For a slightly different look at this topic, check out this recent post from one of my LS 566 classmates, which examines "ofness" and "aboutness" in the context of a Pablo Picasso painting, as well as some links providing a bit more insight into the subject.
Monday, March 3, 2014
On Subject Description: "Ofness and Aboutness"
One of the major challenges that catalogers and metadata creators confront in subject description is in identifying the intended meaning behind the object being examined. While many books, images, and recordings are relatively straight-forward in the themes and topics they explore, there are also many instances in which the intended meaning of the object is distinctly different that its superficial characteristics. George Orwell's Animal Farm, for instance, is superficially the tale of animal interaction on a fictional farm, though the meaning behind this story is a satire and critique of the Russian Revolution and the totalitarianism of the Soviet Union. In the cataloging and metadata world, these distinctions represent the difference between the "ofness" of a work, and the "aboutness" of a work. Being able to identify both is a key component in ensuring that a bibliographic item is correctly described.
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Great post, Josh. This question has certainly perplexed me for quite some time. To be honest, I struggle with subject heading and elements, because it can feel so limiting at times. Subjects really seem to be more about the overarching "aboutness" of an information resource. Because it is so difficult to really capture the essence of an information resource, subject headings and elements have a limited, but helpful use. In general, it serves its purpose well. Yet, it isn't always helpful to researchers who have a very particular purpose in mind.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for the challenging thoughts on this difficult subject.
This is a really good example of when subject description can present vast differences between ofness and aboutness. I have the subject element for the image indexing project and I am glad that there has been such a nice discussion in the readings and blog posts concerning subject description.
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