inconsistencies web search performance

[Bigwood, David]

I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned the Scorpion project at OCLC, so
I'll jump in.  It automatically assigns subjects using the Dewey
Classification to free text.  It looks very promising.  I heard Keith
speak on it yesterday and his excitement is contagious.  It turns out
Dewey concepts are very intelligent having been refined and worked on
for many years by people trained in information searching and retrieval.
 So the vocabulary does not need to be built.  LCSH and LC class schemes
are some other possibilities.

Check it out at:

http://purl.oclc.org/scorpion

Sincerely,
David Bigwood
bigwood at lpi.jsc.nasa.gov
Lunar & Planetary Institute



>----------
>From: 	Karen G. Schneider[SMTP:kgs at bluehighways.com]
>Sent: 	Friday, November 07, 1997 3:33 PM
>To: 	Multiple recipients of list
>Subject: 	Re: inconsistencies web search performance 
>
>Very interesting thread.  As for the concept of controlled vocabulary, in
>its defense, a vocabulary that could teach itself would be extremely
>useful.  Imho, the problem with controlled vocabularies--what makes them
>idiosyncratic--is that they are not associated with an intelligent
>mechanism that can reason, as the human brain does, "water closet = toilet"
>or "smile is near grin," then pocket that information for further use. I
>realize there are some tools that associate patterns and groups of words,
>but I don't know of a tool that can make software independently build its
>vocabulary without assistance from a human.  Or perhaps there is, and I'm
>just behind the ball curve...
>
>
>______________________________________________
>Karen G. Schneider |  kgs at bluehighways.com
>Director, US EPA Region 2 Library  |  Contractor, GCI
>Councilor-at-Large, American Library Association
>The Internet Filter Assessment Project:   
> http://www.bluehighways.com/tifap/
>Author, Forthcoming: A Practical Guide to Internet Filters
>(Neal Schuman, 1997 ISBN 1-55570-322-4)
>Information is hard work  -------------------------------------------
>