The Accidental Taxonomist

Citation

Fourie, I. (2011), "The Accidental Taxonomist", The Electronic Library, Vol. 29 No. 1, pp. 152-153. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640471111111532

Like other books in the “Accidental … ” series by Information Today, it was a pleasure to review The Accidental Taxonomist. Heather Hedden succeeds in offering a comprehensive, but not overwhelming review of issues regarding taxonomies. Against the background of the foreword by Patrick Lamb she addresses a full spectrum of key issues, which are captured in the introduction, twelve chapters, and four appendices. He explains: “In one sense, taxonomy work, as the practice of naming and organizing things, is an ancient art. In another sense, it is a thoroughly modern one, taking on new and more challenging characteristics as organizations and human societies have become more information intensive” (p. xi).

Chapter one deals with the definition, purpose, history and applications of taxonomies, with chapter two reflecting on the people who are called taxonomists. Chapters three and four respectively cover the creation of terms and relationships. Chapter five reports on software for taxonomy creation and management, with chapters six and seven respectively covering taxonomies for human indexing and automated indexing. Taxonomy structures are dealt with in chapter 8, taxonomy displays in chapter 9, and taxonomy planning, design and creation in chapter 10. The last two chapters deal respectively with taxonomy implementation and evolution and taxonomy work and the profession. The four appendixes also offer a wealth of information, namely a survey of taxonomists, a glossary, recommended reading and useful websites. The Accidental Taxonomist concludes with a detailed index, enabling the reader to return quickly to key points of interest. Further support is offered by an accompanying Web site.

The Accidental Taxonomist is a well‐written, well‐structured book. It serves both the purpose of informative and motivational reading. The author also managed to find a balance between ease of reading and offering access to a wealth of factual information.

The Accidental Taxonomist is highly recommended to all involved in building taxonomies and on the verge of entering this field. It is also highly recommended to faculty teaching about taxonomies – both as a resource to develop their own teaching material and as recommended material for students.