Asiasanat

Asiasanat is the Finnish term for keywords or subject terms used in information organization to describe the content of a text. In library and information science, asiasanat function as controlled access points that enable users to locate documents by topic.

The term is formed from asia (matter, topic) and sana (word). Asiasanat are typically chosen by librarians or authors from a controlled vocabulary or thesaurus to ensure consistency across records. They can be in Finnish and, in multilingual catalogs, in other languages as well.

In practice, asiasanat appear in bibliographic records alongside title, author, and abstract. They support search and browsing, facilitate discovery, and enable facets in digital catalogs. Metadata standards used in libraries, such as Dublin Core or MARC, often incorporate subject terms.

Example: a publication on climate policy might be assigned asiasanat such as ilmasto, ilmastopolitiikka, kestävä kehitys, and energia to cover related topics.

See also: subject headings, controlled vocabulary, metadata, Finnish library practice.