What do you think?
Rate this book
The Intellectual Foundation of Information Organization
Instant electronic access to digital information is the single most distinguishing attribute of the information age. The elaborate retrieval mechanisms that support such access are a product of technology. But technology is not enough. The effectiveness of a system for accessing information is a direct function of the intelligence put into organizing it. Just as the practical field of engineering has theoretical physics as its underlying base, the design of systems for organizing information rests on an intellectual foundation. The subject of this book is the systematized body of knowledge that constitutes this foundation.
Integrating the disparate disciplines of descriptive cataloging, subject cataloging, indexing, and classification, the book adopts a conceptual framework that views the process of organizing information as the use of a special language of description called a bibliographic language. The book is divided into two parts. The first part is an analytic discussion of the intellectual foundation of information organization. The second part moves from generalities to particulars, presenting an overview of three bibliographic work languages, document languages, and subject languages. It looks at these languages in terms of their vocabulary, semantics, and syntax. The book is written in an exceptionally clear style, at a level that makes it understandable to those outside the discipline of library and information science.
Integrating the disparate disciplines of descriptive cataloging, subject cataloging, indexing, and classification, the book adopts a conceptual framework that views the process of organizing information as the use of a special language of description called a bibliographic language. The book is divided into two parts. The first part is an analytic discussion of the intellectual foundation of information organization. The second part moves from generalities to particulars, presenting an overview of three bibliographic work languages, document languages, and subject languages. It looks at these languages in terms of their vocabulary, semantics, and syntax. The book is written in an exceptionally clear style, at a level that makes it understandable to those outside the discipline of library and information science.
264 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
17 people are currently reading
148 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
December 13, 2011
I do not like metadata. I do not like cataloging. I do not like bibliographic control. I do not like these things. But I swear I will be a very good librarian. But I will not work in the basement. No.
July 10, 2021
I'm torn between 3 and 4 stars. This is a good overview of information organization without going into really specific detail. It reads like a textbook, but without any graphs or charts or examples. I think it would be a great read as a precursor to taking a class, so long as the reader keeps in mind the info is a little dated.
My biggest criticism is the same as for most information science books: the layout is terrible and literally goes against any theory and knowledge about learning and development. It's like the editor wants you to not be able to understand or parse out any of the information. So many authors of this nature are so very knowledgeable, but desperately need to take a course on instructional writing. Hundreds of pages of just walls of text with no differentiation makes it a difficult read.
My biggest criticism is the same as for most information science books: the layout is terrible and literally goes against any theory and knowledge about learning and development. It's like the editor wants you to not be able to understand or parse out any of the information. So many authors of this nature are so very knowledgeable, but desperately need to take a course on instructional writing. Hundreds of pages of just walls of text with no differentiation makes it a difficult read.
March 26, 2016
When I was in my 20s, and began interested in information systems, this book was one I remembered fondly. I found a copy cheap on Amazon, so purchased it.
Reading it a second time proved not as inspiring; after years of changing career direction (computer science and information systems, and design), I read my share of better books on the technical topic of information architecture.
Still, this book is interesting in a historical sense, and points to the difficulty libraries found themselves in when this was written. I remember getting a tour of Temple University library, and being told that there were books a.) in the electronic catalog b.) in the paper card catalog (most of which were not in the electronic one, and the plan to get them there seemed very long term) and c.) digital books and articles housed in a different system, but were (somewhat) represented in the OPAC and not at all in the card catalog.
This book alludes to this difficulty, but also concludes of the impossibility of response, impossible because the weight of time (she writes that a system, the MARC record, established and worked into a standard so long ago, and used for so long, cannot be replaced...it was like a big bank: too big to fail).
Technology, though, tends to be determined, particularly when demand exists (the refrain of fear that libraries were going to die because of Google, or Google Scholar, or the other reasons given, proved to be wholly untrue). Open source software, discovery tools were disruptive, as were moves from private industry.
