Subject Indexing of LGBTQ+ Fiction in Sweden and China

Subject indexing of LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer, and ace) materials is often criticized for being too general and superficial, as general subject headings systems rarely provide the desirable depth and breadth. LGBTQ+ fiction is an even bigger problem because fiction is most often indexed only for genre, place, and time, while themes remain unaddressed. Thus, many readers look outside the library catalogue to identify LGBTQ+ titles in social medial, personal social networks, or web search engines. This exploratory study builds on the Queerlit database of over 1800 Swedish LGBTQ+ works of fiction which have been subject indexed using a dedicated thesaurus. It aims to identify and discuss how Queerlit subject terms compare with those in the Swedish Union Catalogue (Libris), the social cataloguing website Goodreads as well as the Google Books API. In addition, subject access to LGBTQ+ works of fiction in China is discussed, particularly via Douban, the social networking platform.