Which term refers to a standardized term assigned to describe the content of a library material for indexing and retrieval purposes?

• A. Subject heading
• B. Keyword search
• C. Controlled vocabulary
• D. Shelf

Answer: (A)

Subject headings are the standardized terms used to describe what a library item is about for indexing and retrieval. In cataloging, librarians assign a subject heading to capture the main topics of the work, drawing from a controlled vocabulary such as the Library of Congress Subject Headings. This standardized termlets people search by topic and helps ensure consistency across different items, so a user looking for all materials on a topic will find relevant records even if different authors used different words. A keyword search, by contrast, relies on free-text terms typed by the user and may miss items that use different vocabulary. A controlled vocabulary is the entire approved set of terms used for indexing, not a single term applied to an item. A shelf is simply the physical location of the item, not its subject content.