A subject heading is a term assigned to a book or article that describes what content of the item. Using the right subject heading can help you find information more quickly.
For example, US Presidents can be described using the following terms:
- US Presidents
- American Presidents
- Presidents of the United States
You could search all three of those key terms, or you could use one subject heading to find all the library's materials about US Presidnets
Presidents--United States
The Library of Congress determines subject headings. An outline of the subject headings can be found here.
This guide was adapted from a libguide by Emily Ford at Portland State University.