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2 - Information organization in non-library environments
- G. G. Chowdhury, Sudatta Chodhury
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Summary
Introduction
Since the introduction of computers in information handling about five decades ago, a number of types of electronic information services have become part of the information landscape. These require new approaches to organizing information that are quite different in some cases from those used in conventional libraries. Information contained in online databases, and of late in web and digital libraries, requires different tools and techniques to organize it in a way that will facilitate better access. While specific tools and techniques for the indexing and retrieval of largely unstructured online information resources emerged over the last four decades or so, alternative techniques for handling structured data have more recently appeared in other areas of computerized information handling like DBMS (database management systems) and expert and knowledge-based information systems. This chapter provides a brief overview of the various approaches to organizing information in non-library environments. Specifically, it examines the traditional online database approaches, DBMS approaches and modern intranet and web-based approaches to organizing information. The basic differences between these various approaches to organizing information are discussed, and references are given to the appropriate chapters discussing various new techniques such as metadata, ontology, information architecture and the semantic web. Today's information professionals need to have an understanding of all the different approaches to organizing information in order to be prepared for every aspect of library and information management and services.
Organization of electronic information
In the last chapter we discussed how classification schemes are used to assign class numbers to documents, which represent the subject contents of these documents and help us specify the locations of documents in a library's collection. However, for most users class numbers cannot be used to access items via catalogues, because they do not form part of the everyday vocabulary of the general users. In order to facilitate access to library catalogues, specific tools like subject heading lists were developed. Such tools specify natural language terms and phrases that can be assigned as subject headings or subject descriptors in catalogues and bibliographies.
With the introduction of computers in the late 1950s and early 1960s several databases of information resources – books, journals and conference papers, etc. – were developed. Such databases were produced by large libraries, like the National Library of Medicine in the US, or by commercial database producers.
Contents
- G. G. Chowdhury, Sudatta Chodhury
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Index
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8 - Metadata
- G. G. Chowdhury, Sudatta Chodhury
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Summary
Introduction
Libraries have long been using mechanisms for creating ‘surrogates’ of bibliographic information resources that are used for resource discovery and information management; these are now termed ‘metadata’. Library catalogues and bibliographies are good examples of metadata records. In order to create such metadata, libraries have prepared and adopted various standards like AACR2, MARC 21, etc. However, there is more to metadata than simple catalogue records or bibliographies. The term has long been used in the database world, and recently became popular in the information world in the context of handling and managing electronic information resources. In the context of the web, metadata play a number of key roles, ranging from resource discovery to information access, retrieval, sharing, processing, re-use, etc. Several metadata standards have been developed for handling specific types of information resources. This chapter begins with a discussion of the concept of metadata, its various types and its role in the organization and management of electronic information. It then analyses the basic needs and attributes required for metadata standards; this is followed by a description of the features and characteristics of certain metadata standards designed with a specific purpose in mind: the DCMI (Dublin Core Metadata Initiative) for bibliographic records, eGMS (e-Goverment Metadata Standard) for electronic government records, and ISAD(G) (General International Standard Archival Description) and EAD (Encoded Archival Description) for archival records. The chapter ends with a discussion of the management issues related to metadata.
Metadata: what?
Metadata have been in existence since the first library catalogues were established over 2000 years ago in Alexandria in ancient Egypt. However, the term ‘metadata’ did not appear until the 1960s; it became established in the field of database management in the 1970s, and began to appear in the library and information science literature in the mid-1990s (Haynes, 2004; Lange and Winkler, 1997; Schwartz, 2001; Smiraglia, 2005; Vellucci, 1998).
Within a very short period of time, metadata became an important area of research and gave rise to many publications, including the Annual Review of Information Science and Technology (Vellucci, 1998) and a volume of the International Yearbook of Library and Information Management (Gorman and Dorner, 2004). Vellucci (1998) notes that the term transcends boundaries among various stakeholders in the internet arena, and provides a common vocabulary to describe a variety of data structures.
