Introduction to Knowledge Organization, Second Edition

This title will be available Fall 2026. You may place an order and the item will be shipped when it becomes available. Customers outside of North America (USA and Canada) should contact Facet Publishing for purchasing information.

ALA Member
$70.19
Price
$77.99
Item Number
978-1-78330-795-1
Published
2026
Publisher
Facet Publishing, UK
Pages
136
Width
6"
Height
9"
Format
Softcover

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  • Description
  • About the author
  • Reviews
Fully revised and updated throughout, the new edition of this book provides a complete introduction to the rapidly expanding field of Knowledge Organization (KO), presenting historical precedents and theoretical foundations in a discursive, intelligible form, covering the philosophical, linguistic, and technical aspects.

In the contemporary context of global information exchange through linked data, knowledge organization systems (KOS) need to be represented in standard inter-operable formats. Different formats for KOS representation including MARC, Dublin Core, SKOS, and OWL are introduced as well as the application of knowledge organization to a variety of activities and contexts: education, encyclopedic knowledge, the Internet, libraries, archives, museums, galleries, and other institutions collecting and providing access to recorded knowledge. Key coverage includes

  • ontology and epistemology in KO;
  • KO structures: lists, hierarchies, facets;
  • KO types: tagging, taxonomies, thesauri, classifications, ontologies;
  • conceptual analysis of documents; and
  • applications in the digital age.

Covering theoretical and practical aspects of KO and using real-life examples to illustrate its application, this comprehensive book is a valuable resource for students, researchers and practitioners of knowledge organization, information organization, cataloging, and classification.

Claudio Gnoli

Claudio Gnoli is an academic librarian and researcher in knowledge organization at the University of Pavia, Italy. His work focuses on Knowledge organization theory and KO systems - especially faceted classification schemes - and their application to digital information systems. He is co-author of Interdisciplinary Knowledge Organization with R. Szostak and M. Lopez-Huertas (2016), co-editor of the ISKO Encyclopedia of Knowledge Organization and author of numerous journal articles, conference proceedings and four Italian-language titles. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Council of the International Society for Knowledge Organization, and he serves on the editorial board of the Basel Register of Thesauri, Ontologies & Classifications (BARTOC).

Praise for the first edition

"Situating the content within an historical context and a using variety of scientific and humanistic examples, the author provides a comprehensive overview of a broad topic that can be difficult for students of library and information science to understand ... The author brings his expertise in the theory of knowledge organization and knowledge organization systems to the creation of a relatively easy-to-read text that has great philosophical depth as well as practical application. ”
— Technical Services Quarterly

"Gnoli illustrates how theory and practice of the KOS (Knowledge Organization System) changed over time, starting from early civilization, then moving through the ancient East, ancient Greece, the Middle Ages, and the modern times ... [This book] provides a comprehensive historical, foundational, and theoretical background of the concept while demonstrating practical application of KOSs in this ever-changing time and discipline. It is highly recommended for any librarian who wants to have an overall understanding and get ready for the new changes.”
— Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship