INDEXING LANGUAGES IN UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY

Abstract

Introduction: The indexing language is a fundamental part of the indexing policy,
 considering its mediating role in the representation and retrieval of information. In order
 to know the reality in online catalogs of university libraries, an analytical study on
 language was carried out in the policy of indexing university libraries. Objective: The
 objective of the analytical study is to verify the use of indexing language by professionals,
 which language (s) they use, the existence of indexing policy manual and the use of
 construction and maintenance software available to the cataloger. Methodology: For
 this, a questionnaire was constructed and applied in a sample of university libraries in
 the southeast region of Brazil. Results: The questionnaire was answered by 60 libraries
 with the following profile: 60% have specialized collections from one to four subject
 areas, 73% of libraries have 1 to 3 professionals dedicated to indexing, 83% of libraries
 integrate a network or system, 50% participate in collective catalogs. With regard to use, 49 (89.1%) used some indexing language, 25 (51%) used an indexing language, 20 with
 their own language without using specific software for construction and maintenance,
 and 24 (49%) more than one language. Among libraries that use indexing language, 19
 libraries adopt procedures when no terms are found in the language, 17 libraries update
 the language through semantic interoperability. The formalization of the indexing policy
 in a document is performed by 58.3% and only 22% do not describe the indexing
 language. Conclusions: The analytical study carried out with the application of the
 questionnaire reveals new scenarios in the use of indexing languages in libraries with
 advances, problems and gaps that are real challenges to be faced jointly by
 professionals and researchers.