Nota Bene: It is highly recommended that the user of this document read the Introduction to obtain a fuller understanding of Dublin Core and its implementation.
The subject element of the Dublin Core description will be the most difficult for some people. It shouldn't, trust me! Dublin Core is designed for the end user. The average author of Web pages will not know what LCSH or Sears (not the store) lists of subject headings are. But with Dublin Core, it does not matter if the author knows that they are lists of controlled vocabulary terms that can be assigned to documents by libraries and other corporate bodies in order to provide a description of its subject content and collocate like documents better.
The most common subjects that will be supplied are Keywords. This is the strength of the Dublin Core descriptive process because everyone can come up with keywords to describe their documents. AN examples of a Dublin Core subject element is:
<META NAME="DC.subject.keyword" CONTENT="Dublin Core, document description, cataloging, Internet cataloging, subject headings, subject analysis">
Notice that each of the terms are separated by a comma. There is also no limit to the number of terms that can be assigned. Examples of subject elements using standard authority sources (e.g. LSCH, thesauri, etc.) are:
<META NAME="DC.subject" CONTENT="(SCHEME=LCSH) Sexism">
<META NAME="DC.subject" CONTENT="(SCHEME=Sears) Gods and goddesses">
<META NAME="DC.subject" CONTENT="(SCHEME=DDC) 831 German poetry">
<META NAME="DC.subject" CONTENT="(SCHEME=LCC) RM325 Hypnotics">
<META NAME="DC.subject" CONTENT="(SCHEME=ERIC) Library Collections">
Obviously, these examples have no relation to each other. They are strictly random examples. The numbers of the LCC and DDC SCHEMEs are classification schemes. Although generally not thought of as subject terms, the numbers do represent subject areas and are very appropriate as Dublin Core subject SCHEMEs. The author must also keep in mind that these are only a few of the subject SCHEMEs available for use. There are countless dictionaries, encyclopedias, and thesauri that can be used as well. The table below lists only a few common SCHEMEs available..
| TYPE | SCHEME | LANG |
|---|---|---|
recommended if Internal SCHEME used) | (you came up with the subjects) | (default=English) Standard ISO 639 |
feel are needed about the DLO) | Subject Headings) | |
Decimal Classification) | ||
Decimal Classification) | ||
list of subject headings usually used in public schools) | ||
Architecture Thesaurus | ||
Geographic Names | ||
Congress Thesaurus for Graphic Materials |
The list of SCHEMEs possible are endless. Although the keyword qualifer is the default, it is recommended that it be appended to the subject value, like the example provided above. The SCHEME internal which is also default, however, does not have to be used despite it being associated with the keyword TYPE qualifier.