Authority-controlled field.

1. Primary Subjects

	1.1. Indicators
	1.2. Geographic linkage

2. Secondary Subjects

If a desired subject term or geographic subject does not exist in the UNBIS Thesaurus or Geographic Names List, proposals for new Thesaurus terms and new geographic subjects may be submitted to the UNBIS Thesaurus Coordinatorr at Dag Hammarskjöld Library. Once proposals have been submitted, new 650 subjects may be entered in bibliographic records in subfield $a and used on a provisional basis, pending the decision of the DHL Thesaurus Committee or, in case of a geographic subject, its revision and addition to the Geographic Names List.

Topical subjects in tag 650 appear in capital letters.
Note that in the case of geographic subjects that are the names of countries, separate UNBIS authority records exist for the country name used as a corporate name (authority record tag 110) and the country name used as a geographic subject (geographic name record tag 150). The difference is evident from the fact that the authorized form of the country name used as a corporate name appears in upper and lower case letters, and it is used in tags 610 and 710 of bibliographic records, while the authorized form of a country name used as a subject appears in all capital letters and is used only in field 650 of a bibliographic record.

Example:

245 10 $a Letter dated 2003/05/16 from the Permanent Representative of Bhutan …
650 17 $a WOMEN'S RIGHTS
650 17 $a BHUTAN
710 2_ $a Bhutan

Do not assign 650 subjects which are present in the record in subfield $g of tags 610 or 611 (e.g. do not assign 650 WORK PROGRAMME if the same record has 610 $a International Law Commission $g Work programme).
Click here to see the full list of modifiers in the 610-611 fields.

For UN documents, do not assign 650 subjects to a corrigendum. Corrigenda are described bibliographically, but no subjects are assigned, unless the corrigendum contains additional information. A corrigendum containing additional information may be treated like an addendum and indexed accordingly.

Every addendum issued as a separate UN document is indexed as a separate bibliographic record, with subjects corresponding to the addendum, not necessarily the same as the subjects of the main document.

When an instrument at a proposed or draft stage is discussed (a draft treaty, declaration, set of guidelines, etc.) and a 630 title subject has not yet been established, a 650 form subject TREATIES, DECLARATIONS, GUIDELINES, etc. should be assigned along with a term for the subject of the instrument.

When a proposed body or meeting is discussed and a 610 or 611 corporate or conference subject has not yet been established, a 650 form subject WORKING GROUPS, GROUPS OF EXPERTS, EXPERTS, SPECIAL RAPPORTEURS, CONFERENCES, etc. should be assigned along with a term for the subject of the proposed body or meeting.

When corporate, conference or title subjects (tags 610, 611, 630) exist for established bodies or conferences or adopted instruments, it is not necessary to use 650 topical subjects in addition to the 610, 611 or 630 subjects, unless it is a main subject or substantially discussed. See tag 630 (Title Subject) for UNBIS policy on the use of 650 topical subjects in conjunction with 630 title subjects.

It is important to consider that in some cases the appropriate Content Code (tag 089) should be used in addition to 650 topical subjects for items containing certain types of information.

Examples:

089 $b A10
650 $a BIOGRAPHY
[contains biographical data on candidates]

089 $b A19
650 $a TREATIES (TEXT)
[contains text of an agreement]

089 $b A20
650 $a DECLARATIONS (TEXT)
[contains text of a declaration]

089 $b B11
650 $a MAPS
[contains UN map]

In other cases, the Content Code (tag 089) is sufficient, and it is not necessary to include a 650 topical subject for the type or form of material.

Examples:

089 $b B14
650 $a ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
650 $a SWEDEN
[the item is a periodic report submitted to a UN treaty body; it is not necessary to pick up 650 topical subject «PERIODIC REPORTS»]
But:
089 $b B19
650 $a ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
650 $a PERIODIC REPORTS
650 $a SWEDEN
[the item discusses a periodic report; it does not contain the periodic report]

089 $b A07
650 $a BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
[the item is a handbook or manual; it is not necessary to also pick up 650 topical subject «MANUALS»]
But:
089 $b A17
650 $a ON-SITE INSPECTION
650 $a MANUALS
[the item contains draft text for an on-site inspection manual; it does not contain the finalized manual]

089 $b A16
650 $a WOOD FUELS
[the item is a seminar report; it is not necessary to also pick up 650 topical subject «CONFERENCES»]
But:
089 $b B19
650 $a WOOD FUELS
650 $a CONFERENCES
[the item concerns a proposed conference]

Designation of primary and secondary subjects requires the indexer's judgement. Normally a maximum of 5 primary subjects (excluding geographic subjects) is desirable.

The second indicator value for all 650 subjects is 7, indicating that the source of the subject term is recorded in 650 subfield $2. For UNBIS topical subjects, subfield $2 contains «unbist».

Primary topical subjects should reflect the main subject or contents of an item as specifically as possible. If the specific subject or contents are not evident from the 245 title or 505 contents note, then a 520 Summary Note should be added describing the specific subject. If an UNBIS Thesaurus term or geographic name does not exist for the specific subject, a proposal for a new Thesaurus term or geographic name subject should be considered.

