Complexity In Indexing Systems -- Abandonment And Failure: Implications For Organizing The Internet
http://www.asis.org/annual-96/ElectronicProceedings/weinberg.html

Weinberg, Bella Hass
ASIST
1996

Abstract:

The past hundred years have seen the development of numerous systems for the structured representation of knowledge and information, including hierarchical classification systems with notation as well as alphabetical indexing systems with sophisticated features for the representation of term relationships. The reasons for the lack of widespread adoption of these systems, particularly in the United States, are discussed. The suggested structure for indexing the Internet or other large electronic collections of documents is based on that of book indexes: specific headings with coined modifications.