EURATOM THESAURUS AND UDC: COMBINED USE FOR THE SUBJECT ORGANIZATION OF A SMALL INFORMATION SERVICE

The purposes of a subject index in a small information service are examined and the organizational aspects of the Big information Centre and the Small Service in relation to the descriptor level are analyzed. The advantages of co‐ordinate indexing versus the conventional hierarchical classification in meeting complex information needs are pointed out. Through an evaluation of the flexible structure of the thesauri, the lower‐level but otherwise similar vocabulary needs of the small service are discussed. The use of the UDC to effect the level transitions required to adapt the thesauri to the needs of the Small Service is examined. It is shown how an improved subject index for the Soreq book collection has been constructed by the combined use of the EURATOM Thesaurus and the UDC. Examples to illustrate the design of this index are given. In the interest of expanding the co‐operation between the small Service and big centre, the idea of a multi‐level thesaurus is proposed.