Why Classification is Needed

1. Classification is needed because students and researchers must be able to find efficient information quickly.

2. Classification is needed to provide predictable search engine results.

3. Classification is needed to provide access to more information.

4. Classification is needed to control vocabulary.

5. Classification is needed to eliminate duplication of search results.

6. Classification is needed to provide standards.

Without web classification, students and researchers may miss a great deal of information related to their searches. According to Stephen J. Scroggins, author of Internet cataloging issues, [1][4]

“The glut of data on the Information Superhighway means, however, that students and faculty using the Internet for research may not find what the need quickly or efficiently. Indeed, there is an increasing sense of frustration among Internet users resulting from the unpredictable and misleading results search engines yield. This rapidly expanding and ever-changing resource needs organizing, and this challenge has become a major issue facing librarians, particular catalogers, and commercial service providers.”


The duplication of search engine results primarily stems from how search engines work. For example, each search engine has its own rules about how materials are gathered. Therefore, Internet users will have to use a different search engines to get different results. In the book, How The Internet Works by Preston Gralla[2][5], there are six steps associated with how Internet search engines work:

1. Crawlers or spiders follow links on home pages until the information needed is located.

2. Information found by the crawlers or spiders are sent to indexing software.

3. The software takes the information found and places it into a database.

4. Users search the engine by putting in keywords.

5. The database searches for the terms put in by the user.

6. Results appear on the users screen and once a link is clicked, the user is sent to the document.


Gralla sums the process up by stating,


“They are essentially massive databases that cover wide swaths of the Internet”, and “you search through them as you would a database by typing keywords that describe the information you want.”


However, there are problems associated with search engine retrieval methods. For example, crawler or spiders do not follow every link. Some bypass files that are graphic or animated. In addition, many only look for popular sites. Therefore, users are not provided with information that is accurate and predictable.

The above information illustrates the need for classifying the web. Users have a right to be provided quick and efficient information that is predictable. Classifying the web will achieve this goal as well as provide users with access to more information.


[1][4] Stephen J. Scroggins, “Internet Cataloging Issues,” Colorado Libraries v.26 no2 (Summer 2000): 46-47, 10 Nov. 2001
[2][5] Gralla, 186-87.