Example:

245 14 $a The realization of economic, social and cultural rights
520 $a Concerns the right to drinking water.
650 17 $a RIGHT TO DRINKING WATER
[the Summary Note and primary topical subject reflect the specific subject of the item, which is not evident from the title]

Examples:

650 17 $a FOREIGN TRADE
650 17 $a AFRICA
650 17 $a INTERNATIONAL TRADE
650 17 $a GLOBALIZATION
650 17 $a INTERNATIONAL FINANCE

650 17 $a ECONOMIC RELATIONS
650 17 $a EASTERN EUROPE
650 17 $a INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS

650 17 $a COMPETITION POLICY
650 17 $a COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES
650 17 $a TRADE POLICY
650 17 $a UNITED STATES
650 17 $a MULTILATERAL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS
650 17 $a INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

Regional-level topical subjects (e.g. REGIONAL COOPERATION, REGIONAL SECURITY, INTRAREGIONAL TRADE, ECONOMIC INTEGRATION, etc.) should be linked with regional geographic subjects rather than with national-level geographic subjects.

Examples:

650 17 $a ECONOMIC INTEGRATION
650 17 $a EUROPE
650 17 $a TRANSBOUNDARY AIR POLLUTION
650 17 $a NORTH AMERICA
650 17 $a REGIONAL CONFLICTS
650 17 $a AFRICA
650 17 $a INTRAREGIONAL TRADE
650 17 $a LATIN AMERICA

In general, neutral terms should be linked with national-level geographic subjects rather than negative terms.

Examples:

650 17 $a HUMAN RIGHTS
650 17 $a MYANMAR
650 17 $a IRAN (ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF)
650 17 $a ZIMBABWE
650 17 $a HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

650 17 $a PRISONER TREATMENT
650 17 $a BRAZIL
650 17 $a TURKEY
650 17 $a TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL TREATMENT

650 17 $a RACE RELATIONS
650 17 $a UNITED STATES
650 17 $a RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

650 17 $a RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
650 17 $a XIZANG (CHINA)
650 17 $a CHINA
650 17 $a RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE

In general, specific topical primary subjects should precede more general primary subjects (often, form subjects).

Examples:

650 17 $a INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
650 17 $a INTERNATIONAL YEARS

650 17 $a SEAT BELTS
650 17 $a MOTOR VEHICLE STANDARDS

650 17 $a ENVIRONMENTAL AGREEMENTS
650 17 $a TREATIES (TEXT)

If a geographic subject is used which is a part of a country, the country as a subject should be picked up in addition to the geographic part.

Example:

650 17 $a INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
650 17 $a CHITTAGONG HILLS (BANGLADESH)
650 17 $a BANGLADESH
650 17 $a HUMAN RIGHTS
650 17 $a SINDH (PAKISTAN)
650 17 $a PAKISTAN

When a document includes an official UN map, the 650 subject MAPS is assigned as a primary subject linked geographically to the country subject.

Example:

500 $a Includes#UN map no. 3707 rev. 5: Sudan#(Sept. 2000).
650 17 $a MAPS
650 17 $a SUDAN

The 650 subject MAPS is also used as a primary subject for a work mainly composed of maps (UN or non-UN).

Since many UN documents concern the same main subject(s) and bear the same or similar titles, secondary topical subjects allow the user to differentiate between items with the same primary subject(s), provide more specificity and reflect various aspects of a topic. Secondary subjects allow users to search for information below the level of the work as a whole. They are also useful for reflecting the presence of special types of information contained in a document (e.g. statistical data, model forms, questionnaires, etc.).

The most in-depth subject analysis is given to draft and adopted UN resolutions and decisions, which are assigned secondary topical subjects for every significant operative paragraph in addition to the primary subject(s) for the resolution or decision as a whole.

Secondary subjects are assigned for chapters and important annexes of reports in addition to the primary subject(s) for the report as a whole.

Secondary-level subjects are assigned to meeting records for topics discussed at the meeting in addition to the primary subject(s) for the meeting as a whole.

It is also quite important to consider the logical order of secondary subjects. For example, it is desirable to precede secondary geographic subjects by the topical subject(s) concerning them; it is desirable to record non-geographic secondary subjects in the order of their occurrence in the document or in order of relative importance.

Example:

245 10 $a ECE initiatives in the field of energy : $b report
650 17 $a SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
650 17 $a ENERGY POLICY
650 17 $a EUROPE
650 17 $a PROJECT ACTIVITIES
650 27 $a ENERGY PRICES
650 27 $a COAL INDUSTRY
650 27 $a ENERGY SECURITY
650 27 $a NATURAL GAS
650 27 $a ECONOMIES IN TRANSITION
650 27 $a ENERGY EFFICIENCY
650 27 $a TECHNICAL COOPERATION
650 27 $a WATER MANAGEMENT
650 27 $a CENTRAL ASIA
650 27 $a ELECTRIC POWER SYSTEMS
650 27 $a SOUTHEAST EUROPE
[In this example, secondary-level subjects reflect the main subjects of chapters of the report, and are recorded in the order in which they occur in the document. Geographic subjects are immediately preceded by the topical subjects concerning them]