Thesauri and Vocabularies for cataloguing

10 Jun 2005

There is no comprehensive or universally accepted thesaurus for cataloguing Australian collections. The following are some useful links.

A thesaurus is a structured and defined list of terms which standardises words used for indexing. Thesauri assist searches in single, or across multiple, databases by ensuring that indexers use the same terms to describe similar objects.

A thesaurus is useful because by consulting it an indexer can independently assign the same descriptive terms to an item across any number of collections anywhere in the country. This is of immense benefit to researchers.

A thesaurus generally has a number of distinct features

*It provides the user with a preferred term

* Allows related terms to be grouped into a hierarchy, and cross-referenced to other groups of related terms. This assists the indexer assign the most relevant term

* By moving up or down the hierarchical structure the indexer can choose either a general or specific term

* As dynamic tools, terminology in thesauri can be amended to reflect current usage.

Related links

Enquiries

Joy Suliman
National Project Manager

Tel: +61 02 9217 0347

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