The cybernetics of bibliographic control: Toward a theory of document retrieval systems

Hans H. Wellisch

Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 1980, vol. 31, issue 1, 41-50

Abstract: The concept of bibliographic control (BC) is explored from its origin to its development into Universal Bibliographic Control (UBC). It is analyzed as to its functions and operations, namely (a) the form‐oriented or descriptive function, (b) the transcription of descriptive data onto a document surrogate, (c) the sequential ordering of these surrogates, and (d) the content‐oriented or exploitative function. It is shown that as a control system, BC is subject to the laws of cybernetics. Only the descriptive, transcriptive, and ordering functions of a BC system can be subjected to full control governed by generally applicable rules, while the content‐oriented retrieval function, being based on subjective judgments of relevance by indexers and ultimate users, are not completely controllable. The attainable limits of BC and UBC can thus be established.

Date: 1980
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:jamest:v:31:y:1980:i:1:p:41-50

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