Internet Searching and Indexing: The Subject Approach / Edition 1

by Alan R Thomas, James R Shearer

Overview

Prevent information overload with better indexing and retrieval strategies!

In the fast-changing world of the Internet, the skills of the librarian are indispensable for managing the overwhelming amount of available data. Internet Searching and Indexing examines the tools and procedures available now and for the future that will help librarians, students, and patrons search the Internet more systematically, while helping information professionals design more efficient, effective search engines and Web pages.

This comprehensive volume offers usable information for people at all levels of Internet savvy. Its clear explanations of the various ways search engines are structured will help new users take advantage of their attributes to design more effective retrieval strategies. It suggests practical ways for information professionals to use traditional library tools and concepts to make the Web more accessible. Moreover, it shows how the Web can be tapped as an immense resource to help librarians in the process of subject classification.

Internet Searching and Indexing offers specific guidance on:

• how to classify various Web search tools and take advantage of their capabilities
• using signposts such as indexes, directories, and metadata to improve access to information on the Web
• the advantages of using facet analysis in Web page organizing, indexing, and searching
• the links between Internet subject trees and conventional bibliographic classification
• guidelines for interface design for developing Web-based OPACs
• applying Library of Congress subject headings to classifying Web subject access . . . and more
  
  With the vast amount of information that is added to the Web each day, finding data is becoming more time consuming and more complex. Internet Searching and Indexing will help you decrease the time you spend searching for the information you need and assist you in cataloging, classification, indexing, and creating quick and effective retrieval methods.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780789010315
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	07/14/2000
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	228
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Alan R Thomas, James R Shearer

Table of Contents

Introduction: Increasing the Odds, SEARCH ENGINES: CHARACTERISTICS AND EFFECTIVE USE, A Proposal for Categorization and Nomenclature for Web Search Tools, Internet Search Engines and Robots: What They Are and How to Use Them, Internet Search Engines: Understanding Their Design to Improve Information Retrieval, , Signposts on the Information Superhighway: Indexes and Access, Search Engines for the World Wide Web: An Evaluation of Recent Developments, CLASSIFICATION AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO WEB ORGANIZATION, INDEXING, AND SEARCHING, The Relevance of Facet Analysis for World Wide Web Subject Organization and Searching, , Subject Trees on the Internet: A New Role for Bibliographic Classification?, Classification Schemes Revisited: Applications to Web Indexing and Searching, SUBJECT CATALOGUING AND THE WORLD WIDE WEB, Improving Subject Searching in Web-Based OPACs: Evaluation of the Problem and Guidelines for Design, The Internet as a Tool for Cataloging and Classification, a View from the UK, USE, the Universal Subject Environment: A New Subject Access Approach in the Time of the Internet, Index, Reference Notes Included,

Editorial Reviews

3 Stars from Doody

This book consists of 11 papers on the tools and procedures for searching the Internet and how Internet pages can be modified and indexed to facilitate more efficient retrieval. It is copublished simultaneously as Journal of Internet Cataloging, v.2 no. 314, 2000. The purpose is to give basic guidance for beginning Internet searchers, discuss conceptual issues about the organization of knowledge and the subject approach to searching the Internet, present the current state of Internet searching tools and indexing procedures, and offer analyses of the principles, techniques, and tools that can be used in the future. Librarians, Web page developers, information professionals, and Internet users in general from beginners to experts are the intended audience. There are three parts to this book: search engine characteristics and effective use; classification and its contribution to Web organization, indexing, and searching; and subject cataloging and the Internet. The search engine section includes papers on the overview of the Internet and basic search tools for the beginner, understanding search engine design to facilitate retrieval, and the use of metadata. The classification section includes information on indexing systems, current methods of organizing information on the Internet, and future scenarios for Internet classification systems. The final section includes papers on Web-based OPACs and a proposal for using USE (Universal Subject Environment) to catalog the Web. Because of the nature of the Internet, this book is somewhat dated (e.g. Google is mentioned only once very briefly), but the basic information on search engine use and search techniques is still useful forbeginners. The sections on indexing and cataloging will be of interest to those people looking at how to classify the plethora of information available on the Web. I know of no other books that discuss the concepts of Internet searching and indexing in this manner.

Dolores Zegar Judkins

Mostly British librarians, with a few Americans and an Australian, examine the tools and procedures available to help librarians, students, and patrons search the Internet more systematically. Their insights could also help information professionals design more efficient and effective search engines and Web pages. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Reviewer: Dolores Zegar Judkins, MLS, AHIP (Oregon Health and Science University)
Description: This book consists of 11 papers on the tools and procedures for searching the Internet and how Internet pages can be modified and indexed to facilitate more efficient retrieval. It is copublished simultaneously as Journal of Internet Cataloging, v.2 no. 314, 2000.
Purpose: The purpose is to give basic guidance for beginning Internet searchers, discuss conceptual issues about the organization of knowledge and the subject approach to searching the Internet, present the current state of Internet searching tools and indexing procedures, and offer analyses of the principles, techniques, and tools that can be used in the future.
Audience: Librarians, Web page developers, information professionals, and Internet users in general from beginners to experts are the intended audience.
Features: There are three parts to this book: search engine characteristics and effective use; classification and its contribution to Web organization, indexing, and searching; and subject cataloging and the Internet. The search engine section includes papers on the overview of the Internet and basic search tools for the beginner, understanding search engine design to facilitate retrieval, and the use of metadata. The classification section includes information on indexing systems, current methods of organizing information on the Internet, and future scenarios for Internet classification systems. The final section includes papers on Web-based OPACs and a proposal for using USE (Universal Subject Environment) to catalog the Web.
Assessment: Because of the nature of the Internet, this book is somewhat dated (e.g. Google is mentioned only once very briefly), but the basic information on search engine use and search techniques is still useful for beginners. The sections on indexing and cataloging will be of interest to those people looking at how to classify the plethora of information available on the Web. I know of no other books that discuss the concepts of Internet searching and indexing in this manner.

Doody's Review Service