Introduction. This thesis seeks to investigate the construction and application of subject headings within Queerlit; a database designed to collocate Swedish works of fiction containing LGBTQI motifs. The aim of the study is to identify which principles guide the use of subject headings within Queerlit. The findings of this study can in turn provide insights as to the practical and epistemological challenges that can arise in the subject indexing of LGBTQI materials in general.  Theory & Method. The theoretical underpinnings of the study are social constructionism and queer theory. A Foucauldian understanding of the concept of discourse has been applied during analysis. The study also makes use of theories concerning categorization of sexuality and gender as described by Sedgwick and Halberstam, along with the LIS concepts of aboutness and meaning. The method used is discourse analysis, which has been applied to Queerlit’s subject heading list, as well as the indexing of two novels included in Queerlit.  Results & Analysis. The analysis has shown that the subject heading list contains several discourses pertaining to LGBTQI. In identifying these discourses, it is shown that Queerlit emphasizes sex and sexuality, while expressing ambivalence concerning temporality and intersectionalism. As for the analysis of the indexing of the two novels, the study has demonstrated that subjective interpretation is a vital part of identifying LGBTQI motifs, and that the indexing of older literature is influenced by presentism.  Conclusion. The findings prove that LGBTQI materials provide a particular set of challenges for the practice of subject heading indexing. This is largely due to the fact that LGBTQI concepts tend to be fluid, unstable, and heavily dependent on context, both within literature and intellectual thought, whereas thesauri by necessity treat documents and the language within them as stable and definitive.  This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.

<p>This study deals with knowledge organization of feminist research, in bibliographic catalogues and in a Swedish context. The thesis develops a definition of feminist discourse which incorporates but is not limited to feminist research. Feminist research, in turn, is understood as articulating a critical approach aimed at critiquing and changing inequitable gender relations. The thesis analyzes the meaning of a range of feminist perspectives through a close text analysis of feminist PhD-dissertations. Two universal knowledge organization systems: Svenska ämnesord and Klassifikationssystem för svenska bibliotek; and one subject-specific system: Kvinnohistoriska samlingarnas ämnesord, are studied in order to discuss the extent to which they are able to articulate feminist perspectives, as well as how they actually articulate such perspectives in practice. The two universal systems studied tend to marginalize feminist perspectives as forms of knowledge. This thesis interprets this marginalization in the light of these systems’ putative objectivistic and universalistic epistemology and ontology. It is suggested that they privilege disciplinary knowledge over interdisciplinary knowledge forms, and substantive topics over conceptual perspectives. Guidelines for knowledge organizatory practice tend to encourage indexers and classifiers to search for central substantive themes. In this schema, feminism is understood as a field relating to socio-political women’s issues. Feminist knowledge qua knowledge is marginalized by the systems studied, and is at times given a plain wrong classifycation. further, this thesis suggests that the subject-specific knowledge organization system studied: Kvinnohistoriska samlingarnas ämnesord, is only able to deal with feminist research in an incomplete and inadequate way. Although this index is designed to classify texts within the broad subject field of: women’s studies, masculinity studies and gender research, as well as other material relevant to the field, the structure of the index is too simple and does not allow for associative relationships between terms; nor does it define feminist discourse. The premises and guidelines for knowledge organization practice are also under-developed or not well defined. Successful organization of feminist knowledge needs instead to be based on a particular understanding of knowledge and knowledge organization as contextually shaped (and shaping). Feminist literature is first and foremost about expressing feminist discourse qua theme, perspective, and part of the feminist tradition (such as critical, women-centring, and reflexive feminisms) – an observation that needs to be reflected in the knowledge organization.</p>

