Sorting out the Web: Approaches to Subject Access

Citation

Fisher, D. (2002), "Sorting out the Web: Approaches to Subject Access", Online Information Review, Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 57-66. https://doi.org/10.1108/oir.2002.26.1.57.4

“I have always been fascinated with classification and order. As a two‐year‐old in the wilds of northern Canada, where ‘proper’ toys were hard to come by, I could be happily diverted with a tin of nails or a box of buttons to sort – by size, shape, color, whatever.” The author’s obvious enthusiasm for classification – not simply for the sake of order but as a means of making the Internet easier to access – permeates the whole text and enlivens a potentially dry topic.

The book is divided into six main sections: Introduction, Metadata, Classification, Controlled vocabularies, Search engines and Around the corner, which takes a look at machine‐aided indexing and automated text processing. The text is clearly laid out and enhanced by the selective use of apposite images. References are provided at the end of each chapter and include key Web resources. Author and subject indexes aid navigation around the volume.

Sorting out the Web is aimed at practising information professionals, library and information science students, and anyone who is interested in subject approaches to networked information resource discovery. Schwartz’s success in appealing to such a diverse audience is due in no small part to her practical approach and attractive writing style. The book builds logically from a discussion of metadata – “data about data” – to an analysis of the creation and necessary constituents of content description.

It is refreshing to find a book advocating the value and application of traditional library and information science skills such as classification and indexing in the contemporary communications arena. Schwartz views the Web as chaos in need of organisation and likens it to “a library with no collection development policy, where all the books have been dumped on the floor in no particular order”. She presents a different perspective on well‐known subject gateways (e.g, EELS, EEVL, ADAM and OMNI), which are discussed in terms of the types of classification and controlled vocabularies used.

The section on search engines is equally interesting: it charts their history, provides an illuminating analysis of the mechanics of their operation and offers tips on searching. The author notes that “the use of search engines by information professionals is often an exercise in informed frustration” – few would argue with that! Schwartz is optimistic about the future though, as she believes both academic and commercial needs will be served by a more accurate and sophisticated application of the computational power now available for information retrieval.

Machine‐aided indexing and automated text processing are briefly discussed in the concluding chapter. The gist of the argument, which in many respects is the philosophy of the whole book, is that these and other yet‐to‐be‐invented automatic methods will work well only if they incorporate what is being learned from studying the intellectual processes involved in subject analysis.

In summary, Sorting out the Web is a well‐written, informative and personable guide to a relatively unsung but key area. The message is simple, yet crucial: if Web searching is to be transformed from “drinking from a firehose”, it will be through progress in classifying and indexing “those parts of it which are important to our communities”.