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This paper aims to provide an overview of principles and procedures involved in creating a faceted classification scheme for use in resource discovery in an online environment.

Facet analysis provides an established rigorous methodology for the conceptual organization of a subject field, and the structuring of an associated classification or controlled vocabulary. This paper explains how that methodology was applied to the humanities in the FATKS project, where the objective was to explore the potential of facet analytical theory for creating a controlled vocabulary for the humanities, and to establish the requirements of a faceted classification appropriate to an online environment. A detailed faceted vocabulary was developed for two areas of the humanities within a broader facet framework for the whole of knowledge. Research issues included how to create a data model which made the faceted structure explicit and machine‐readable and provided for its further development and use.

In order to support easy facet combination in indexing, and facet searching and browsing on the interface, faceted classification requires a formalized data structure and an appropriate tool for its management. The conceptual framework of a faceted system proper can be applied satisfactorily to humanities, and fully integrated within a vocabulary management system.

The procedures described in this paper are concerned only with the structuring of the classification, and do not extend to indexing, retrieval and application issues.

Many stakeholders in the domain of resource discovery consider developing their own classification system and supporting tools. The methods described in this paper may clarify the process of building a faceted classification and may provide some useful ideas with respect to the vocabulary maintenance tool.

As far as the authors are aware there is no comparable research in this area.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the difficulty of applying faceted classification outside of library contexts and also to indicate that faceted approaches are poorly expressed to non‐experts.

The faceted approach is being applied outside of its “home” community, with mixed results. The approach is based in part on examination of a broad base of literature and in part on results and reflections on a case study applying faceted notions to “real world” engineering documentation.

The paper comes across a number of pragmatic and theoretical issues namely: differing interpretations of the facet notion; confusion between faceted analysis and faceted classification; lack of methodological guidance; the use of simplistic domains as exemplars; description verses analysis; facet recognition is unproblematic; and is the process purely top‐down or bottom‐up.

That facet analysis is not inherently associated with a particular epistemology; that greater guidance about the derivation is needed, that greater realism is needed when teaching faceted approaches.

Experiences of applying faceted classifications are presented that can be drawn upon to guide future work in the area.

No previous work has reflected on the actual empirical experience used to create a faceted description, especially with reference to engineering documents.

Matter is an important topic of science as a discipline since its inception. Nevertheless, along with the evolution of semantic web, matter has got equal importance among the ontology developers. The current work describes an ontology of matter that the authors developed in the lab. The purpose of this paper is to come up with an exhaustive list of concepts and relations to cover matter domain under one umbrella, after identifying the gaps in the present ontologies.

Ontology was developed following faceted analytico-synthetic approach of knowledge organization. The authors followed hybrid developmental approach which includes top-down as well as bottom-up development strategy, for creating classes and subclasses. The authors modelled matter domain comprehensively considering different aspects of matter. The theories behind the modelling approach helps to maintain the consistency of further extensions.

Final ontology has around 280 concepts and as many as 60 properties which include both object property and datatype property.

There exists very vague definition of concepts in different subject areas, as matter is a domain of study in physics, chemistry, material science, metallurgy, etc. Same material has been adopted differently depending upon purpose of its study/use in that field. For example aspirin is simply a chemical compound in chemistry, whereas in medicine it is also an agent.

Present work claims to influence the ontology engineers to develop more extension to this core ontology of matter (COMAT). Also this will find its use in information retrieval, semantic annotations and in several other semantic knowledge-based systems.

COMAT is the most recent work of the domain. Originality lies in the way matter domain has been looked up, from a very wide perspective, as well as in the approach of modelling the domain.

This paper aims to propose a brand new ontology development methodology, called Yet Another Methodology for Ontology (YAMO) and demonstrate, step by step, the building of a formally defined large-scale faceted ontology for food.

YAMO is motivated by facet analysis and an analytico-synthetic classification approach. The approach ensures quality of the system precisely; it makes the system flexible, hospitable, extensible, sturdy, dense and complete. YAMO consists of two-way approaches: top-down and bottom-up. Based on YAMO, domain food, formally defined as large-scale ontology, is designed. To design the ontology and to define the scope and boundary of the domain, a group of people were interviewed to get a practical overview, which provided more insight to the theoretical understanding of the domain.

The result obtained from evaluating the ontology is a very impressive one. Based on the study, it was found that 94 per cent of the user’s queries were successfully met. This shows the efficiency and effectiveness of the YAMO methodology. An evaluator opined that the ontology is very deep and exhaustive.

The authors envision that the current work will have great implications on ontology developers and practitioners. YAMO will allow ontologists to construct a very deep, high-quality and large-scale ontology.

