|
|
Government of Canada
|
Library and Archives Canada has taken over responsibility for managing the Core Subject Thesaurus. Please contact the CST editor at CSTed_redTSB@lac-bac.gc.ca for all questions related to changes or enhancements to this tool. |
Introduction
The Government of Canada (GoC) Core Subject Thesaurus Web site has been
developed to help Content managers, Librarians and Metadata developers
in federal departments and agencies to select controlled subject terms
for metadata requirements under TBITS 39.1 & 2. The GoC Core Subject
Thesaurus (CST) is to be used as a source of standardized terminology
for the indexing and retrieval of GoC information resources in various
formats. Its main function to standardize the external form and meaning
of index terms, thus ensuring that a particular concept or subject will
always be represented in the same way in GoC metadata resources.
Background
The CST is derived from the Depository Services Program (DSP) Subject
Thesaurus. The DSP thesaurus was developed over a number of years as a
source of subject descriptors to be applied to bibliographic records in
the Government of Canada Publications Database. It was developed in accordance
with the Guidelines for the establishment and development of monolingual
thesauri (ISO 2788-1986) and the Guidelines for the establishment and
development of multilingual thesauri (ISO 5964-1985). It is thus fully
compatible with other thesauri that adhere to ISO standards.
Coverage
The CST has been developed on the basis of a number of indexing projects
that extracted broad, high-level terminology used in GoC publications.
Therefore, it represents the language generally used in information resources
across government. By design, it does not include specialized terminology
used in specific and limited disciplines. All fields of knowledge are
represented, but to varying degrees in specific subject areas.
Official Languages
The English and French versions of the CST were developed and are maintained
simultaneously and neither language is to be considered the dominant or
source language in this vocabulary. Neither language is a translation
of the other; they are each in a relationship of equivalence. The English
thesaurus (CST) and the French thesaurus (TSB) are identical in their
coverage but their respective relational structures are not identical
due to the natural conceptual and terminological differences between the
two languages.
Audience
The intended audience for this Web site consists primarily of those who
have the responsibility for building, enhancing or revising Web sites
within the Government of Canada. This includes Web developers, librarians,
content providers, indexers, Web technologists and communications personnel.
It is anticipated that indexers will use this Web site as an authoritative
source of controlled vocabulary from the GoC Core Subject Thesaurus. Some
ancillary resources have been provided to assist and guide these activities.
Basic Thesaurus Characteristics
A thesaurus is a controlled vocabulary arranged in a known order (not
necessarily alphabetic) in which equivalence (USE; USE FOR), homographic
(variant spellings), hierarchical (Broader Term; Narrower Term) and associative
(Related Term) relationships among terms are clearly displayed and identified
by standardized relationship indicators. A thesaurus also contains synonyms,
or “lead-in” terms that may be used as the conceptual point
of entry by searchers or indexers, instead of the designated indexing
terms. As such, they “lead” users to the “preferred”
term that is consistently used in indexing information resources that
contain the subject or concept that the user is looking for.
Thesaurus Display
Subject Descriptors
In the CST, subject descriptors (also known as “indexing”
or “preferred” terms) are displayed so as to make their associative,
equivalence, and hierarchical relationships obvious at a glance. Subject
descriptors are terms that are authorized for use in indexing and may
be used for searching indexed information resources. In the alphabetical
display of subject terms, descriptors appear in bold face.
Lead-in Terms
Lead-in terms (also known as “non-preferred” terms) are not
used in indexing. They are synonyms or alternate forms of subject descriptors
that point to or “lead-in” to a single “preferred”
descriptor. In the alphabetical display of subject terms, lead-in terms
appear in regular typeface and in italics. Lead-in terms are followed
by a reference to the authorized descriptor for the concept.
Form of Terms
In this thesaurus and by convention, English descriptors representing
concrete objects or entities (things can be counted) normally appear in
the plural form (e.g., “Colleges”, “Persons with disabilities”).
Descriptors representing abstract concepts or collections of things (i.e.,
abstract or collective nouns) appear in the singular form (e.g., “Air
quality”, “Energy”). In contrast, and again by linguistic
convention, terms in the French thesaurus generally appear in the singular
form. All terms appear in direct rather than inverted order as they would
in natural speech (e.g., “Elementary education”, not “Education,
elementary”)
Form of Display
The following example shows the form of display of an individual preferred
term record.
FRENCH:
Bibliothèque Subject Category: IN Information and Communications Scope Note:
A collection of books and other materials
maintained for reading, consultation, study and
research and organized to provide access to a
specific clientele, with a staff trained to
provide services to meet the needs of its users. Used For:
Documentation services
Library collections
Broader Term:
Cultural institutions
Narrower Term: Digital libraries
Government libraries
National libraries
Public libraries
Special libraries
Related Term:
Bibliographic data interchange
Cataloguing
Interlibrary loans
Reference services
Libraries
The subject descriptor of record (“Libraries”)
FRENCH
The French equivalent appears in regular typeface immediately below the descriptor heading. In the French thesaurus (TSB), the French descriptor is shown with its own set of relations to other terms in that thesaurus.
Used for:
Under the category “Used for” are terms that are synonymous with the authorized indexing term. Synonyms are included in the thesaurus to lead indexers to the authorized indexing term; hence, they are known as “lead-in” terms. Do not select “Used for” terms as indexing terms; use only the authorized indexing terms (also known as “preferred terms”).
Lead-in term records are displayed as follows:
Documentation services
Subject Classification:
Information and Communications
Use:
Libraries
Note the instruction to use “Libraries” instead of “Documentation services”
Broader Terms:
Broader terms are subject descriptors that are more general than the descriptor of record. In this example, “Cultural institutions” are broader than “Libraries”. Generally, broader and narrower terms are in a relationship of either a “genus / species” or “whole / part” relationship to the descriptor of record
Narrower Terms:
Narrower terms are more restricted in meaning than the descriptor of record.
Related Terms:
Related terms have a semantic, contextual or usage association with the descriptor of record that is exclusive of a “genus / species” or “whole / part” relationship.
|
||
Last update: 2004-03-30 | 1 8ØØ O-Canada | |
Maintained by Communication Canada | Important Notices |