APPROACHES TO

INDEXING and
ABSTRACTING
LIBRARY
MATERIALS
By
ROSALIE B. FADERON
For Presentation With the
Consent of the Author
 DEFINITION OF TERMS
(cont.)
Abstract – an abbreviated, accurate
representation of the significant contents of a
document. It is usually accompanied by an
adequate bibliographic description to enable
the user to trace the original document.

Abstracting – process of analyzing the significant

contents of a document in order to come up
with a brief and accurate representation of
that document.
 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Index – a tool which indicates to a user the
information or source of information that
one needs

Indexing – process of identifying and assigning

index terms to a document,
either to describe its physical
characteristics, give facts
about its creation or
distribution, or describe its contents
 DEFINITION OF TERMS
(cont.)
Abstract – an abbreviated, accurate
representation of the significant contents of a
document. It is usually accompanied by an
adequate bibliographic description to enable
the user to trace the original document.

Abstracting – process of analyzing the significant

contents of a document in order to come up
with a brief and accurate representation of
that document.
 PURPOSE OF
INDEXING & ABSTRACTING
To construct representations of documents
in a form that is suitable for the users to
browse through in
* machine-readable form
* microform
* printed form
* card form
 USES OF
INDEXES
 Facilitate reference to the specific item or to
locate wanted information
 Disclose relationships
 Make the information storage & retrieval system
useful to individuals
 Serve as filter to withhold irrelevant materials
 Provide a comprehensive review of a subject
field
 Give nomenclature guidance
 USES OF ABSTRACTS
 Promote current awareness
 Save reading time of the user
 Facilitate selection
 Help overcome the language barrier
 Facilitate literature searches
 Improve indexing efficiency
 Aid in the preparation of reviews &
bibliographies
 PRINCIPLES OF INDEXING
EXHAUSTIVITY – extent to which a
document is analyzed to identify its subject
content
 Exhaustive indexing – the use of
numerous index terms to completely cover
the major and minor themes of a
document
 Selective indexing – the use of a few
terms to cover only the main or major
theme of a document
PRINCIPLES OF INDEXING
(cont.)
Examples of Selective and Exhaustive Indexing
1. Title of document:
Women’s rights: eternal principles,
changing forms
Subject of document:
Reinterpreting the Koran on the role,
status and rights of Muslim women
Principles of indexing (cont.)
Selective Indexing Exhaustive indexing
MUSLIM WOMEN MUSLIM WOMEN
WOMEN’S RIGHTS WOMEN’S RIGHTS
KORAN KORAN
RIGHT TO HOLD
OFFICE
RIGHT TO DIVORCE
ACCESS TO
EDUCATION
ECONOMIC RIGHTS
 Principles of indexing (cont.)
2. Title of document:
Final indignities: tracking aged
wanderers
Subject of document:
Elderly folks who suffer from dementia and
who wander far from home can be
tracked down using an electronic transmitter
 Principles of indexing (cont.)
Selective indexing Exhaustive indexing
ELDERLY FOLKS
ELDERLY FOLKS DEMENTIA
DEMENTIA DEPRESSION
TRACKING DEVICE PSYCHOSIS
AGITATION
TRACKING DEVICE
ELECTRONIC
TRANSMITTER
 PRINCIPLES OF INDEXING
(cont.)

SPECIFICITY – the extent to which the

indexing system permits one to be precise
when specifying the subject of a document
 PRINCIPLES OF INDEXING
(cont.)
Educational grants

Scholarships Student Training

Loans
Allowance
 PRINCIPLES OF INDEXING
(cont.)
CONSISTENCY – extent to which
agreement exists on the terms to be used
to index contents of documents.
Inter-indexer consistency refers to the
agreement between or among indexers.
Intra-indexer consistency refers to the
extent to which one indexer is consistent
to himself/herself.
PRINCIPLES OF
ABSTRACTING
BREVITY

ACCURACY

CLARITY
 LEVELS OF
INDEXES
 BACK-OF-THE BOOK INDEXES – these are lists of
words or group of words, generally alphabetical, found at
the back of books; these give page locations of the
subjects, names, or titles.

