Describes LASH (project for a list of Australian subject headings) through its development and demise. (RAO)

Papers on classification and subject cataloging which were presented at the 1983 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) conference include: (1) "PRECIS: Basic Principles, Function, and Use," in which Derek Austin (United Kingdom) describes the automated subject indexing system developed for use in the "British…

Describes the automatic indexing project undertaken in 1978 to convert by means of a "bridge vocabulary" the terms in the ABI/INFORM database to index terms of a controlled vocabulary. Components of the bridge vocabulary are explained, and examples demonstrating the process of conversion are provided. (JD)

Investigates the influence of index term distributions and indexing exhaustivity on the document space within a visual information retrieval environment called DARE (Distance Angle Retrieval Environment). Discusses results that demonstrate the importance of term distribution and exhaustivity on the density of document spaces and their implications…

Demonstrates application to art literature of indexing system which involves conceptual analysis of content and characteristics of documents using descriptors assigned to facets of the discipline and its literature. Indexing vocabulary and syntax, alphabetical and classified indexes, and exhaustivity of indexing are discussed. Sample indexes and…

Describes a system of subject indexing developed by Julius Kaiser (1868-1927) which is based on "concretes" and "processes" to govern the form of subject headings and subdivisions. Elements of amplification, guides for the subject index, and criticism of Kaiser's systematic indexing are noted. Five sources are given. (EJS)

Presents an indexing and information retrieval method that, based on the vector space model, incorporates term dependencies and thus obtains semantically richer representations of documents. Highlights include term context vectors; techniques for estimating the dependencies among terms; term weights; experimental results on four text collections;…

This brief review of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) system is intended to make users more aware of (1) the system as a whole, (2) the process of indexing educational literature for the database, and (3) the role of the Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors in the overall information dissemination process. An overview of the ERIC…

Outlines the processes involved in improving the subject catalog at a medical library. Policy decisions concerning heading sources and revision methodology and plans for analyzing, weeding, and increasing the relevance of subject terms is discussed. The making of catalog changes and the results of catalog revision are also described. (JL)

Designed for use with a computer-produced subject index, PRECIS assigns clerical procedures in subject heading work to computer programs. The subject headings represent a unique combination of several different characteristics, permitting several coextensive forms of a subject name for each work. Final choice amongst alternatives is made by the…

Explains seven types of subject descriptions commonly used in databases--hierarchical classification, category codes, subject headings, descriptors, faceted classification, post-controlled vocabulary, and natural language--and describes specific search techniques for taking advantage of the strengths of particular types of vocabularies. An overall…

Describes an attempt at the University at Albany, State University of New York, to compile a bibliography of government documents on homelessness published before 1960. Indexing problems are discussed; use of Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS) is considered; further research is suggested; and the bibliography of 80 documents is appended.…

Traces the development of "The Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms" from its roots as a term list through six editions to a sophisticated searching and indexing tool, and describes the process for determining controlled vocabulary and forms of display. Features designed especially to assist novice users and nonpsychologists are also…

Discusses latent semantic indexing (LSI); considers the high cost associated with the singular value decomposition (SVD) of the large term-by-document matrix that becomes a barrier for its application to scalable information retrieval; and shows that information filtering using level search techniques can reduce the SVD computation cost for LSI.…

This report describes the methods, developed by the American Institute of Physics in cooperation with Engineering Index, Inc., by which both organizations could reduce costs by eliminating duplication of keyboarding and indexing. The three sets of problems that confronted the interchange of their data bases (classification and indexing, formats,…