This study deals with knowledge organization of feminist research, in bibliographic catalogues and in a Swedish context. The thesis develops a definition of feminist discourse which incorporates but is not limited to feminist research. Feminist research, in turn, is understood as articulating a critical approach aimed at critiquing and changing inequitable gender relations. The thesis analyzes the meaning of a range of feminist perspectives through a close text analysis of feminist PhD-dissertations. Two universal knowledge organization systems: Svenska ämnesord and Klassifikationssystem för svenska bibliotek; and one subject-specific system: Kvinnohistoriska samlingarnas ämnesord, are studied in order to discuss the extent to which they are able to articulate feminist perspectives, as well as how they actually articulate such perspectives in practice. The two universal systems studied tend to marginalize feminist perspectives as forms of knowledge. This thesis interprets this marginalization in the light of these systems’ putative objectivistic and universalistic epistemology and ontology. It is suggested that they privilege disciplinary knowledge over interdisciplinary knowledge forms, and substantive topics over conceptual perspectives. Guidelines for knowledge organizatory practice tend to encourage indexers and classifiers to search for central substantive themes. In this schema, feminism is understood as a field relating to socio-political women’s issues. Feminist knowledge qua knowledge is marginalized by the systems studied, and is at times given a plain wrong classifycation. further, this thesis suggests that the subject-specific knowledge organization system studied: Kvinnohistoriska samlingarnas ämnesord, is only able to deal with feminist research in an incomplete and inadequate way. Although this index is designed to classify texts within the broad subject field of: women’s studies, masculinity studies and gender research, as well as other material relevant to the field, the structure of the index is too simple and does not allow for associative relationships between terms; nor does it define feminist discourse. The premises and guidelines for knowledge organization practice are also under-developed or not well defined. Successful organization of feminist knowledge needs instead to be based on a particular understanding of knowledge and knowledge organization as contextually shaped (and shaping). Feminist literature is first and foremost about expressing feminist discourse qua theme, perspective, and part of the feminist tradition (such as critical, women-centring, and reflexive feminisms) – an observation that needs to be reflected in the knowledge organization.

This master thesis examines the cataloguing practices of two art libraries in Sweden in relation to contemporary art. The aim of this study is to show how classification systems and other forms of controlled vocabulary correspond to contemporary art and reveal the factors that influence the everyday practice of cataloguing. The qualitative methods of semi-structured interviews and an analysis of bibliographic records have been used for the purposes of this study. The study is based on domain analysis as conceived by Hjørland and Albrechtsen and some concepts and principles of Knowledge Organisation in the field of Library and Information Science. A total of three interviews of cataloguers has proved that perceptions concerning classification and subject indexing differ among cataloguers and cataloguing practices depend on local policies concerning acquisition, shelving and user perspectives, but also each library’s resources and the institutional context (academic vs museum). Through the analysis of eleven bibliographic records, no consistent pattern has been detected, in relation to indexing and classification. The libraries do not use special systems for subject analysis. The classifications provided by universal systems have been considered insufficient to express all the concepts found in documents. The use of subject headings is, therefore, important and complements the process of subject analysis. The classification systems and subject headings lists analysed include the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), the Swedish Sveriges Allmänna Biblioteksförenings Klassifikationssystem (SAB) and the Svenska ämnesord (SAO). This is a two-year master’s thesis in Archive, Library and Museum studies. / Denna masteruppsats handlar om katalogiseringspraktiker på två konstbibliotek, nämligen Umeå universitetsbibliotek och Konstbiblioteket, i relation till samtida konst. Syftet med denna studie är att visa hur samtida konst återspeglas i klassifikationssystem och andra former av kontrollerad vokabulär och ta reda på vilka faktorer påverkar katalogiseringsarbete. Metoden som har använts i studien består av halvstrukturerade intervjuer med katalogisatörer och en analys av bibliografiska poster. Studien baseras på domänanalys som har utarbetats av Hjørland och Albrechtsen samt vissa begrepp och principer från Kunskapsorganisation inom ramen för Biblioteks- och Informationsvetenskap. Analysen av tre intervjuer visade på att uppfattningar om klassifikation och ämnesordsindexering skiljer sig åt bland katalogisatörer och att katalogiseringspraktiker beror på varje biblioteks riktlinjer med avseende på förvärv, hylluppställning, användarperspektiv, bibliotekets resurser samt institutionell kontext (akademisk vs museal). Elva bibliografiska poster har analyserats och genom analysen har inga mönster i relation till ämnesordsindexering och klassificering identifierats. De undersökta bibliotek använder inte något specialsystem för klassifikation eller ämnesordsindexering. Klassifikationskoder från universella system ansågs otillräckliga för att uttrycka alla begrepp i dokumenten. Ämnesordsindexering är därför viktig och anses vara mer effektiv för ämnesanalys. Klassifikationsssystem och ämnesordlistor som har analyserats är Dewey Decimal Klassifikation (DDK), Sveriges Allmänna Biblioteksförenings Klassifikationssystem (SAB) och Svenska ämnesord (SAO). Detta är en tvåårig masteruppsats i Arkiv-, Bibliotek- och Museumstudier.