Glossary
- G. G. Chowdhury, Sudatta Chodhury
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7 - Organization of internet information resources
- G. G. Chowdhury, Sudatta Chodhury
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Summary
Introduction
As discussed in previous chapters, over the years libraries have developed and used a number of organizational tools and techniques. These tools – classification schemes, catalogue codes, bibliographic formats and vocabulary control tools, and the corresponding standards for exchange formats like ISO 2709 – enable libraries to organize, provide access to and share millions of information resources throughout the world. Although these tools and standards were built to deal primarily with printed or physical records, some researchers have also tried to use them to organize internet information resources. Such applications have limited scope: although the traditional bibliographic tools and standards have huge merits, they are not quite suitable, at least in their usual form, for organizing internet information resources. But why so, and how can we organize internet information resources so that they can be easily accessed? This chapter aims to provide answers to some of these questions. It first explains why conventional bibliographic tools are not suitable for organizing internet resources. It then discusses a number of tools and techniques developed over the past few years for organizing internet resources.
Characteristics of the web
Simply speaking, the web is a massive collection of pages or information resources stored on millions of computers across the world, which are linked by the internet. The uniqueness of web information organization and access has been widely discussed in the literature (e.g. Chowdhury, 2004; Rasmussen, 2002). The following are some unique characteristics of the web that call for special measures for the organization of the web information resources.
Distributed nature of the web
Web information resources are distributed all over the world. Hence, complex measures are required to locate and organize these. A number of tools and standards – such as classification schemes, catalogue codes, MARC formats, subject heading lists, etc. – exist for organizing and providing access to networked library resources. Such uniform tools and standards are required for the organization and processing of web information resources.
Size and growth of the web
The web has grown exponentially over the past decade. Identifying, organizing and retrieving information becomes more complex as the size of the web increases.
The resource intensiveness – too much dependence on human experts – of conventional information organization tools makes them unsuitable for handling the large volume of information on the web.
Preface
- G. G. Chowdhury, Sudatta Chodhury
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Summary
Over the past few years, LIS (library and information science) departments have, for various reasons, reduced their teaching of classification and cataloguing – the essential skills, and the corresponding tools and standards, required for organizing information. Today, very few LIS schools and departments in the UK or abroad offer a full and compulsory course module on information organization. The main argument supporting this move was that libraries could easily get readymade class numbers and catalogue records for bibliographic resources and hence there was no need to emphasize classification and cataloguing. This is not a very strong or appropriate justification. Given the current state of developments in terms of the internet, the web and digital libraries, the need for organizing information has increased significantly.
In a digital library, more specifically in a hybrid library (a library providing both traditional and digital library services), information professionals need to be prepared for organizing both printed and digital information resources, and in many cases ready-made class numbers and catalogue records are not available (particularly for digital information resources). In fact, quite often LIS professionals have to try to find the most effective means of organizing such information resources themselves. In addition, every organization/institution now produces a great deal of digital information, and their day-to-day activities heavily depend on access to, and use of, the appropriate digital information resources. This reinforces the need for appropriate organization of institutional information resources for better access and management. Indeed, many new approaches, tools and techniques have emerged over the past few years for such activities. It is therefore suggested that tomorrow's LIS professionals should be conversant with these, and with the skills for organizing information in all the different domains – from the traditional to the web and digital library shelf.
This book aims to cover the broad spectrum of information organization in different environments – from print libraries to the internet, intranet and web. It discusses the tools and techniques and the advantages and disadvantages of various approaches to organizing information. Covering every aspect of these is not possible within a single book. However, this book aims to provide a good coverage of the entire spectrum of information organization which will educate tomorrow's information professionals about the entire field, and will lead interested readers to further studies and research by pointing them to the appropriate references.
