Mining thesaurus. A thesaurus with UDC notations

Abstract

In his comparative critical analysis, the author describes the characteristic features of the Mining Thesaurus to be published in 1972. The thesaurus will contain some 1500 subject headings in alphabetical order and also some 4500 key-words arranged in an alphabetical order to each subject heading collected from mining and the related fields. The objective of the Mining Thesaurus is to serve as an aid for classification and literature search in these fields.

In compiling the thesaurus, prominence has been given to the trichotomy: concept – subject heading (key-word) – decimal notation.

The main features of the Mining Thesaurus are:
1. Universality. UDC as a universal language neutralizes the terminological variances, and gives orientation among the minute conceptual differences. It indicates the conceptual differences of the specialized branches, their coherences, and the hierarchy of concepts.
2. Generality. The maximum possible extension of the scope of accessible literature by means of UDC notations. The thesaurus may be used as an aid for any material classified according to UDC.
3. Complex concepts. The thesaurus also contains complex concepts linked by colons, square brackets, double colons. These particular problems of arrangement and extension are also dealt with from the aspect of thesaurus making.
4. Analysis and synthesis. Instead of using hierarchical schemes (groups of more or less related groups of concepts), the author groups the concepts around the selected subject heading on the basis of an analysis of their actual content. The resulting collection is called by the author an “open concept system” as against systems working with one conceptual scheme or with grouping. The application of analysis and synthesis is illustrated by several examples.