* PERIODICAL / NEWSPAPER INDEXES – indexes to

articles and columns found in journals and
newspapers; these are usually done by a team of
indexers and last for an an indefinite period of time.
 LEVELS OF INDEXES (cont.)
 COMPUTER-BASED INDEXES – these rely
much on the computer to construct indexes;
these may apply either the automatic indexing
process where the indexer uses a computer to
construct indexes, or computer-assisted
indexing where computers do the mundane work
while a human still does the intellectual task of
indexing. These include keyword and
permuted title indexes (KWIC and KWOC);
chain indexes; string indexes such as
PRECIS, NEPHIS, POPSI; and citation
indexes.
 STANDARDS IN
INDEXING and
ABSTRACTING
Standards in indexing and abstracting are
essential.
 Define what an index/abstract is
 Describe the nature and types of indexes and
abstracts
 Provide guidelines concerning the indexing and
abstracting processes and presentation and
style of indexes and abstracts
 Do not attempt to regulate procedures
 STANDARDS (cont.)
 Represent the criteria for measuring and
assessing indexes and abstracts
 Result of our collective history of
experience
 Attempt to codify experience and
successful tradition
 Promote consistency and uniformity
Standards in Indexing
 International Standard
Methods for Examining Documents,
Determining Their Subjects, and
Selecting Index Terms. Geneva:
International Organization for
Standardization, 1985. ISO 5963-1985
(E)
Based on Unesco’s Guidelines for indexing
principles. 1975.
Standards in Indexing (cont.)
Indexing manuals issued by different
international information systems and
other organizations:
 FAO-AGRIS. Guidelines for bibliographic
description and input sheet preparation.
Rev. 2, 1979.
 IAEA-INIS. Subject indexing samples.
1976.
Standards in Indexing (cont.)
Standards governing the content and
layout of published indexes of books,
etc.

ISO 999-1975 Index of a publication

 INDEXING PLAN

This is a record of major indexing

decisions and policies which are made
and written in advance of any actual
indexing activity.
 INDEXING PLAN
Rationale:
* Ensure completeness and consistency of
access to subjects and documents
* Keep the index within reasonable limits
* Ensure that the indexer follows the
decisions and practices of the library
* Avoid inconsistencies
 ELEMENTS OF AN
INDEXING PLAN
1. Statement on the users of the index
2. Documents to be indexed
3. Parts of documents to be indexed
4. Concepts to be indexed
5. Exhaustivity/Specificity of the index
6. Index language to be used
7. Integration/segregation of indexes
8. Format and arrangement
 INDEXING METHODS
 DERIVED INDEXING – words and
phrases are extracted verbatim from the
document to represent the subject content

 ASSIGNED INDEXING –words and

phrases taken from the document are
translated/converted to standard terms
 INDEXING LANGUAGES
NATURAL LANGUAGE – uses terms/words
found in documents as index entries.
Characteristics:
 Tends to improve recall because it
provides more access points but reduces
precision
 Redundancy is higher
 Terms used are current
 INDEXING LANGUAGES
(cont)
CONTROLLED VOCABULARY (Artificial
language) – a subject authority list that enables
an indexer to establish a standard term for each
concept and use that term whenever necessary.

