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The UNESCO: IBE education thesaurus
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BOOK REVIEWS
Illinois. It provides an important supplement to the state statistical abstracts and makes it much easier to find “hidden” statistical data. It is hoped that other states will follow Illinois’ example. Michele Strange Government Publications Department Northwestern University Library Evanston, Illinois U.S.A. THE UNESCO: IBE EDUCATION THESAURUS
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Paris, 1973. 199 pp. Available in the U.S. from Unipub, Box 433, New York, NY 10016. $6.60, paper. The Unesco: IBE Education Thesaurus is a faceted list of terms for international indexing and retrieving documents and data in the field of education. The Thesaurus, jointly prepared by UNESCO and the International Bureau of Education (IBE), was designed as a working tool for international officials who are responsibile for developing and maintaining national systems of computer-assisted information retrieval in the field of education and has an English text with parallel French terms. We are warned in the Introduction that this is not a dictionary nor a classification scheme, but that it will make possible an additional device for indexing by descriptive terms. Descriptors are placed in seven broad groups or fields. They are: context terms; administration and research terms; instructional terms; people; growing and learning; content and things. Each of the seven fields (numbered respectively from 100 to 700) are then divided into facets and sub-facets. The main element of the work is the alphabetical array of descriptors covering 140 of the 199 pages. Each descriptor is accompanied by other material designed to facilitate usage. This material is similar to Thesaurus of ERICDescriptors using BT (Broader Terms), RT (Related Terms), etc. and includes scope notes. The scope notes are brief but comprehensive. One of the major weaknesses is the usage of number designations for related terms as the user must turn to part IV: The Faceted Array of Descriptors and Identifiers. While this will be an inconvenience for the user, it does contribute to a smaller sized volume. Part III contains the alphabetical array of identifiers. Identifiers are usually proper nouns - names of places, institutions and persons; however, many identifiers with which educators are familiar are not included such as acronyms and American organizations. These omissions should not limit its use as this Thesaurus is designed to be internatinal in scope. Libraries having collections of UNESCO publications and/or interested in computer-based information retrieval in the field of education will certainly want to purchase this Thesaurus in addition to the Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors.
Mary Jane Neff Social Sciences Librarian Emporia Kansas State College Kansas, U.S.A.
BOOK REVIEWS
Illinois. It provides an important supplement to the state statistical abstracts and makes it much easier to find “hidden” statistical data. It is hoped that other states will follow Illinois’ example. Michele Strange Government Publications Department Northwestern University Library Evanston, Illinois U.S.A. THE UNESCO: IBE EDUCATION THESAURUS
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Paris, 1973. 199 pp. Available in the U.S. from Unipub, Box 433, New York, NY 10016. $6.60, paper. The Unesco: IBE Education Thesaurus is a faceted list of terms for international indexing and retrieving documents and data in the field of education. The Thesaurus, jointly prepared by UNESCO and the International Bureau of Education (IBE), was designed as a working tool for international officials who are responsibile for developing and maintaining national systems of computer-assisted information retrieval in the field of education and has an English text with parallel French terms. We are warned in the Introduction that this is not a dictionary nor a classification scheme, but that it will make possible an additional device for indexing by descriptive terms. Descriptors are placed in seven broad groups or fields. They are: context terms; administration and research terms; instructional terms; people; growing and learning; content and things. Each of the seven fields (numbered respectively from 100 to 700) are then divided into facets and sub-facets. The main element of the work is the alphabetical array of descriptors covering 140 of the 199 pages. Each descriptor is accompanied by other material designed to facilitate usage. This material is similar to Thesaurus of ERICDescriptors using BT (Broader Terms), RT (Related Terms), etc. and includes scope notes. The scope notes are brief but comprehensive. One of the major weaknesses is the usage of number designations for related terms as the user must turn to part IV: The Faceted Array of Descriptors and Identifiers. While this will be an inconvenience for the user, it does contribute to a smaller sized volume. Part III contains the alphabetical array of identifiers. Identifiers are usually proper nouns - names of places, institutions and persons; however, many identifiers with which educators are familiar are not included such as acronyms and American organizations. These omissions should not limit its use as this Thesaurus is designed to be internatinal in scope. Libraries having collections of UNESCO publications and/or interested in computer-based information retrieval in the field of education will certainly want to purchase this Thesaurus in addition to the Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors.
Mary Jane Neff Social Sciences Librarian Emporia Kansas State College Kansas, U.S.A.