This paper illustrates a brand new ontology development methodology and demonstrates how the methodology can be applied to build a large-scale high-quality domain ontology.

First generation scholarly research on the Web lacked a firm system of authority control. Second generation Web research is beginning to model subject access with library science principles of bibliographic control and cataloguing. Harnessing the Web and organising the intellectual content with standards and controlled vocabulary provides precise search and retrieval capability, increasing relevance and efficient use of technology. Dublin Core metadata standards permit a full evaluation and cataloguing of Web resources appropriate to highly specific research needs and discovery. Current research points to a type of structure based on a system of faceted classification. This system allows the semantic and syntactic relationships to be defined. Controlled vocabulary, such as the Library of Congress Subject Headings, can be assigned, not in a hierarchical structure, but rather as descriptive facets of relating concepts. Web design features such as this are adding value to discovery and filtering out data that lack authority. The system design allows for scalability and extensibility, two technical features that are integral to future development of the digital library and resource discovery.

The purpose of this paper is to present the initial relationship between the Classification Research Group (CRG) and the Center for Documentation and Communication Research (CDCR) and how this relationship changed between 1952 and 1970. The theory of normative behavior and its concepts of worldviews, social norms, social types, and information behavior are used to characterize the relationship between the small worlds of the two groups with the intent of understanding the gap between early classification research and information retrieval (IR) research.

This is a mixed method analysis of two groups as evidenced in published artifacts by and about their work. A thorough review of historical literature about the groups as well as their own published works was employed and an author co-citation analysis was used to characterize the conceptual similarities and differences of the two groups of researchers.

The CRG focused on fundamental principles to aid classification and retrieval of information. The CDCR were more inclined to develop practical methods of retrieval without benefit of good theoretical foundations. The CRG began it work under the contention that the general classification schemes at the time were inadequate for the developing IR mechanisms. The CDCR rejected the classification schemes of the times and focused on developing punch card mechanisms and processes that were generously funded by both government and corporate funding.

This paper provides a unique historical analysis of two groups of influential researchers in the field of library and information science.

The Disabled Living Foundation (DLF) is a national charity providing information on daily living equipment for disabled people. In 1984 a computerisation project began. One problem addressed has been the subject retrieval of information. This has involved the assessment of classification and thesaurus schemes. The DLF has developed a thesaurus to satisfy local needs and language, while remaining aware of existing classifications and thesauri in the same or proximate subject fields. Such schemes include for example, the Nordic Classification of Technical Aids for Disabled People, BSI ROOT Thesaurus, DHSS DATA thesaurus. The DLF thesaurus has been developed under considerable pressure but has attempted to respond to theory in the field as well as practical requirements. It is the result of both librarianship skills and the detailed occupational therapy and physiotherapy subject knowledge of the DLF information officers. This article sets the DLF thesaurus in context.

The development of, and initial operating experience with, a multiple‐access information retrieval system is described. Based upon the use of eighty‐column punched cards and the ICT 302 Sorter, it was devised specially for, and with the active co‐operation of, research scientists concerned with the fundamental aspects of combustion. The content and arrangement of the classification scheme used is outlined. A preliminary analysis is made of the searching techniques applied to, and the retrieval response for, the inquiries received from research scientists during the first two years of operation of the retrieval system.

“FORMAL classes on how to use a library would be an insult to the intelligence of the student.” This was an extreme reply mentioned in the Report of the Committee on Libraries, with reference to a questionnaire to academic staff about instruction in library use. This view of the teaching activities of librarians with students must be familiar to all librarians whether they are concerned with formal teaching activities or not. Nevertheless it is suggested that, in the current climate of change in the nature of sixth form studies, and the need for bibliographic training as part of a general education leading to informed library users in the academic and professional world, there is now a strong case for an examined course of study at “A” level G.C.E. incorporating the principles of bibliographical knowledge for users.

Mant aeons away, O Best Beloved, there was a large, dank, dim cave inhabited by a tribe of large, fierce, hairy Guardians. They wore dark robes that did not show the dirt; they never bathed, they never shaved. They were too busy guarding their sacred Treasures from the periodic raids of the Bandar‐Log—strange chattering simian creatures who dwelt in the shattered red brick Georgian ruins of something they called ‘durms’. From time to time one of these little anthropoids would steal past the Guardians into the back of the Cave and try to make away with one of the Treasures clutched in a prehensile paw. Needless to say, they were severely beaten as a lesson to their fellows. The best time for raiding was during the fifteen‐minute intervals, at ten in the morning and three in the afternoon, when the Guardians would sit down, grasp a mug of hot water and stare at the wall. The ritual was thought to have a religious significance—only the name survives, ‘kafe‐brick’.