6 - Subject heading lists and thesauri in information organization
- G. G. Chowdhury, Sudatta Chodhury
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Summary
Introduction
Vocabulary control tools are used to control the terms used in indexing and information retrieval. These are natural language tools. Classification schemes, being tools for organizing information, could be of great help for vocabulary control – but the main body of a classification scheme uses a system of notation, an artificial language, whereas for vocabulary control we need natural language representation. Subject heading lists and thesauri are therefore used as vocabulary control tools for indexing printed and electronic information resources. This chapter begins with a discussion of the concept of vocabulary control tools, and outlines their typical features. It then considers the attributes of subject heading lists and describes the essential features of the most widely used one, the LCSH (Library of Congress Subject Heading list). It then goes on to outline the essential characteristics of thesauri and their role in information organization and retrieval, and illustrates this with examples from some online thesauri. The chapter then considers the role played by subject heading lists and thesauri in the organization and retrieval of electronic information, with examples from some special digital collections and subject gateways, especially the Intute subject gateways in different disciplines.
Vocabulary control tools
According to Davis and Rush (1979), indexing may be thought of as a process of labelling items, and considerable order can be introduced into the process by standardizing the terms that are used as labels. This standardization – the systematic selection of appropriate terms – is known as vocabulary control.
Lancaster (2003) comments that a controlled vocabulary is basically an authority list with a specific structure that is designed to:
■ control synonyms
■ distinguish between homographs
■ link terms based on their meaning.
We can define a vocabulary control tool as an organized list of terms and phrases that can be used to assign subject descriptors to information resources, and also (at least in some cases) to search a collection by subject terms and phrases. Subject headings lists like the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) and thesauri like the UNESCO thesaurus (ULCC, 2003a) are examples of vocabulary control tools.
Subject heading lists and thesauri
A subject heading list is an alphabetical list of terms and phrases, with appropriate cross references and notes, that can be used as a source of headings in order to represent the subject content of an information resource.
4 - Bibliographic formats: MARC 21 and others
- G. G. Chowdhury, Sudatta Chodhury
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Summary
Introduction
A library catalogue holds one or more record for every bibliographic item in order to facilitate access to the library's collection. But how are bibliographic records created and processed in order to generate these catalogue entries? In other words, how would a computer program recognize the different components of a bibliographic record and process them appropriately? There are two sets of problems here: first, we need to decide which data elements to store, and then we should decide how each data element is to be processed. Bibliographic data formats facilitate the creation, management and exchange of bibliographic data by prescribing the various data elements necessary to describe a bibliographic item, and also by providing guidelines for the processing of data stored for each data element. Over the years several bibliographic data formats have been created, and these all conform to the international standard ISO 2709: Format for Bibliographic Information Interchange. Of these, MARC is the most common – MARC 21 is the most widely used format in the world. This chapter begins with a discussion of the nature and characteristics of bibliographic formats, followed by a description of the structure of bibliographic data interchange format as given in the international standard ISO 2709. It then goes on to outline the various components and features of MARC 21, and of two other bibliographic formats that are used in different parts of the world – UNIMARC (UNIversal MARC) and CCF (common communications format).
Bibliographic formats
A bibliographic format is a standard format that prescribes the various data elements to be used to create a record for a bibliographic item. Thus it governs the process of record creation and exchange (Chowdhury, 1996). A bibliographic format standardizes the creation of bibliographic records in a way that facilitates search and retrieval, both locally and through electronic networks, and the exchange of bibliographic information among libraries/information centres. Records created in a standard bibliographic format have three components (Gredley and Hopkinson, 1990; UBCIM, 1989), namely:
1 Physical structure: there are well-defined rules for the arrangement of data a computer storage medium. This may be considered as a container or carrier into which data may be placed. The carrier remains constant, although the data change from record to record.
