This course provides participants with the knowledge and skills required to use a keyword thesaurus to classify, title and index records.

Course outcomes

By the end of this course participants should:

• be familiar with the methodology of functional analysis and the benefits of controlled vocabulary in retrieving records
• understand the principles of keyword classification
• be familiar with the layout, content and language of the Keyword AAA and Keyword for Councils thesauri, and
• have practical experience in classifying and titling using Keyword AAA and Keyword for Councils.

Designed for people whose work involves classifying, titling and indexing records using a keyword thesaurus.

Introduction to keyword classification

• the methodology of business functional analysis
• the benefits of controlled vocabulary
• features of the keyword system
• the hierarchical principle

Structure of keyword thesaurus

• layout, content, language and entries in the Keyword AAA thesaurus
• the Classification Guide

Practical exercises

• developing record titles from natural language abstracts of correspondence using the Keyword AAA thesaurus
• developing record titles from pieces of correspondence using the Keyword AAA thesaurus
• developing record titles from natural language abstracts using Keyword for Councils