From Authority Control to Informed Retrieval: Framing the Expanded Domain of Subject Access

The expanding domain within which subject searching takes place creates new challenges in providing effective subject access. Three changes in the domain of subject access are described. The purpose of this article is to propose a broader framework within which to analyze barriers to effective subject access and to propose directions for research and action. Methods of facilitating subject access are categorized as end points on a continuum: authority control, controlling the results of indexing, and informed retrieval-informing the process of searching. Identification of these two categories signals a paradigmatic shift toward a reliance on both authority control and informed retrieval to facilitate subject access.