Dedication
- G. G. Chowdhury, Sudatta Chodhury
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10 - Ontology
- G. G. Chowdhury, Sudatta Chodhury
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Summary
Introduction
Semantics – or, simply speaking, meaning – has always played an important part in information organization, processing, access and management. In the library world, tools have been designed that represent the semantic relationships among disciplines and their constituent concepts: classification schemes, subject heading lists, thesauri, etc. are all tools that in some way represent the semantic relationships among concepts, and information resources are mapped against such tools in order to process their semantic content to facilitate better organization and access. Although such tools have been successfully used for a long time, they have some inherent limitations that make them unsuitable for use in the web environment, especially as far as semantic information processing and management is concerned. Ontologies have been developed for this purpose; they are sophisticated information processing tools that allow computers to process information resources based on the meaning of their constituent parts. This chapter provides a general overview of ontologies from non-technical perspectives; many important references appear at the end that will lead readers to further information about different types of ontologies and their underlying technologies. The chapter begins with a definition of the origin and meaning of the term ontology, followed by a brief discussion of how it differs from other similar tools like taxonomy and thesauri. It then provides some common examples of ontology, and discusses the role played by an ontology in the organization and processing of electronic information. It also describes how to build an ontology, and discusses the characteristics of some ontology languages like OWL (Web Ontology Language). Several excellent resources on ontologies, and on ontology-building languages and techniques, are available, such as those on the W3C website referred to in the references.
Ontology: origin and meaning
The term ‘ontology’ originates from philosophy, where it is used to denote the branch of metaphysics that is concerned with, simply speaking, the kinds of things that exist and how to describe them. The origin of the term ‘ontology’ can be traced back to 1721, as an abstract philosophical notion (McGuinness, 2003). Over the past few years, the term has gained a new meaning and is used in several fields of study, including knowledge engineering, knowledge management, information retrieval and, more recently, the world wide web. Its generally accepted meaning in these fields is the specification of a conceptualization, as defined by Gruber (1993).
3 - Cataloguing
- G. G. Chowdhury, Sudatta Chodhury
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Summary
Introduction
Cataloguing is one of the oldest information organization activities and has a history that is over 2000 years old. However, the history of modern-day approaches to cataloguing by using standard principles and practices is only a few hundred years old, and the most recent developments took place only over the past few decades. Modern day cataloguing activities are controlled by standard tools and guidelines, and virtually de facto standards like the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2 for short, referring to the second edition) exist; these need to be followed closely when preparing the entries for a catalogue of information resources, not only to make it easy to use, but to ensure that the entries are designed in a standard way, thus making it possible to share and exchange cataloguing data among various institutions. The basic concept of a library catalogue, and the various tools and techniques used in the cataloguing of bibliographic resources, are discussed in this chapter, and the process of cataloguing according to AACR2 is outlined. The implications of certain AACR2 guidelines on today's OPACs are also explored, as are the issues and techniques of cataloguing internet resources. The chapter also provides a brief description of the characteristics of the FRBR model.
A brief history of library catalogues
Researchers have found evidence of some form of cataloguing of the records held in the library of Alexandria in ancient Egypt around 300 BC (Hanson and Daily, 1970). However, as far as modern cataloguing and its objectives and principles are concerned, history goes back just over two centuries. The first catalogue code at the national level was the French Code of 1791 (Hunter and Bakewell, 1991). In Britain, cataloguing rules were developed by Sir Anthony Panizzi for the British Museum library during the first half of the 19th century, and they were published in 1841 (Blake, 2002). However, it was Cutter who first specified the objectives of a library catalogue or a bibliographic system in 1876 (Cutter, 1904). These objectives were subsequently modified by Lubetzky; they were accepted internationally at a conference on cataloguing principles held in Paris in 1961, and are thus known as the ICCP Paris Principles.
