Intner's opening chapter on principles and practice covers numerous topics, including “Basic Terminology” (synonymous terms by which these materials are known: movies, moving pictures, talkies, etc.) and “Underlying Assumptions.” The intended audience for this book is unstated, but the underlying assumptions are at the most basic level: libraries will purchase moving image materials; LCSH can be assigned to moving image materials; bibliographic records for moving images and books can be merged in an online public access catalog; tools and methods are equally applicable to films and videos, and so forth. The section “How LC does it” is essentially a distillation of instruction sheet H2230 in the Library of Congress Subject Headings Manual.1 This chapter would benefit from a more cohesive organization, a clear outline of the many thorny issues specific to film and video, and fewer references to past practices.

The second chapter, Miller's “Genre/Form Headings: From the Margins to the Center,” expertly summarizes the development of genre/form vocabularies, as well as current and emerging best practices, focusing on instruction sheet H1913 in the Library of Congress Subject Headings Manual and referencing new proposals to handle geographical, ethnicity, and language aspects of moving image materials. Although policies in this area are in flux, Miller deftly tackles this moving target, outlining emerging discussions and controversies, helping readers distinguish between substance and ephemeral details, and pointing them to online documentation for updates.

Leigh's chapter on “Metadata for Subject Access” covers a wide range of topics, from individual schemas (Dublin Core, PBCore) to folksonomies and social networking sites. It also fills some gaps left by the first chapter on principles and practice. Particularly useful are discussions of precoordinated LCSH headings and browse displays, as well as issues of subjectivity and authorial intent. While these principles are broadly applicable to all library resources, and not particularly “metadata-specific,” they lay valuable groundwork and provide context. Leigh also addresses subject analysis issues that are unique to moving image materials, such as the “ofness” versus “aboutness” question and resultant double-indexing.

The heart of the book, compiled by Ferguson, is its last 200 hundred pages, a subset of LCSH “descriptors representing topics pertinent to the worlds of film and video alone” (x). An underlying assumption stated early in the book is that LCSH can, and by inference should, be assigned to moving image resources. Therefore subject analysis of film and video demands familiarity with all of LCSH, and not just a subset. Moreover, the list is puzzling in its inclusion of many terms that would seldom if ever be assigned to film and video, such as Kodak instant camera; video compression; headings for video games (a form otherwise omitted from the book), names of individual theaters; and phrase headings of the type “[topic] in motion pictures.” The list also includes genre/form terms and broad terms that happen to include media concepts in their reference structure (library shelving, minorities; oceanography). This list might serve a subject-specific library housing print materials relating to film and video, but it does not help readers provide subject access to the films and videos themselves.

In summary, the book would have benefited from greater organization. More examples illuminating some of the trickier subject analysis scenarios would have been useful. Miller's thoughtful discussion of genre and form headings and the rich content of Leigh's metadata chapter are the strengths of the book. Readers seeking a thorough and well-organized treatment of subject cataloging principles might wish to consult Martha Yee's Moving Image Cataloging: How to Create and How to Use a Moving Image Catalog.²