Explorations in Indexing and Abstracting: Pointing, Virtue, and Power [Hardcover]

Brian C. O'Connor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 1996 | Series: Library and Information Science Text

Indexing and abstracting often fail because too much emphasis is given to the mechanics of description and too little is given to what ought to be described. This text focuses on how people seek information. Drawing on a delightfully broad base of intellectual resources—from information theory and classic literature to Beethoven and MTV—the author considers the basic question of how we can index and abstract our information so that the user can actually find it. He also addresses the challenges and opportunities resulting from the information and technology explosion. O'Connor discusses the shortcomings of traditional indexing and abstracting systems and then presents essays, exercises, and case studies that foster consideration of the elements of a successful search in a variety of settings. Useful as a companion volume for reference, cataloging, and indexing and abstracting classes, this book is also of interest to professional librarians, information brokers, and online searchers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

?The book makes interesting and stimulating reading and is recommended for practicing indexers and abstractors as a means of removing their noses from the grindstone and lifting their heads for a few deep breaths of more rarified air.?-The Indexer

About the Author

BRIAN C. O'CONNOR is Associate Professor, School of Library and Information Sciences, University of North Texas, Denton. He is also Associate Director of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Information Science.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 182 pages
• Publisher: Libraries Unlimited (June 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563081849
• ISBN-13: 978-1563081842
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,459,940 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars According to the author: computers 1, indexers 0, March 28, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Explorations in Indexing and Abstracting: Pointing, Virtue, and Power (Hardcover)

While the author tries to make an interesting case for computerized indexing, offering that it allows the user to become involved in the process by choosing depth of indexing, the book completely misinterprets the results that a good indexer can produce.

The author gave a test article (about 20 pages long) to an indexer, who came up with 7 or 8 search terms describing the index (the indexer did not produce a complete index to the article). The author compares his computer program, which is full of detailed instructions, plus the necessary human tweaking of the computer search results, with an indexer who was given no instructions at all.

It is patently obvious that any indexer told to "index this article as if it were a book chapter" would produce a much deeper, well thought out index than the seven search terms the author received for his "test" indexer.

In addition, because a computer program was used to produce this book's own index, there are a number of occasions where words are listed in the index simply because they show up on a particular page, not because they are an important topic on the page.

While the books presents an intestering description of computer indexing and makes some important points about including users in the process, its analyses of human indexers display a total lack of the value added service and intellectual decisions that good indexers produce on a regular basis. It is also obvious that the author knows little about indexing, as he otherwise would have known that a list of 7 subject descriptors does not an index make.