Standards for indexing: Revising the American National Standard Guidelines Z39.4

Abstract

This article discusses the nature of standards as tools to promote compatibility and improve practice, the role of research versus expert opinion in the creation of standards, the changing scope of standards for indexes in the face of the changing indexing environment, with the increasing use of automatic indexing, electronic displays, and electronic searching of non-displayed indexes. It describes the current draft of the NISO American Standard Guidelines for Indexes in Information Retrieval (Z39.4) in terms of three fundamental requirements: syntax, vocabulary management, and comprehensive planning and design. The article concludes with comments about the nebulous concept of good or accurate indexing and whether and how standards can be used advantageously. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.