judaica Librarianship" stated: "First...Judaica librarians working with LCSH, who often cannot find appropriately specific headings for the works they need to catalog, may find the Bar-Ilan list helpful in amplifying LCSH. Second, those who consider certain LC headings for Jewish topics theologically or otherwise objectionable may find models for revising them in the Bar-Ilan list." She concludes: "The publication of "Hebrew Subject Headings" consititutes a major achievement in the field of Judaica librarianship...." A new edition of HSH is planned every three years. Updates will be published yearly. The cost of the 3 volume set is $440 to new subscribers including the first yearly update given free as a bonus. To previous subscribers the cost is $300. The price of the one volume English Index, for new subscribers, is $140, and $100 for libraries already receiving HSH. The price of the yearly updates will be determined at the time of publication.

Additional information and sample pages can be obtained from

Ya'akov Aronson ,University Librarian ,Bar Ilan University ,POB 90,000 ,Ramat Gan 52900 ISRAEL

e-mail: Aronson@mail.biu.ac.il      Tel. +972-3-5318357/486   Fax +972-3-5349233

                     IFLA JERUSALEM CONFERENCE  Aug 2000

           1.  Problems in the use of Library of Congress subject headings as the basis for Hebrew subject
                 headings in the Bar-Ilan University Library
 
           2.  Hebrew Subject Headings at Bar-Ilan University: an update