Frontmatter
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Organizing Information
- From the Shelf to the Web
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Tomorrow's LIS professionals will have to be conversant with all the tools and techniques for organizing information in different domains - from the traditional library shelf to full-scale digital libraries. This core text covers the organization of the entire spectrum of information, and the principles, tools and techniques needed to do this effectively. The most up-to-date textbook yet available on this subject, this comprehensive book covers everything from traditional cataloguing and classification through to metadata, information architecture and the semantic web. Written by experienced academics in the area, who have authored several other successful textbooks, this book provides both an overview of the whole field of information organization and an easy-to-understand introduction to each of the individual topics, which can be followed up with further study by following the references at the end of each chapter.The chapters cover: organizing information - what it means; organizing information in different non-library environments; cataloguing; bibliographic formats - MARC21 and others; library classification; subject heading lists and thesauri in information organization; organization of internet information resources; metadata; markup languages; ontology; information architecture; the semantic web; and, information organization - issues and trends. A key student text for all information and library studies courses, the book is also valuable for practising LIS professionals who need to gain an understanding of the various tools and techniques required to master information organization.
9 - Markup languages
- G. G. Chowdhury, Sudatta Chodhury
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Summary
Introduction
For computers to recognize and process data from a variety of information resources automatically, in a machine- and software-independent manner, a common language must be used for marking various sections of information resources. Markup languages are used for this purpose. Several markup languages have been developed over the years, and although they may have some similarities, or may have the same origin, they are each designed to meet a different purpose; overall each markup language plays a particular key role in the organization and processing of electronic information. This chapter begins with a brief outline of SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language), which formed the basis of other markup languages. It then discusses the nature and characteristics of the two best known and most widely used families of markup languages, HTML (HyperText Markup Language) and XML (eXtensible Markup Language), together with their related schema DTD (document type definition) and XML. Applications of XML and related technologies like RDF are dealt with in Chapter 12.
SGML
Markup languages are designed to mark specific sections of information resources with standard codes or tags, which are interpreted by computer programs as instructions to take specific measures, for example to display text appropriately (e.g. in bold or in colour), or to extract a specific portion of the item (e.g. title, keywords, abstract, etc.) into a database for storage or into a file for further processing.
SGML, the Standard Generalized Markup Language, as the name suggests, is a language for marking up text documents so that they can be processed by computer independently of any software and hardware differences. It was accepted as an international standard in 1986 (ISO 8879:1986). SGML was created to provide a set of rules that describe the structure of an electronic document so that it may be interchanged across various computer platforms. SGML also allows users to:
■ link files together to form composite documents
■ identify where illustrations are to be incorporated into text files
■ create different versions of a document in a single file
■ add editorial comments to a file
■ provide information to supporting programmes.
12 - The semantic web
- G. G. Chowdhury, Sudatta Chodhury
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Summary
Introduction
Within the last decade the web has grown faster than any other technology and it has now entered and influenced virtually all areas of modern life. The volume of information available on the web is huge and growing. Creation and distribution of material on the web can be achieved by any individual or institution, ranging from the school child to the professional; from big companies to academic and research institutions, governments, and national, regional and international organizations. Easy creation of, and access to, information resources on the web has been possible due to the development and use of some simple technologies, mainly HTML and related markup language technologies and protocols like HTTP. We can access information resources anywhere on the web using web search tools. While the web has indeed made our life a lot easier in terms of the creation, distribution and use of electronic information, current web technology does not allow computers to integrate and process data semantically across the internet. Tim Berners-Lee, the originator of the web, envisages the semantic web as a web of ‘machine-readable information whose meaning is well defined by standards’ (Berners-Lee, 2003, ix). The semantic web is based on interoperable technologies and infrastructure that will allow computers to integrate and process information according to its meaning and intended use. This chapter provides an introduction to the concept of the semantic web. It begins with a discussion of the basic concept of semantic web and how it differs from the conventional web. It then summarizes the basic semantic web technologies, particularly RDF and OWL; and, finally, discusses these with special reference to the processing of, and access to, electronic information based on semantics or meaning.
What is the semantic web?
This is a controversial issue; some say that the semantic web is still a concept we are far from making a reality, while others, including W3C, claim that we have already developed a number of tools and appropriate technologies that can be used to realize at least some of its goals. This chapter and Chapter 13 outline the latest developments in technology and its applications that are leading towards semantic information access and management.
11 - Information architecture
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Summary
Introduction
Most organizations now produce and use a huge volume and variety of information on the internet and on their intranets. Many of these information resources have been designed and developed over the years as organizations have embraced and adapted to internet and web technologies. As a result, these resources are often not properly organized; in most cases information has been created and organized by a range of individuals, without full consideration of users and their requirements. This has caused enormous problems with finding and retrieving the correct information at the right time with the minimum effort. Fortunately the problem has been recognized, and many organizations now employ appropriate mechanisms for creating and organizing web and intranet information resources. The area of study concerned with the appropriate organization of web and intranet resources to facilitate easy access to, and management of, information is called ‘information architecture’ (IA). Library and information professionals are experienced in organizing information resources in accordance with user requirements, and consequently they have a great deal to contribute to the field of IA. This chapter provides an introduction to IA. First it describes what an IA is and what role it plays in the organization and processing of electronic information. It then goes on to discuss how to build an IA, detailing the stages involved, and outlines the expected outcome of an IA exercise.
What is IA?
The term ‘information architecture’ (IA) was coined by Richard Saul Wurman in 1975, but was first used in information science in the context of organizing websites and intranets by Lou Rosenfeld and Peter Morville in 1996 (Barker, 2005; Rosenfeld and Morville, 2002).
The Information Architecture Institute (2005) defines IA as the art and science of organizing and labelling websites, intranets, online communities and software to support usability and findability. The basic objective of IA is to facilitate access to the web and institutional resources. An IA specifies the way information is labelled and grouped, and the navigation methods and terminology used within the system. Thus, an effective IA enables users to access required information easily, intuitively and confidently (Barker, 2005). Mahon and Gilchrist (2004) emphasize that an information architecture should be domain-specific and therefore should be considered in the context of the organization for which it is built.
1 - Organizing information: what it means
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Summary
Introduction
Users in today's world can obtain access to information from a variety of sources through a wide range of channels, from conventional bibliographic resources like books, journals, etc. that can be accessed through OPACs (online public access catalogues), to a myriad of electronic resources. These include online databases, e-journals and e-books, not to mention a host of internet and web resources, each of which can be accessed through specific search interfaces designed by the service providers concerned. One of the major challenges facing library and information professionals and service providers today is how best to organize these information resources, available as they are in their widely differing forms and formats. Libraries and information services have long practised a number of techniques for organizing information resources of various kinds, but the proliferation of digital material is bringing in new challenges every day, and demanding new and improved tools and techniques. In order to understand how information resources of different kinds are organized and the corresponding benefits of doing so – as well as the pitfalls – it is necessary to review some basics. This chapter begins with a broad overview of the various approaches to organizing bibliographic and non-bibliographic information. It then addresses some fundamental issues such as what we mean by the term ‘organization’, why and how we organize things, what the terms ‘classification’ and ‘cataloguing’ mean in the context of our everyday life, and so on. It goes on to provide a brief introduction to the concepts of bibliographic classification, cataloguing and subject indexing.
