Catalogazione semantica: il Nuovo Soggettario

About the Role

The Nuovo Soggettario is a subject indexing tool developed by the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze (BNCF) for use by Italian libraries in cataloging resources of various types. It is also applicable to institutions such as archives, museums, and media libraries. This system replaces the previous Soggettario per i cataloghi delle biblioteche italiane (1956).

Supported by the Ministry of Culture through the Direzione Generale Biblioteche e Diritto d'Autore and the ICCU, the tool originated from a project initiated by BNCF in 2000 with a feasibility study led by a group of experts coordinated by Luigi Crocetti. The indexing language adheres to ISO standards and aligns with principles, guidelines, and conceptual models developed by IFLA. It supports both pre-coordinated and post-coordinated indexing.

The general Thesaurus, continuously evolving (as of May 2021: 68,000 terms), is available in open formats (SKOS/RDF) for semantic web applications. The ICCU, which has overseen the tool’s development from its early stages, promotes its adoption across the SBN library network. Using SBNMARC protocol functionalities, the Indice database has been adapted to disseminate and enhance a subject archive created under the Nuovo Soggettario rules, enabling cooperative use.

The Nuovo Soggettario guidelines were published in 2007 (Nuovo soggettario: guida al sistema italiano di indicizzazione per soggetto: prototipo del Thesaurus, Editrice Bibliografica). A second edition is currently in development.

Resources

• Nuovo Soggettario Home Page
• Manuale Applicativo
• Thesaurus