A Passage to Ontology Tool for Information Organisation in the Digital Age

Abstract

To facilitate access to relevant documents and information has been the core of the library and information science (LIS) profession. In this regard tools like classification, cataloguing, and indexing formed the basis of library practice for a long time. These served particularly well for the material that was predominantly in the print form and required physical location for storage. New information sources, however, in contrast are increasingly in the electronic or digital form and stored on medium like computer hard disks requiring completely different strategy for access and management. Extension of the traditional bibliographic control tools as well as construction of new tools has therefore become pertinent. Ontology is one of the latest tools in this context. The paper discusses progress of information organisingtools culminating in ontology, highlights the commonality of the concept of ontology and its applications among the fields of philosophy, computer science and LIS. It also discusses the select features of ontology development in practice and directions for features of ontology development in practice and directions for further work.http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/djlit.31.2.861