 Controls synonyms by choosing one term as the

standard one
 Distinguishes homographs, e.g., Spring
(season), Spring (body of water), etc.
 INDEXING LANGUAGES
(cont)
Types of Controlled Vocabulary:
1. Subject Headings List – follows an
alphabetical arrangement of terms and covers
a broad area of knowledge. Used primarily to
index book length documents.
Examples:
Sears List of Subject Headings
Library of Congress Subject Headings
Medical Subject Headings
Subject Headings for Engineering
 INDEXING LANGUAGES
(cont)
2. Thesaurus – a controlled and dynamic
vocabulary of semantically and generically
related terms representing concepts belonging
to a specific discipline or field of study.
Examples: Macrothesaurus
Unesco Thesaurus Women’s Thesaurus
Thesaurofacet ILO Thesaurus
 INDEXING LANGUAGES
(cont)
Syndetic Devices Used By Controlled
Vocabularies
1. USE and UF to indicate the equivalence
(synonymous) relationship of terms
*USE indicates that a standard term is
preferred
*UF indicates the approach terms
synonymous to the entry term
 INDEXING LANGUAGES
(cont)
2. BT and NT references to represent the
hierarchical relationship of terms
BT (broader term) indicates the broader
or general term vis-à-vis the entry term
NT (narrower term) indicates the more
specific or narrower term vis-à-vis the
entry term
 INDEXING LANGUAGES
(cont)
3. RT reference to indicate the associative
or nonhierarchical relationship of terms.
RT (related term) indicates the terms to
which the entry term is associated or related.
4. Parenthetical qualifiers to resolve
semantic
ambiguity.
Examples: Beam (Radiation)
Beam (Structure)
 SUBJECT INDEXING
Process of determining the subject content of a
document and representing this in index terms.
Primarily consists of subject/conceptual analysis
and translation into standard terms.
Steps:
1. Record bibliographic data
=> Author. Title. Publication data, etc.
 SUBJECT INDEXING (cont.)
2. Subject/Conceptual Analysis – Examine
title of article, abstract or summary, text
and other references.
3. Statement of the subject content in one’s
own language or that of the author.
4. Translation/conversion to standard terms
taken from chosen controlled vocabulary.
5. Preparation of index entries.
 BOOK INDEXING PROCESS
1. Communicate with the publisher, author, or
editor regarding the issue of size & format of the
index including no. of pages;
2. Scan the book 3 to 4 times; take note of the
objectives of the author and get a broader
understanding of what the book is about.
* Indexer writes notes on the margins of book or
underlines words or phrases s/he deems
important.
 BOOK INDEXING PROCESS
(cont.)
 Indexer must have decided on the level of specificity to
be used based on the length of the index, the readers’
info. needs and the subject content of the book.
 Indexer must have a plan on the structure (i.e., main
index terms and subdivisions) and format of the index
(e.g., number of columns per page).
3. Check on the page numbers of the book.
4. Record the terms which s/he deems significant on slips
or cards along with the page locators and file these slips
in a box.
 BOOK INDEXING PROCESS
(cont.)
* Indexer must decide on the form of entry, necessary cross references
(see & see also), hierarchical relationships, etc.
Examples: Integration of languages and scripts or Languages and scripts,
Integration of
ROM (Read Only Memory), 294
CHIPS (California Highway Patrol), 171
Chips (Microprocessors), 75, 188-89, 288
History of information organization. See Development of
information organization
Information retrieval (IR)
history, 51
verbal subject analysis for, 136
 BOOK INDEXING PROCESS
(cont.)
5. Review entries for:
* consistency of index terms;
* duplication of index terms and entry;
* cross referencing;
* spelling;
* alphabetization; and
* other omissions
6. Type/encode entries in the desired format.
7. Review for omissions and typographical errors.
 PERIODICAL/NEWSPAPER
INDEXING
Both processes involve a stricter discipline, a wider
knowledge concerning information throughout
the world and unswerving consistency and
uniformity in the assignment of index terms.
Both cover a greater amount and variety of
articles, features and columns.
Both processes are performed by several people
and carried out over a long period of time.
 Periodical/Newspaper Indexing
Process
1. Read through the article, news article or
column and do subject analysis.
2. Write in pencil all the appropriate index terms
pertinent to the article on: a slip of paper, an
indexing worksheet, or along the margin of the
article.
3. Write the following bibliographical elements
using the sequence indicated below:
 Periodical/Newspaper Indexing
Process (cont.)
3.1 Name(s) of
author/correspondent/columnist in the
following format:
Surname, Given name Middle initial
Examples: Siytangco, Deedee N.
Vepa, Victor; Garcia, Mitos.
 Periodical/Newspaper Indexing
Process (cont.)
3.2 Record the complete title of the article or
column. Record and enclose general
column title in square brackets.
Examples: No- Kintanar deal – AFP
Capas bones identified today
Multinational’s gripe [Point of
order]
 Periodical/Newspaper Indexing
Process
3.3 Write title of journal or newspaper in
abbreviated form following a standard list
of abbreviated titles of periodicals.
Underline or italicize the abbreviated
periodical/newspaper title.
Examples: Philipp J Manila Bull
J Doc Inquirer
 Periodical/Newspaper Indexing
Process (cont.)
3.4 For journal articles, record:
volume number, issue number enclosed in
parentheses, particular pages where article appears and
date of publication
Example:
10 (2): 22-45 Ag 25 ’03
For newspaper articles/columns, record:
date of publication, page and column references
Example:
N 7 ’03, 1:3 D 5 ’02, 6:1-3
 Periodical/Newspaper Indexing
Process (cont.)
Sample author and subject entries for a
periodical article:
1. Yu, Anson. Binondo, barely breathing.
Philipp Graphic 14(17) : 42-43 O 6 ‘03
2. BINONDO, MANILA
Yu, Anson. Binondo, barely breathing.
Philipp Graphic 14 (17) : 42-43 O 6 ‘03
 Periodical/Newspaper Indexing
Process (cont.)
Sample author and subject entries for a
newspaper article:
1. Villanueva, Marichu. ‘Oakwood II’
denounced. Philipp Star N 14 ’03,
1+:5-6
2. COUP D’ETAT – PHILIPPINES
Villanueva, Marichu. ‘Oakwood II’
denounced. Philipp Star N 14 ’03,
1+:5-6