Current Developments in Indexing

INDEXING OF DOCUMENTS, AND OTHER MATERIALS

FOR

EFFECTIVE MONITORING AND RETIEVAL

MILAGROS SANTOS-ONG

Director, Supreme Court Library Services

Senate of the Philippines, Human Resources Management Service Joint Seminar-

Workshop for Officers of the Legislative Bills and Index Services of the Senate and House of Representatives, Anne Racquel’s Hillside Resort, Miguel L. Santos Village, Calaban, Olongapo City. April 2004.

An index is a “systematic guide, an indicator or pointer of a location of an information contained in or concepts derived from a collection of data, reading matter or materials.” It has also been defined as “any ordered list of terms which guides a user in locating recorded information.” Indexing is a procedure for organizing the contents of recorded information for the purpose of easy retrieval and dissemination. In other words, indexing is the system of creating or producing an index. Indexing procedure can be done manually or electronically with the use of the latest technology, computers.

There are standard indexing procedures which have been formulated by organizations like UNESCO. However, these available standards should just be used as guide in formulating one’s own policies and procedure. The policies and procedure one institution or class group of institutions must take into primary consideration its users or clients. There are policies for Law in General. However, there are more specific legal applications for the Academe, Executive, Judiciary and the Legislative. Let us compare Courts and the Legislature (GIVE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES). Know your users’ needs through a “User study” for effective information dissemination and retrieval. After these policies and procedures have been set, they must be religiously followed.

Computers and the latest information technology has facilitated indexing from the organization or the production of an “index” such as “Index to Bills and Resolutions of the House of Representatives/Senate” until its retrieval. Even with the use of full-text, indexing will still be used to facilitate retrieval. Keywords or “ subject indexing” are still used effective and faster retrieval. Existing full-text systems like the locally available Lex Libris databases on CD Asia use keywords in their syllabi. Look at the Lex Libris Jurisprudence. Aside from the full-text of the Supreme Court decisions, they have the Key Words and the Abstract. This can be retrieve by using the “Template Search.” For LAWS, there is a button with the Flag sign. Click this button and you will get the History for a law and other related laws. More advanced Online information systems such as WESTLAW, LEXIS and other foreign system have two types of search engines, the Natural Language or the Boolean search for the retrieval of full text.

Indexing process involves the analyzing of information content of records of knowledge and expressing the said information content in the language or established/defined standard in indexing system. Yes, computers may be able to analyze but only to a limited extent. Computers can easily be used to retrieve information found in the text of the document or records. They will not be able to determine whether a word in the text or record of knowledge is relevant or material unless a program devised to provide what we librarians call cross reference or keywords that is used by Lex Libris. Take for example the words: Quasi delict, torts and negligence. They are at times used interchangeably. So using only the full-text of all Supreme Court decisions and you are searching for all quasi delict cases, you will not be able to get those cases who used negligence or torts. So, the Keywords/Template can be used to assure that all cases may be included. Manually, it is with the use of CROSS REFERENCE.

Another problem if search is purely those found in the full text is the fact that “standard” citation provided for in Uniform Manual of Citation by the Harvard University and locally the Philippine Manual of Legal Citations by University of the Philippines Law Center are being used. Take Republic Acts for example. Some cite is as

R.A. No.

Rep. Act No.

Republic Act No.

So if you use in your search Rep. Act No., your search will not include those which used R.A. No. or Republic Act No.

A. Quality of the Index

In indexing, one basic ingredient that is needed is to produce a quality index. How can this be done? In every stage of the indexing process, the following virtues must be one’s guide: COMPREHENSION, CONSISTENCY and GOOD JUDGEMENT.