These innovators were well aware of the problems this book points out, and did something about it...it is no understatement to state these innovations did much to save academic libraries (as did a population of younger librarians who were radical in their support of libraries).
Invention hinges on this intersection: radical passion and a commitment to dig into something a bit tricky, boring or seemingly impossible (it also takes money or investment; and time, which is basically, more money..but whose counting, and I don't want to depress you when you were just getting started).
There are some perhaps unintentional funny moments in this book...her use of the concept of 'mother-love' to explain a topic; her mentioning the possibility of a terrorist attack and what would happen if some important information system was damaged (not the damage to people, mind you).
Overall, a brief (150-page) interesting text about the difficulties of information, of standards, and the difficulty of historical processes mixing with technological innovations. For quite a few books, one must read between the lines.
B-
Reading it a second time proved not as inspiring; after years of changing career direction (computer science and information systems, and design), I read my share of better books on the technical topic of information architecture.
Still, this book is interesting in a historical sense, and points to the difficulty libraries found themselves in when this was written. I remember getting a tour of Temple University library, and being told that there were books a.) in the electronic catalog b.) in the paper card catalog (most of which were not in the electronic one, and the plan to get them there seemed very long term) and c.) digital books and articles housed in a different system, but were (somewhat) represented in the OPAC and not at all in the card catalog.
This book alludes to this difficulty, but also concludes of the impossibility of response, impossible because the weight of time (she writes that a system, the MARC record, established and worked into a standard so long ago, and used for so long, cannot be replaced...it was like a big bank: too big to fail).
Technology, though, tends to be determined, particularly when demand exists (the refrain of fear that libraries were going to die because of Google, or Google Scholar, or the other reasons given, proved to be wholly untrue). Open source software, discovery tools were disruptive, as were moves from private industry.
These innovators were well aware of the problems this book points out, and did something about it...it is no understatement to state these innovations did much to save academic libraries (as did a population of younger librarians who were radical in their support of libraries).
Invention hinges on this intersection: radical passion and a commitment to dig into something a bit tricky, boring or seemingly impossible (it also takes money or investment; and time, which is basically, more money..but whose counting, and I don't want to depress you when you were just getting started).
There are some perhaps unintentional funny moments in this book...her use of the concept of 'mother-love' to explain a topic; her mentioning the possibility of a terrorist attack and what would happen if some important information system was damaged (not the damage to people, mind you).
Overall, a brief (150-page) interesting text about the difficulties of information, of standards, and the difficulty of historical processes mixing with technological innovations. For quite a few books, one must read between the lines.
B-
November 28, 2012
beginning to understand why this book is nicknamed the "red devil" by LIS students.
August 6, 2014
Little red devil, indeed!
August 22, 2018
Analytic philosophy of libraries. Cold and relentlessly substantial about the many many issues entailed in cramming the output of humanity’s outputters into one framework.
Info studies comes across as gargantuan, librarians building the least ambiguous & most exhaustive language in the world: the god’s eye view of the diary of the human race. (But then along came Search...)
Read half, the remainder being users' details of bibliographic languages.
Factual claims about the world constitute only a small subset of information broadly construed… It is not possible, at least without wincing, to refer to The Iliad, The Messiah, or the paintings in the Sistine Chapel as data...
Info studies comes across as gargantuan, librarians building the least ambiguous & most exhaustive language in the world: the god’s eye view of the diary of the human race. (But then along came Search...)
Read half, the remainder being users' details of bibliographic languages.
Currently reading
October 3, 2008Great cure for insomnia...
November 30, 2016
Hated it.
January 3, 2020
For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-Cycle
Despite this book's infamous nickname as the "red devil", I actually enjoyed reading it. Yes, it is a lot of information. Yes, it is dense. Yes, sometimes you have to reread to really understand. But I found the short chapters less intimidating and that the book had a good flow. I had to read this for my IO class last semester and much preferred the writing to some of the other textbooks that I had to read that seemed to repeat the same information over and over again to sound more complex than they really are. This one was short and sweet and I appreciated its manageable length.
