For 80 years, Sears List of Subject Headings has served the needs of small and medium-sized libraries, delivering a basic list of essential headings, together with patterns and examples to guide the cataloger in creating further headings as needed. Practical features include a thesaurus-like format, an accompanying list of cancelled and replacement headings, and legends within the list that identify earlier forms of headings. 

Major revisions in the 18th Edition include:

New and updated headings

New terms reflect developments in many different areas:

• Computers and technology: Optical scanners, Digital libraries, Nanotechnology, Wireless communication systems, MP3 Players…

• Psychology and personal relations: Mentoring, Social skills, Enneagram, Art therapy, Midlife crisis…

• Popular culture and handicrafts: Initiation rites, Planned communities, Wok cooking, Scrapbooking, Hardanger needlework…

Updated Dewey numbers

All the classification numbers assigned to the Sears headings in this edition have been revised to conform to the new 14th Abridged Edition of the Dewey Decimal Classification.

Revision of "Principles of the Sears List"

This 23-page document states the theoretical foundations of Sears List and offers a concise introduction to subject cataloging in general. It has been revised to include new guidelines for the application of subject headings to individual works of fiction.

MINNIE EARL SEARS: THE WOMAN BEHIND SEARS LIST
After 80 years, New Sears Edition Evokes Legacy of Pioneering Cataloger