Knowledge organization for resilience in times of crisis: challenges and opportunities

Abstract: This paper considers different kinds of information systems, knowledge organization systems and information infrastructures in relation to problems in times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemics. Considering such issues quickly turns into more fundamental issues in knowledge organization. Among the systems discussed are general infrastructures for the general public, such as Wikipedia, Google, and ChatGPT, domain specific structures for the general public such as health-related websites, general structures for the specialists, such as the citation databases Scopus, Dimensions, Google Scholar and Web of Science, and domain specific structures for the specialists such as MEDLINE and FindZebra. All these systems are considered exemplified mostly from the COVID-19 perspective. The paper focus on the common problem for all kinds of knowledge organization systems, including the issues about “document retrieval versus “information retrieval,” “natural language” vs “controlled vocabulary”, “best match” vs “exact match” and issues related to the philosophy of science. It is concluded that in times of crisis, both specialized new systems and updating of existing systems are needed. Most important for knowledge organization as a field of research and practice is the focus on the common theoretical foundation of all kinds of knowledge organization systems because this is what can keep us together.