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Introduction to Modern Information Retrieval. 3rd ed. By G. G. Chowdhury. London: Facet, 2010. 508p. $73 softbound (ISBN 978-18560-4694-7).
Information retrieval is a large and evolving topic. G. G. Chowdhurys Introduction to Modern Information Retrieval was first published in 1999 and now enters its third edition. The author approaches the topic from a library perspective, but endeavors to place library practice in the context of broader concerns in information retrieval and resource discovery generally. The book covers topics such as metadata formats, subject analysis and vocabulary control, abstracting and indexing, database technology, file organization, user requirements and interface design, natural language processing, digital libraries, web search engines and search engine optimization, evaluation of retrieval effectiveness, and experimental research.
One hardly need point out that many changes in infonnation retrieval have taken place since the first edition of this book was published. This new edition includes new or expanded sections on developments in metadata standards, such as the Functional Requirements of Bibliographic Records (FRBR), automatic indexing, information retrieval on the web, XML markup and retrieval, and citation analysis.
The book draws heavily on the published literature. Each chapter has an introduction followed by an outline of important ideas in the area under discussion, often including summaries of significant published works. Each chapter concludes with a discussion and a lengthy list of references. This structure sometimes gives the book the feeling of an extended literature review rather than...