Is it true that, in addition to the links to the LC subject authority records that you provide via the LCSH you have mapped to the DDC, WebDewey in CORC subscribers have search and browse access to the entire LCSH authority file?  How does this work? 

Yes, you can search and browse the entire LCSH authority file in CORC.  The information you find there can help you locate an appropriate Dewey number.  For example, you have in hand a book about sailfin dragons.  On the CORC navigation bar, click Authorities.  To do a search, click Authorities again under "Search" to bring up the Search Authorities screen.  Look for sailfin dragons in the "Topicals" or "LCSH" index.  You will get a match on the LCSH authority record for Hydrosaurus.  "Sailfin dragons" is one of the See-From tracings (MARC tag 450) for that heading.  (If you are unsure what a MARC tag in an authority record means, click the tag for an explanation.)  Since not all LCSH have been mapped to DDC numbers, you might also note the broader term heading: Agamidae (MARC tag 550 $w g). 

With the information you have found in hand, click WebDewey on the navigation bar, then click WebDewey again under Search to bring up the WebDewey Search screen.  Search for hydrosaurus in All Fields.  You will retrieve the record for 597.955 Agamidae.  When you look at the terms associated with this record, you see that the LCSH Hydrosaurus has been editorially mapped to this number.  If that heading had not been mapped in WebDewey, the authority record would still have helped you find the correct number, because the caption and a Relative Index term for 597.955 match the broader-term heading you found in the authority record (Agamidae).  Since 597.955 has no subdivisions, even without the mapping you would have been able to judge that it was a suitable Dewey number for sailfin dragons. 

Last revised: 31 January 2004