Subject (of Documents)

This article presents and discusses the concept "subject"or subject matter (of documents) as it has been examined in library and information science (LIS) for more than 100 years. Different theoretical positions are outlined and it is found that the most important distinction is between document-oriented views versus request-oriented views. The document-oriented view conceives subject as something inherent in documents, whereas the request-oriented view (or the policy-based view) understands subject as an attribution made to documents in order to facilitate certain uses of them. Related concepts such as concepts, aboutness, topic, isness and ofness are also briefly presented. The conclusion is that the most fruitful way of defining "subject"(of a document) is the document's informative or epistemological potentials, that is, the document's potentials of informing users and advancing the development of knowledge.