LIS 415: Information Organization

Contact Information

Instructor: Daniel N. Joudrey
E-mail: joudrey@simmons.edu
Office: P-205B
Phone: (617) 521-2863
Unit 8: Vocabulary Control

Controlled vocabularies are presented as the best means for providing verbal subject access to information resources.

Topics: Controlled vocabulary theory, Thesaurus construction, Applying controlled vocabularies: LCSH, Sears, AAT

  • What are the issues and/or problems involved in establishing vocabulary terms?
  • How is subject content expressed verbally in surrogate/metadata records?
  • Why is a controlled indexing vocabulary important?
  • What is the significance of the following principles in a controlled vocabulary: literary warrant specific entry direct entry coextensive entry
  • How are controlled vocabularies structured?
  • How do subject heading lists and thesauri differ? How are they alike?
  • What alternatives to traditional subject heading lists and thesauri exist?
  • What advantages do natural language terms have over controlled vocabulary?
  • How can natural language and controlled vocabulary be used together advantageously?
  • In what ways are ontologies like subject heading lists and thesauri? How are they different?

Required Readings

Spread over the two week period!

Taylor, The Organization of Information, Chapter 10

Mann, Oxford Guide...., Chap. 2

Gross  and Taylor, "What Have We Got to Lose?"

Mann, "Will Google's Keyword Searching Eliminate the Need..." http://www.guild2910.org/searching.htm

Mann, "Research at Risk" http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA623006.html

Cumming, "Tomatoes are Not the only Fruit" http://www.govtalk.gov.uk/schemasstandards/gcl_document.asp?docnum=681

Jacob, "Ontologies and the Semantic Web" http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/Apr-03/BulletinAprMay03.pdf

Noruzi, "Editorial: Folksonomies" http://www.webology.ir/2007/v4n2/editorial12.html

Recommended Readings

Articles

Aitchison, "The Thesaurus: A Historical Viewpoint"

Dooley, "Subject Indexing in Context"

Neely, "Using Subject ..."

Svenonius, "LCSH: Semantics..."

Leise, "Using Faceted Classification to Assist Indexing"

Pugh, "The Illusion of Omniscience ... "

Barnett, " Extending MARC ... ", pp. 7-23.

Recommended Readings

Web Sites

Noy and McGuinness, "Ontology Development 101" http://www.ksl.stanford.edu/people/dlm/papers/ontology-tutorial-noy-mcguinness-abstract.html

Getty, The Art & Architecture Thesaurus Browser http://www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/vocabularies/aat/index.html

WordNet. http://wordnet.princeton.edu/

Getty, Getty Vocabulary Program http://www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/vocabularies/

"Fact Sheet: Medical Subject Headings (MESH)" http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/mesh.html

"Fact Sheet: UMLS Metathesaurus" http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/umlsmeta.html

Recommended Readings

Books

Berman, The Joy of Cataloging (skim pp. 61-165)

Harris, Introduction to NLP, pp. 3-12.

Lancaster, Vocabulary Control, Chapter 1

Taylor, Wynar's Introduction, Chapters 14-17 .

Lancaster, Indexing and Abstracting..., Chapters 2 & 12.

Sears, Introduction.

Vocabulary
  • AAT
  • Broader term (BT)
  • Controlled vocabulary
  • Coextensive subject entry
  • Descriptors
  • Direct entry
  • ERIC thesaurus
  • Indexing
  • LCSH
  • Literary warrant
  • MeSH
  • Narrower term (NT)
  • Natural language
  • Natural language processing (NLP)
  • Ontology
  • Postcoordinate indexing
  • Precoordinate indexing
  • Reference (cross reference)
  • Related term (RT)
  • Scope note
  • Sears
  • Specific entry
  • Specificity
  • Subject authority file
  • Subject cataloging
  • Subject heading
  • Subject heading list
  • Subject indexing
  • Subject subdivision
  • Syndetic structure
  • Thesaurus
  • Used for (UF)
  • Vocabulary control

Course Outline
Back to the Syllabus
Updated June 16, 2008.