Information services in today's world
A typical information user in today's digital world can access information resources and services through a variety of channels, such as:
■ library OPACs (online public access catalogues), which provide access to library collections
■ online bibliographic or full-text databases (database search services) such as Dialog (www.dialog.com), Ovid (www.ovid.com), ABI/Inform (www.proquest.com/products_pq/descriptions/ abi_inform.shtml), etc., which provide access to remote collections
■ e-books and e-journal services such as NetLibrary (www.netlibrary. com/), Emerald (www.emeraldinsight.com), Ingenta (www.ingenta. com), etc., which provide access to electronic books and journal articles
■ intranets and databases created by companies and institutions to provide access to various information resources within the institution
■ websites, which are accessible either by going directly to the site if the web address or URL (uniform resource locator) is known, or by using search tools:
5 - Library classification
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Summary
Introduction
Libraries organize information resources on shelves, keeping related items together and unrelated items apart. This is to facilitate the easy location of, and thus access to, information resources. Systematic methods, widely adopted for the organization of library materials and its recording for the use of readers, came into being little more than a century ago. In 1876 Melvil Dewey developed a systematic scheme of library classification that eventually became one of the most widely used tools for organizing library materials on library shelves. Since then a number of library classification schemes have been developed to aid the process of organizing library materials in a systematic manner. This chapter begins with a discussion of the basic principles of library classification, and outlines the major types of library classification schemes and their attributes. It then discusses the characteristic features of some well known classification schemes such as Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), Universal Decimal Classification (UDC), Library of Congress Classification (LC), Bibliographic Classification (BC) and Colon Classification (CC). The discussion places more emphasis on DDC because of its popularity and wide usage in the library world. Use of library classification in the organization of electronic resources is also considered, and the chapter ends with a brief discussion of a new type of classification called social classification, or folksonomy.
Library classification: what and why?
We classify items in order to keep similar items together and, by extension, different items apart. Library classification schemes and tools allow us to allocate a class mark to every item based on its subject content, so that we can keep all related items together on the shelves. In other words, a class number assigned to a document reflects its subject content.
A library classification scheme has a number of objectives, such as:
■ assigning a shelf address, so that every document on the library’s shelves has a specific location
■ collocating items, whereby documents on the same or similar subjects are placed together on the library's shelves to enable users to find items on the same subject in one place within a library
■ linking items: the catalogue record of an item to the item itself on the shelf; users look through the catalogue and once the items have been found,the corresponding call numbers can be used as references to locate items on the shelves
13 - Information organization: issues and trends
- G. G. Chowdhury, Sudatta Chodhury
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- Book:
- Organizing Information
- Published by:
- Facet
- Published online:
- 10 September 2022
- Print publication:
- 31 December 2013, pp 213-224
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- Chapter
- Export citation
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Summary
Introduction
Organizing information has always been a complex task, and a range of tools, techniques and standards, from catalogue codes, classification schemes and subject heading lists to bibliographic formats, had to be developed to meet these challenges. These have long been used successfully in the library world for organizing, accessing and sharing information. However, the degree of complexity involved has increased enormously over the past decade or so, owing to the appearance and proliferation of internet and web technologies that have facilitated the creation, distribution and use of information by virtually anyone with access to the appropriate equipment. New tools, techniques and standards have been developed to organize and process digital information available on the internet and intranets. These include metadata standards, taxonomies, ontologies, XML, RDF, etc. The main objective of these initiatives is now to facilitate the organization and processing of information based on meaning, and the development of the semantic web. This chapter highlights new research in different areas of information organization; it aims to focus on major issues and trends. The chapter begins with a discussion of current research on cataloguing and the FRBR (Function and Requirements for Bibliographic Records) model. It then considers metadata issues, especially in the context of metadata management. The latest research related to classification, ontology and semantic portals, especially in the context of digital libraries, is then outlined. The chapter ends with a brief discussion of trends relating to recently developed approaches to user-driven information organization and processing, and thus poses some pertinent questions about the future of information organization in the digital age.
Cataloguing: FRBR and semantic catalogue networks
While the cataloguing of scholarly publications is usually performed centrally by national libraries or agencies such as OCLC, to ensure standardization, the cataloguing of internet resources, local digital library collections and freely accessible scholarly information resources – such as those available on open archives – is not controlled by any particular agency, and this poses challenges for information professionals. Mitchell and Surratt (2005) point out that appropriate measures for cataloguing discipline-based repositories, institutional repositories and open access resources are necessary in order to record, preserve and provide access to the intellectual resources of institutional and individual scholars.