The Organization of Information: [Paperback]

Arlene G. Taylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1999 | ISBN-10: 1563084988 | ISBN-13: 978-1563084980

Introducing readers to the principles and processes of the organization of information, this text provides practitioners and students of library and information science with a vital guide to the organization of information in libraries. Arlene Taylor begins with a broad overview of the concept and its role in human endeavours, then proceeds to a detailed discussion of such basic retrieval tools as bibliographies, catalogues, indexes, finding aids, registers, databases, major bibliographic utilities and other organizing entities. After tracing the development of the organization of recorded information in Western civilization from 2000 BCE to the present, she addresses topics that include encoding standards (MARC, SGML and various DTDs), metadata (description, access and access control), verbal subject analysis including controlled vocabularies and ontologies, classification theory and methodology, arrangement and display, system design, and a discussion of the future of the field. Designed to enable the understanding of the theory, principles, standards and tools of the organization of information, this work provides an introduction to information organization in all types of environments.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Like its previous edition, this second edition examines many of the tools, standards, theories, and principles underlying the organization of information in different types of environments. Chapters are devoted to the organization and development of recorded information, retrieval tools, encoding standards, subject analysis, systems for vocabulary control and categorization, and arrangement and display. This edition offers readers a new chapter on metadata and new sections treating digital libraries, information architecture, knowledge management, pathfinders, search engines, and bibliographic classifications and taxonomies, among other topics. Chapters have been updated, and many have been revised and expanded. The chapter about systems and system designs is a prime example, having been rewritten to reflect changes within the field and now featured more prominently in the book. These changes yield an extremely well-designed, structured, and articulated work, noteworthy for its clarity and usability. A fine contribution to the field of library and information science. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

?Arlene Taylor's The Organization of Information, which should be considered a classic text in the field, combines to-the-point, articulate discussion with explicit concrete examples relevant to the multiple concerns addressed by the title. ...a classic survey of how information is organized. It is rich in its clarity of description and indispensable for those wishing to gain a general, thorough knowledge and I recommend adding it to your collection.?-Journal of Access Services --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Libraries Unlimited (March 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563084988
• ISBN-13: 978-1563084980
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,180,131 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In Plain English (not jargon), July 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Organization of Information: (Paperback)

Want to know what your computer people are babbling on about when they use phrases like "GILS" or "Dublin Core?" Tired of hearing explanations of TEI and metadata that only leave you more confused than when you started? This is the book for you. Yes, there's more to the book than this, but Chapters 4 and 5 (that's all the further I've gotten today--but I just had to write now) are worth the price of admission. Thank you, Ms. Taylor, for finally putting these concepts I've been hearing for the last 2 years into a framework that I can actually understand! My boss is now running across the hall to my office every time she hears me say "Oh, I get it!" so I can explain whatever my newest understanding is to her, too.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid introductory textbook, August 22, 2006

By 

Tribippy "tribippy" (South Euclid, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Organization of Information (Library and Information Science Text Series) (Paperback)

I used this textbook for a core cataloging course for my LIS degree. It provides a good foundation for different information systems. The author includes important discussion of Web technologies, like XML, and how they are used in conjunction with traditional library encoding systems like MARC. It includes sections on systems design that are not deep, but appropriate given the introductory nature of this book. Unlike some other reviewers, I had no trouble with acronyms, and other definitions: the book has a thorough index, in addition to a glossary.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent textbook!, September 21, 2005

By 

Sarah A. Buck "Sarah Buck Kachaluba" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Organization of Information (Library and Information Science Text Series) (Paperback)

This is an excellent textbook. It is well organized and clearly written, explaining difficult concepts in understandable language for students. It covers the history of information organization in libraries, archives, and museums, as well as tools such as inventories, bibliographies, catalogs and indexes, and methods and standards of codification; reviews the history and development of the internet; describes different kinds of databases; and discusses metadata as a theoretical and practical concept, reviewing different kinds of metadata schemes. I highly recommend it.