Government Information
on the Web Subject Index
—About the Index —
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Government Informationon the Web Subject Index—About the Index — |
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| Purpose/Structure/Terms The general purpose of the index is to provide starting points for browsing subject areas, bringing both broad and detailed subject listings from many libraries together in one index. It aims to provide a single place to find link collections on particular subjects, taking advantage of the varied organizational schemes and terminologies developed by depository libraries and other organizations (such as GODORT and Browse Topics). For the most part the terms used by individual libraries are what are used in the index and there is little cross-referencing or combining of similar terms, except in broad subject areas. (For example, "Medicine" listings are all grouped under "Health.") The idea is that the more terms and variants of terms that are in the index, the likelier someone will find something under the term they are using. Closely-related terms are grouped under broader headings in some cases to keep the number of terms more manageable. These related terms are not listed separately in the index or in the list of subject terms, but they can be found through a search of the index pages. (For example: under "Military," you'll find library pages dealing with "Military History, "Military Pay," etc.) |
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Selection Criteria In deciding which listings to include in the Index, we look for value-added features, not simple pointing to single sites. (For example, if a "Science" link just points to Science.gov, it is not included under "Science" in the Index.) Features that we look for in listings are link annotations and useful categorizations of sub-topics. We also consider the size and comprehensiveness of the link collection (number of links per subject heading). Another important element is linking to free internet sites, with an emphasis on U.S. government sites. Most links in included listings should be to government sites rather than to other internet sources, and if more than a few links lead to proprietary sources with limited availability (or to print resources), the listing will not be included. Final decisions about what listings to include, and how to handle terminology issues, are made by Kathy Amen, Government Information Librarian. But suggestions for improvement to the Index are always welcome. |
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If your Library has a listing of government subject links and you would like to be included in the Index, let Kathy know. If your Library is already included, and you make changes to your link structure, or add or delete subjects from your listing, please notify us so that we can keep the links on the Index pages current and the subjects covered up to date. The Government Information Subject Index was accepted as a Government Printing Office Service Partner in 2010. Thanks to GPO for this recognition and for publicizing and supporting this project. |
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