For consistency and uniformity, specific indexing tools may be utilized depending upon the type of indexes. One example of uniformity is “PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES” OR “GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES.” They have the same meaning ang may be used interchangeably. So if you started using the first, for uniformity, DO NOT USE the second in your indexes. For the subject index, there are standard foreign tools such as: a) Library of Congress Subject Headings b). Ellinger’s Subject Headings for Literature of Law and International and even those locally produced indexes. For computerized application, there are some software which allows one to develop his own indexing structure or build your own thesaurus. Whether it be manual and/or computerized application, the decision on the choice of subject headings lies in the indexer’s good judgment. There should be flexibility, uniformity and consistency in the choice of subject headings.

(Even for Librarians, INDEXING, Cataloging and Reference are library functions that cannot be performed effectively by all librarians. These special qualities makes librarians secure that computers can never replace them)

The index should be able to accommodate new developments in terminology essential to the user needs and should also allow frequent updating. In this bio-age, there are new terminologies not used in the past such as cloning, biotechnology, GMO and DNA. Take for example DNA. Indexing rules for librarians provide that we should spell out DNA and use that as its subject. However, who can memorize Deoxyribonucleic acid for DNA The other rule is use a SEE ALSO reference. Wouldn’t it be easier two just immediately provide for two subject headings? One the standard subject heading for Deoxyribonucleic acid and another for DNA or what we call the “popular name.” If you use a subject heading which you yourself do not understand or is not at ease in using, then your index is bound to fail for it may not serve its primary function, retrieval.

The locally produced indexes may be used as alternate tools to standardize terms your own index. Example of locally published indexes are: a) Myrna S. Feliciano’s Subject Index to Presidential Decrees and Other Issuance; b.) Supreme Court’s two volumes Index to the Official Gazette, 1945-1985; c). Title Index to Supreme Court Decisions, d). Index to Philippine Periodicals; e). Keyword Index to Supreme Court Decisions , and others. These indexes use Philippine terms which are not used in foreign published subject index, standard foreign subject heading tools or even the thesaurus of computer software. Even for the software like WORD, you can see a red line when used. This means that as far as their application is concerned, there is something wrong with this local term used. Example of these terms are: abaca, bangus, balikbayan program and even the now famous balikatan, and jueteng.

Local application also may affect “foreign subject headings” such as SEQUESTRATION. If you are indexing Sen. Jovito Salonga’s article at the Kilosbayan entitled “ What PCGG Chairman Elma can do now,” the first subject that will come to your mind is SEQUESTRATION. However, if you will consult the Library of Congress Subject Headings you will see the following:

Sequestration (Attachment and garnishment)

USE Attachment and Garnishment

Sequestration (Chemistry)

BT Masking (Chemistry)

Separation (Technology)

Solution (Chemistry)

NT Carbon sequestration

Sequestration (Public Finance)

BT Government spending policy

From the above list of Sequestration, the first is the “Sequestration which is relevant to the article that we are indexing. In this regard, the rule provides that we must use Attachment and Garnishment. However the LC entry provides as follows

Attachment and Garnishment

BT Civil procedure

Commercial law

Debtor and creditor

Execution (Law)

Provisional remedies

NT Arrest of aircraft

Arrest of ships

Seals (Law)

Wages—Exemption

If we follow this rule, our indexing is correct. However, is it effective? It might be to a certain extent only , for retrieval will be slow. Imagine that you have to go through all the articles that are listed on “Attachment and Garnishment” in order to get only those that refers to SEQUESTRATION. In addition to that, after EDSA 1, there have been a lot of articles, newspaper clippings, court decisions on this topic. The Kilosbayan Magazine has even a section devoted to it. So, if a researcher is looking for the article of Senator Salonga or a list of all sequestration cases, he has to search through all of the above subject headings on Attachment and Garnishment, both the broader term (BT) or narrower term (NT). So, it is advisable to use the popular term “Sequestration” and add all the subject headings on Attachment and Garnishment, both the broader term (BT) or narrower term (NT). Our subject entries will thus be as follows:

ATTACHMENT AND GARNISHMENT

Salonga, Jovito