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Minnie Earl Sears published the first edition of Subject Headings for Small Libraries as an alternative to Library of Congress subject headings (Sears, 1928).
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Following Sears death in 1933 the SSG is retitled Sears List of Subject Headings in her honor. A new editor takes over compiling the SSG. While maintaining the overall style, she did begin adding new terms and modernizing the language of existing terms (Minnie Earl Sears, n.d.).
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The ALA filing rules set standards for ordering terminology in preparation for the move to computer-based cataloging. These changes are not incorporated until the 13th (1986) edition of Sears (American Library Association Resources and Technical Staff, 1980).
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The thirteenth edition saw the first online publication of the SSG, paving the way for libraries who began throwing out their card catalog in favor of machine-readable records (de Rijcke, 2010).
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The ALA Subdivision Analysis Committee begins a three year study to compare Library of Congress Subheadings to other style guides for subheading generation and determine if reordering was necessary. (ALA, n.d.)
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Joseph Miller takes the helm as Sears first male editor and ushers in an era of reform. The fifteenth edition models LCSH use of thesaurus annotation in the margins (NT=narrower term, BT=broader term). (Miller, 1997).
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The first users' guide to the Sears List is published to help beginning catalogers understand the history and style of Sears subject headings as well as the purpose of subject headings more generally (Satija & Haynes, 2008).
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The current, 21st edition of Sears Subject List is published, the first to include format options as a subheading (Bristow & Farrar, 2010).
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Ebsco absorbs Wilson and takes the reins in publishing the SSG, adding a fully searchable online copy of the Sears List of Subject Headings (Ebsco logo, n.d.).
