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Subject Access to Films and Videos

by Sheila Intner and William E. Studwell
with the assistance of Simone E. Blake and David P. Miller
A Review


This work is an excellent purchase for those who catalog film or video collections. Sheila Intner states in the preface that, "The purpose of bringing this information together in one book is it helps the library cataloger charged with providing subject access to materials in the formats, as well as the student studying intellectual access to such collections. Bringing relevant subject descriptors and cross references together in a small, focused list enables catalogers and students to see the range of possibilities available for indexing." This book fulfills those objectives admirably.

While the majority of the book is an alphabetical listing of subject headings, several introductory chapters discuss other issues such as collection development, compatibility between LC headings and Moving Image Materials: Genre Terms, and an overview of subject access difficulties for visual media. Several informative bibliographies are provided on collection development and sources for subject access to films and videos.

The heart of the work is the list of subject headings for film and video culled from the LC headings. This is successful in its design to provide the cataloger with a more manageable list of subject terms. To test how the terms would stand up to actual use, I began cataloging a series of video tapes of a local political talk show. Subject Access to Films and Videos saved time and made my job a great deal easier.

Published in 1992 by: Soldier Creek Press, P.O. Box 734, 642 S. Hunt St., Lake Crystal, Minn. 56055-0734. ISBN 0-936996-60-9. (133 p.) $25.00

Reviewed by:
Ted Ryan
Visual Arts Archivist
Atlanta Historical Society, Inc.

Last updated: April 8, 2003
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