These inspiring case studies demonstrate how taxonomies and controlled vocabularies can be used in a multitude of important applications in organisations that handle large amounts of data and content. The talks cover government agencies, scientific publishing and education.

For organisations that work across different countries and languages, taxonomies need to be able to accommodate translations and accurate mappings between terms. Equally, organisations that use financial information need to build classification schemes which handle diverse data. These in-depth case studies show best practice applicable no matter what sector you’re in.

Auto-categorisation and text analytics promise to revolutionise many tagging processes and drive up quality. But, as with any technology, there are challenges as well as opportunities. This session gives two extremely knowledgeable perspectives for anyone who doesn’t know where to start, and also for those looking to build on their knowledge.

A key application of taxonomies is in helping users retrieve information from data sources, even if the data is incomplete, in multiple formats, or of poor quality. These stories show how experienced information professionals are using taxonomies in the fields of archiving and international development respectively.

Taxonomies are only as good as their constituent words, phrases and relationships; and they are only helpful if they are used in the places where organisations will derive the most value from them. These talks show you how to understand and achieve this, by getting into the nuts, bolts and Lego bricks of taxonomies.

There is a growing range of tools and platforms which exploit taxonomies for content classification. This session brings together some of the leading-edge practitioners in the field, outlining how their work helps taxonomists, content teams, developers and more to understand and use content more smartly.

For many taxonomists, the most fun of the job is in building and maintaining taxonomies. However, without good governance and making yourself visible around the organisation, some colleagues just won’t ‘get it’. These talks give invaluable tips and tricks for making sure taxonomies and metadata are understood by all.

Linked data is an ever-expanding area of opportunity for information professionals, yet there can be jargon and a lack of clarity about why it is important. These three talks cut through the acronyms and explain clearly the principles and benefits of taking a semantic approach to modelling information.