Minnie Earl Sears

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Minnie Earl Sears (1873-1933) had a long career as a cataloger and bibliographer at a variety of libraries (Bryn Mawr College, University of Minnesota, New York Public Library), before she joined the publishing company H. W. Wilson in 1923 to publish her List of Subject Headings for Small Libraries. The book provides a list of subject headings for small libraries to use in lieu of Library of Congress Subject Headings. LC headings are often not as useful for small libraries because they are too detailed. Sears’ List of Subject Headings also offers small libraries guidance on how to create their own new subject headings consistently when necessary.

In order to create her subject headings, Sears consulted small and medium sized libraries throughout the country to discern patterns of usage. She then developed her own system based, in part, on the LCSH, but with a simplified subject vocabulary. In Sears’ system, common terms are much preferred over scientific and technical terms. Her system also allowed individual libraries the authority to create their own subject headings. The Sears model is not meant to serve as a standardized bridge for union catalogs, but rather as a model “for the creation of headings as needed.”

There are many similarities between the LCSH and Sears’ system. Both lists are subject lists arranged in alphabetical order. Both lists make use of overarching subject categories and hierarchical subject subdivisions. However, Sears’ headings favor natural language. Her headings make use of only four types of headings: topical, form, geographic, and proper names. She also tended to convert inverted headings into direct entries.

In the third edition of the book (1933) Ms. Sears added a section called, ‘Practical Suggestions for the Beginner in Subject Heading Work.” These “Principles of the Sears List” were eventually published as a separate document and became a widely used teaching tool for library schools. In subsequent editions of the List, Sears’ subject headings were also linked to appropriate Dewey Decimal numbers.

In addition to creating the List, Sears edited the ALA’s Standard Catalog for Public Libraries and an edition of the Standard Catalog for High School Libraries. She eventually left H.W. Wilson to teach at Columbia University’s School of Library Science, where she started the first graduate course in cataloging. Sears also remained an active participant in the ALA and the New York Library Association. After her death 1933 at age 60, the book was eventually renamed in her honor as The Sears List of Subject Headings. The List is currently in its 19th edition.