The authors give an overview of the present context of the development and use of Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) and describe the current work towards enrichment and improvement of the UDC data. UDC is a classification system used worldwide for organization and information access in various kinds of collections and information services. From 1993 UDC has been available for distribution to publishers and users as a database file which has initially improved the classification's potential for online use. From 1993 to 2007 the UDC vocabulary has been extensively revised and 14 updated UDC files have been distributed, on an annual basis. In order to take full advantage of this electronic availability, new developments should be carried out to support a better alignment between the forms and formats in which the UDC scheme is distributed and the classification's practical use in networked information services. The authors discuss different aspects that may concur with this aim, at the data structure, data content and data transmission levels. Examples include the possible provision of: an enhanced UDC data format; UDC multilingual data and UDC mappings to other subject indexing systems; UDC data exports in various other data formats that can be easily implemented, updated, shared or exchanged. In this context, a summary of current initiatives of the UDC Consortium is provided, notably in terms of renovation of the UDC technological management.

We describe a pilot study which specifically examines the prevalence and characteristics of performance tags on several sites. Identifying post-coordination of tags as a useful step in the study of this phenomenon, as well as other approaches to leveraging tags based on text and/or sentiment analysis, we demonstrate an approach to automation of this process, postcoordinating (segmenting) terms by means of a probabilistic model based around Markov chains. The effectiveness of this approach to parsing is evaluated with respect to the wide range of constructions visible on various services. Several candidate approaches for the latter stages of automated classification are identified.

Despite the intensive revision carried out in the past two decades, there are still some outdated parts of UDC in need of attention. Although new terminology may be added on a more specific subject level, the outdated and illogical structure of the top classes in class 9 stands out. The work on recent extensions of class 94 History has reminded us of what is still wrong in the class 9.

Conversations are proposed as a useful lens through which to consider knowledge-organizing behaviors. Human conversations are sites of knowledge creation, where participants communicate to establish meaning that is contextual and shared. The conversations generated in collaborative online environments offer new opportunities to observe, not only how knowledge is created, but also how users participate in various knowledge-organizing activities. In a Web environment pervaded by conversational forms â social classification systems, blogs, and wikis â participatory knowledge organization is an emerging phenomenon that warrants further exploration. Other areas for research are suggested, including the potential promise to leverage participatory knowledge organization into future applications and developments of Web functionality.

The UDC class 1 Philosophy. Psychology has remained unchanged for more than forty years. The most obvious problem with the class is an anachronistic intercalation of psychology in the middle of the class of philosophy (Task force for UDC system development, 1990), one of the still uncorrected remainders of structural problems inherited from Dewey Decimal Classification. We are now pleased to announce that the project of the revision of UDC class 1 Philosophy will take place in 2009-2010.

This paper is based on an analytical study of 335 keywords extracted from titles and abstracts of 70 research articles, taking ten from each year starting from 2000 to 2006, in decreasing order of relevance, on the subject Fermi Liquid, which is a specific subject under the broad area of Condensed Matter Physics. The research articles have been collected from the bibliographic database of INSPEC. The keywords are indexed to critically examine its physical structure that is composed of three fundamental kernels, viz. keyphrase, modulator and qualifier. The keyphrase reflects the central concept, which is usually post-coordinated by the modulator to amend the central concept in accordance with the relevant context. The qualifier comes after the modulator to describe the particular state of the central concept and/or amended concept. The keywords are further classified in 16 classes on the basis of the four parameters, viz. Associativeness, chronological appearance, frequency of occurrence and category. The taxonomy of keywords will enable to analyze research-trend of a subject and to identify potential research-areas of a subject.

Proceedings of the UDC Seminar 2007 were published as an Annex of the Extensions and Corrections to the UDC journal, number 29 (2007) / When we were planning this conference our intention was to host an event that would give the classification a higher profile, update our users to what was going on, suggest innovations that might be considered and provide an opportunity for the interchange of ideas and discussion so that participants could share their experiences and voice their needs. We also would like to attract more people to participate in the work of the classification, either by joining the Consortium under one of the different forms of membership, such as full member, associate or individual or by volunteering assistance on the constant work of updating the classification. The first part of this intention has, I think, been well fulfilled and I hope that the second will follow as a result of it. ...

In 1991, the first UDC schedules in Lithuanian language were published as an abridged UDC edition adapted for Lithuanian public libraries. In the period 1992-1993 separate fascicles of complete Russian UDC tables continued to be translated, adapted and published for Lithuanian libraries. As the need for a standard Lithuanian edition has become more apparent, the Lithuanian National Library started preparation of the new edition in 1995. At the time of this report more than 64,000 classes of the UDC MRF database have been translated into Lithuanian; several volumes of the new Lithuanian edition have already been published and others are in preparation.

Networked orientated standards for vocabulary publishing and exchange and proposals for terminological services and terminology registries will improve sharing and use of all knowledge organization systems in the networked information environment. This means that documentary classifications may also become more applicable for use outside their original domain of application. The paper summarises some characteristics common to documentary classifications and explains some terminological, functional and implementation aspects. The original purpose behind each classification scheme determines the functions that the vocabulary is designed to facilitate. These functions influence the structure, semantics and syntax, scheme coverage and format in which classification data are published and made available. The author suggests that attention should be paid to the differences between documentary classifications as these may determine their suitability for a certain purpose and may impose different requirements with respect to their use online. As we speak, many classifications are being created for knowledge organization and it may be important to promote expertise from the bibliographic domain with respect to building and using classification systems.

See also Matienzo, Mark A. (2006) Review of Memory Practices in the Sciences, by Geoffrey C. Bowker. Journal of the Association for History and Computing 9(2) deposited in dLIST. / This is a preprint to appear in the Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. A review of Memory Practices in the Sciences by Geoffrey Bowker, Cambridge MA: The MIT Press, 2005. See also Matienzo, Mark A. (2006) Review of Memory Practices in the Sciences, by Geoffrey C. Bowker. Journal of the Association for History and Computing 9(2) available in dLIST.