James D. Anderson

The nature of indexing: how humans and machines analyze messages and texts for retrieval: part I: research, and the nature of human indexing

Abstract Does human intellectual indexing have a continuing role to play in the face of increasingly sophisticated automatic indexing techniques? In this two-part essay, a computer scientist and long-time TREC participant (Perez-Carballo) and a practitioner and teacher of human cataloging and indexing (Anderson) pursue this question by reviewing the opinions and research of leading experts on both sides of this divide. We conclude that human analysis should be used on a much more selective basis, and we offer suggestions on how these two types of indexing might be allocated to best advantage. Part one of the essay critiques the comparative research, then explores the nature of human analysis of messages or texts and efforts to formulate rules to make human practice more rigorous and predictable. We find that research comparing human vs automatic approaches has done little to change strongly held beliefs, in large part because many associated variables have not been isolated or controlled. Part II focuses on current methods in automatic indexing, its gradual adoption by major indexing and abstracting services, and ways for allocating human and machine approaches. Overall, we conclude that both approaches to indexing have been found to be effective by researchers and searchers, each with particular advantages and disadvantages. However automatic indexing has the over-arching advantage of decreasing cost, as human indexing becomes ever more expensive.

The nature of indexing: how humans and machines analyze messages and texts for retrieval: part II: machine indexing, and the allocation of human versus machine effort

Abstract Does human intellectual indexing have a continuing role to play in the face of increasingly sophisticated automatic indexing techniques? In this two-part essay, a computer scientist and long-time TREC participant (Perez-Carballo) and a practitioner and teacher of human cataloging and indexing (Anderson) pursue this question by reviewing the opinions and research of leading experts on both sides of this divide. We conclude that human analysis should be used on a much more selective basis, and we offer suggestions on how these two types indexing might be allocated to best advantage. Part I of the essay critiques the comparative research, then explores the nature of human analysis of messages or texts and efforts to formulate rules to make human practice more rigorous and predictable. We find that research comparing human versus automatic approaches has done little to change strongly held beliefs, in large part because many associated variables have not been isolated or controlled. Part II focuses on current methods in automatic indexing, its gradual adoption by major indexing and abstracting services, and ways for allocating human and machine approaches. Overall, we conclude that both approaches to indexing have been found to be effective by researchers and searchers, each with particular advantages and disadvantages. However, automatic indexing has the over-arching advantage of decreasing cost, as human indexing becomes ever more expensive.

A Fully Faceted Syntax for Library of Congress Subject Headings

ABSTRACT Moving to a fully faceted syntax would resolve three problems facing Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): (1) Inconsistent syntax rules; (2) Inability to create headings that are coextensive with the topic of a work; and (3) Lack of effective displays for long lists of subdivisions under a single subject heading in OPACs and similar electronic displays. The authors advocate a fully faceted syntax using the facets of a modern faceted library classification (The Bliss Bibliographic Classification, 2nd ed.). They demonstrate how this might be accomplished so as to integrate the new syntax with existing headings.

Standards for indexing: revising the American National Standard Guidelines Z39.4

This article discusses the nature of standards as tools to promote compatibility and improve practice, the role of research versus expert opinion in the creation of standards, the changing scope of standards for indexes in the face of the changing indexing environment, with the increasing use of automatic indexing, electronic displays, and electronic searching of non‐displayed indexes. It describes the current draft of the NISO American Standard Guidelines for Indexes in Information Retrieval (Z39.4) in terms of three fundamental requirements: syntax, vocabulary management, and comprehensive planning and design. The article concludes with comments about the nebulous concept of good or accurate indexing and whether and how standards can be used advantageously.

Ad hoc and selective translations of scientific and technical journal articles: Their characteristics and possible predictability

Translation is identified as the most widely used method for overcoming the foreign language barrier. After defining the varieties of translation, a study of ad hoc and selective translations of scientific and technical journal articles is described. On the basis of two random samples, one of translated and one of untranslated foreign language articles, the differences between translated and untranslated articles, with respect to original language, subject, number of references, number of authors, and frequency with which their authors are cited in other works, are presented and discussed. Finally, the possibility of using the differences between translated and untranslated articles for predicting the future need for ad hoc or selective translations is explored.

Part II. Three schools with a new twist. Information science at Rutgers: Establishing new interdisciplinary connections

Information Science has gained new prominence at Rutgers through the merger of information‐related disciplines into the new School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies. The new school brings a multi‐disciplinary focus to information phenomena, processes and human information behavior, with wide‐ranging impact on instructional programs and research. The School offers a broad‐based Ph.D. program, two masters programs, and is planning a new undergraduate program in information studies. Faculty research addresses related areas of information system design, individual human information behavior, information dissemination and communication, and information policy and social impact.