Thesauri on the Web: current developments and trends
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14684520010350623 |
| Pages | 273-280 |
| Date | 01 August 2000 |
| Published date | 01 August 2000 |
| Author | Ali Asghar Shiri,Crawford Revie |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Thesauri on the Web:
current developments
and trends
Ali Asghar Shiri and
Crawford Revie
Introduction
The rapid growth of networked information
resources together with changes and
innovations in the ways in which information is
represented have necessitated a reassessment of
the tools and techniques used for information
management. World Wide Web technologies
play a central role in refurbishing and
redesigning information management tools.
Thesauri have played an important role in
modern information storage and retrieval
systems. While initial proposals to utilise
thesauri focused on their ability to ensure
consistent analysis of documents during input
to information retrieval systems, they have
increasingly become vital as aids to effective
retrieval. Indeed, in the near future, it appears
likely that thesauri will be used more during
retrieval than at input (Milstead, 1998). The
move to increasing use of thesauri as an aid to
retrieval has expanded their functional span
within information retrieval systems. As
Aitchison et al. (1997) have noted, the role of
the thesaurus is changing, but it is likely to
remain an important retrieval tool.
This refocusing of the use of thesauri within
information retrieval systems means that it is
imperative that professionals take cognisance
of the potential of thesauri as essential
components of the largest informationretrieval
environment, namely the World Wide Web.
Why thesauri on the Web?
Although there are few operational
information retrieval systems which have
effectively incorporated thesauri as search and
retrieval aids, we are witnessing an increased
enthusiasm among thesaurus developers to
make their thesauri available on the Web for
potential applications. The reasons for this
enthusiasm and the increasing availability of
online thesauri are closely linked to key issues
associated with the emergence of the World
Wide Web, including:
.the colossal growth of information
resources demanding their better subject
identification;
The authors
Ali Asghar Shiri is a PhD student and Crawford Revie is
a Senior Lecturer, both in the Department of Information
Science at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK.
Keywords
Information retrieval, Software, Internet, Indexes
Abstract
This article provides an overview of recent developments
relating to the application of thesauri in information
organisation and retrieval on the World Wide Web. It
describes some recent thesaurus projects undertaken to
facilitate resource description and discovery and access to
wide-ranging information resources on the Internet. Types
of thesauri available on the Web, thesauri integrated in
databases and information retrieval systems, and
multiple-thesaurus systems for cross-database searching
are also discussed. Collective efforts and events in
addressing the standardisation and novel applications of
thesauri are briefly reviewed.
Electronic access
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is
available at
http://www.emerald-library.com
Refereed article received 20 June 2000
Approved for publication 10 July 2000
This paper is based on a presentation delivered at
the First Consultation on Agricultural Information
Management (COAIM) conference, organised by
FAO and held in Rome 5-7 June 2000.
273
Online Information Review
Volume 24 .Number 4 .2000 .pp. 273±279
#MCB University Press .ISSN 1468-4527
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