Subject Searching: Each subject is assigned a "subject term" using the Library of Congress Subject Headings. These words are standardized, predetermined, and out of our control. Go here: ALICE Subject Search
The following are some examples of subject terms used in ALICE to describe gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered people and areas related to them:
Someday, let's have a long talk about the gatekeeping effect of cataloging language, its slow pace of change, the silencing effect of its worldview... and the beauty and necessity of subject headings.
Keyword Searching: Searching by keyword allows searching on any word: new terms that might be mentioned in book titles, chapter titles, and abstracts. Searching by Subject Heading is more precise, if the words fit, but keywords searching casts a broader net. Go here: ALICE Keyword Search