Cultus, Cult, and Cults Suggestions for Revising Problematic Library of Congress Subject Headings

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Published: Jan 30, 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31046/tcb.v32i1.3414
How to Cite:
“Cultus, Cult, and Cults: Suggestions for Revising Problematic Library of Congress Subject Headings”. 2024. TCB: Technical Services in Religion & Theology 32 (1): 1-6. https://doi.org/10.31046/tcb.v32i1.3414.
Keywords:
cults, Library of Congress Subject Headings

Main Article Content

Jamie Carlstone
Northwestern University
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9288-328X
Ermine L. Algaier IV
Independent researcher
https://orcid.org/0009-0001-8771-4211

Abstract

Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) contains 244 subject headings that use the term “Cult” somewhere in the record. Many of the uses of “Cult” in LCSH are inaccurate, offensive, and outdated. This article is an analysis of the problem and a proposal for how to begin addressing the issues with “Cult” in LCSH.

Article Details

Issue
Vol. 32 No. 1 (2024)
Section
Perspectives & Practices
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Material reproduced from the Library of Congress is in the public domain and is not subject to the Creative Commons license. Authors of the “Perspectives and Practices” column grant Atla an exclusive right of first publication, display and distribution and retain all other rights.

Author Biographies

Jamie Carlstone, Northwestern University

Jamie Carlstone is the Authority Metadata Librarian at Northwestern University Libraries. She previously worked in serials at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Chicago. Her scholarly interests include inclusive metadata practices, serials standards, copyright registration history, and collective bargaining in libraries.

Ermine L. Algaier IV, Independent researcher

Ermine Algaier is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign MLIS program. Formerly he was a visiting assistant professor of philosophy and religious studies at Monmouth College and General Editor of William James Studies.  He is author of Reconstructing the Personal Library of William James: Markings and Marginalia from the Harvard Library Collection. His scholarly interests include personal libraries, provenance, critical archival studies, American religion, and the history of American philosophy.