I'm heading into my second semester working toward my MLIS and can already tell I am drawn to organization and cataloging so it may just be that I am a natural IO nerd. If you don't like cataloging, this book is going to be a struggle. But I found it helpful in understanding the basics of the field. It probably also helped that I had an amazing professor.
Good writing that packs a lot of information into a concise package.
Despite this book's infamous nickname as the "red devil", I actually enjoyed reading it. Yes, it is a lot of information. Yes, it is dense. Yes, sometimes you have to reread to really understand. But I found the short chapters less intimidating and that the book had a good flow. I had to read this for my IO class last semester and much preferred the writing to some of the other textbooks that I had to read that seemed to repeat the same information over and over again to sound more complex than they really are. This one was short and sweet and I appreciated its manageable length.
I'm heading into my second semester working toward my MLIS and can already tell I am drawn to organization and cataloging so it may just be that I am a natural IO nerd. If you don't like cataloging, this book is going to be a struggle. But I found it helpful in understanding the basics of the field. It probably also helped that I had an amazing professor.
Good writing that packs a lot of information into a concise package.
July 11, 2018
A very difficult read, but essential to catalogers, this book discusses the various forms and variations of information organization. It gets bogged down at times in minutia, but is still a worthy read if you want to know the ins and outs of information classification.
April 28, 2019
This book is very arduous and painful. It has some significant information, but most of it is not written in an accessable way.
March 3, 2021
Stunningly in-depth look at how we confront the practical, economical and philosophical challenges of sorting and accessing information.
June 4, 2019
There are a few Things to say about this book. First of, if you Call Your book "the intellectual foundation of information organization", you really dont want anyone to read your book. Or you might be so deep into academia that you dont see the problem. This title is a great secondary title, why use it as the main one? Secondly, to be a book about how to organize information, its quite bad at mediate the information it wants to give. This book should be at least another 50 pages. Bare minimum word count is not a great way to inform People of what you want to say. I read it, but I cant say very much what it is about. This is a book that demands that you pay attention, take notes go back and forth in it and re-read it if you gonna get anything out of it. Some books are Worth it, Im not sure this one was.
February 6, 2013
Ah Svenonius. This was another library school textbook. Lots of anxiety about the library apocalypse... a little planning for the library after-culture. A unique voice amongst many of our readings on information organization because she actually has some faith in the user, and actually wants to make things easier for them (FRBR, etc.), unlike many of the other ivory tower folks we've heard from this semester. Redeeming qualities, but still hard to wrap your head around at many points.
Want to read
February 28, 2009Her use of Quine is really interesting (albeit not Quinean), and I think she's "the REAL DEAL"...she's sincerely interested in crafting a useful and sober philosophical foundation for furthering our work in information science.
January 6, 2016
I read this for my LIS class Introduction to Bibliographic Metadata.
It is a pretty heavy read, but gives very good background information behind information organization theory. I would say a good read for all library students, not just those in a cataloging/metadata class.
It is a pretty heavy read, but gives very good background information behind information organization theory. I would say a good read for all library students, not just those in a cataloging/metadata class.
Read
August 23, 2007nonfiction,library science
November 24, 2007
this is not a fun book to have to read in your first year of library school.
April 12, 2008
SVENOOOONIUS!!!!!
December 12, 2008
This was a text book for Library School, and it was very text book-y.
August 10, 2010
Ahhhh, Svenonius. I'm sure this is a great book, if you can stay awake enough to understand it. It's incredibly dense... not my favorite class read.
April 20, 2012
Red devil for sure!
March 19, 2012
It is referred to as "the red devil" for a reason. Very dense.
February 24, 2013
The only assigned book from library school that I kept.
April 4, 2013
It is surely interesting, but is hard to read...nand understand for an english second language person; nights awake to prepare the "digital document organizatio" exam...
July 10, 2015
Great read! Essential for reading for today's librarians
March 9, 2016
Don't trust a book that ends with a numerical list.
Read
May 16, 2018NWR
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews