1. Subject Access: Indexing and Abstracting
Spring 2006, 27 March
Bharat Mehra
IS 520 (Organization and Representation of Information)
School of Information Sciences
University of Tennessee

2. Exercise 3: Authority Control
OBJECTIVES
to observe name authority control
to observe controlled vocabulary for subject access
Part I. Name authority
Go to the authority record database in Library of Congress Search for the popular author, Samuel Clemens.
How many authorized headings are established for him? Attach the most complete MARC Authority record for each authorized heading.
For the MARC Authority format, explain the semantics (meanings) of the fields: 1xx, 4xx and 5xx. Make sure that you mention how authorized and unauthorized headings are cross-referenced.
For each authorized heading, how many bibliographic records are found in LC collection using the heading? If an authorized heading is not used, why so?
Can the user just click on the authorized heading to retrieve bibliographic records by the author?

3. Exercise 3: Authority Control
Part II. Authorized subject headings
Go to the authority record database in Library of Congress
Search for an authorized subject heading for each of the topics:
Teapot Dome scandal
Watergate scandal
What are the broader heading (BT)?
What are the narrower headings (NT)?
What are the related headings (RT)?
Construct an alphabetical subject headings list of the headings (BT, NT, RT, the heading itself) and their related headings including both authorized headings and lead-in terms. Under each heading cross-reference the related terms: Used-for, Use, BT, NT, RT.

4. Exercise 3: Authority Control
WHAT TO TURN IN?
The authority records for Samuel Clemens in MARC format and your answers to all the questions.
The authority records for the two subject headings in MARC format and the subject headings list.
A brief discussion on the roles of authority control in IR.

5. Why Abstracting and Indexing?
Abstracts represent content of documents concisely -- a representation tool
Indexes facilitate locating information efficiently -- a retrieval tool

6. Abstracting and Indexing
Construct representations of published items (subject matter of documents) in the form suitable for inclusion in a searching system
Abstracts help in summarizing: narrative description
Indexes identify the subject: describes documents contents via index terms

7. Why is the Distinction between Abstracting and Indexing Getting Blurred?

8. Functions of Abstracts
A well-prepared abstract enables readers
(a) to identify the subject and basic content of a document quickly
(b) to determine its relevance to their interests
(c) to substitute the original document (e.g., lack of physical access or language skill, etc.)

9. Standard for Abstracts: Z39.14
Terminology (rule 3)
Content elements (rule 6.3)
Length (rule 7.1)
Single paragraph (rule 7.2)
Use complete sentences (rule 7.3)
Use active verbs (rule 7.5)
Terminology -- avoid jargon (rule 7.6)
Illustrative examples are given in appendix

10. Abstract vs. Extract
Abstract -- a brief and objective representation of a document written by the author or an abstractor; generally a single paragraph of text
Extract -- one or more portions of a document selected to represent the whole; out of original document

11. Types of Abstracts Indicative abstract
it describes the purpose or scope of discussion or descriptions; or essential background material, the approaches used, and/or arguments presented
Informative abstract
serves as a condensed original document;
it states (1) purpose (2) methodology
(3) results, (4) conclusions (5) others if applicable

12. Types of Abstracts (cont)
Structured abstract (informative)
with prescribed headings (e.g. Medline)
objectives, design, setting, patients, measure, results, conclusions
For examples of structured abstract, search the MedLine at

13. Indexes
Index -- a systematic guide designed to indicate TOPICS or features of documents in order to facilitate retrieval of documents or parts of documents (identified by the author)
Structure of an Index
list of entries (headings or terms) and locators/pointers; syntax in display; cross-references; arrangement

14. What Factors Determine Subject Indexing?
What the document is about?
Why has it been added to our collection?
What aspects will users be interested in?

16. Technology for Retrieval
Index files
one master file (that sequentially stores all bibliographic records) -- linear master file
many index files (each file indexes only one type of access points) -- inverted indexes

17. Linear Master file

18. Inverted indexes Author Subject Chan, Lois Mai 87009368 88009087
Pollard, Richard C.
Subject
Cataloging/Teaching
Information/Directory
Surveys/Library Science literature
Textbooks
Thesauri/Bibliography

22. How are Inverted Files Created? (Hearst & Larson, 1998)
For example, identify the term (a, and, come, country…), the document number in which it occurs (1, 2), and the frequency of occurrence?
Inverted files
permit fast search for individual items
for each term, you get a list consisting of:
document ID
frequency of term in doc (optional)
position of term in doc (optional)
These lists can be used to solve Boolean queries
country  d1, d2
manor  d2
country AND manor  d2
Used for automatic indexing and statistical ranking algorithms

23. Post-Coordinate Indexes

24. Processes of Indexing Conceptual analysis: “aboutness”
Translation: use of controlled vocabularies via Subject heading lists or Thesauri
Indexing by Extraction (Derivative Indexing)
Assignment Indexing
Differences between:
Subject cataloging
Subject indexing
Subject classification

26. Issues in Indexing Indexing policy Indexing accuracy
Conceptual analysis and Translation
Exhaustivity (depth)
Specificity
Example: architecture of cathedrals
ecclesiastical architecture + cathedrals
domestic architecture

27. Citation Indexes A database for citation searches
The main access points in a citation index are cited authors, cited works, and/or cited references, cited year
Citation counts have been used to evaluate influences of authors and their works in a field

28. Links as Subject Access Tool
Citation links: from known works to their citations (intellectual networks)
Hyperlinks of certain fields in search results: subject headings
Relevance feedback: automatic expansion of searches for additional documents like the selected documents

29. Indexing of Images (Layne article)
Image indexing based on attributes of images should provide access to groupings of images
Attributes of images: Biographical, Subject, Exemplified, Relationship
Important issues when creating groupings of images:
When should grouping occur?
What are the groupings based on?
What level of detail is necessary?
What groupings will be useful? To whom?

30. The challenges of subject access to non-textual info objects
How do we search for known items that are image/music?
What are the attributes for describing image/music in IR?
What are the unique attributes for searching image/music in IR?
How do users search for unknown image/music (subject access)?

31. Access to images biographic birth (creator, time, place, & title)
travels (where, who, price, alteration)
subject
of-ness
about-ness

32. Subject Access to Images
Panofsky’s 3 levels of meaning in images
pre-iconography -- of-ness
iconography -- about-ness
iconology – interpretation
Images -- description vs. interpretation

33. Of-ness
About-ness
Interpretation

34. Music facets Symbol facets: lyrics, editorial, bibliographic
Audio facets: pitch, temporal, harmonic, timbre

35. Access to music Text/symbol-based Audio-based
Bibliographic (title, composer, lyricist, genre, lyrics, etc.)
Event (performer, instrument, date, place, …)
Audio-based
Melody (querying by humming/singing)
Music incipit (encoding according to Plaine and Easie Code to represent pitch (alphabet) and duration (numeric))