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Introduction

Knowledge organisation systems (KOS) such as classification schemes, thesauri and subject heading systems (three major traditional types of KOS) are a class of metadata that have traditionally been used in libraries and indexing and abstracting services, some since the 19th century. KOS model the underlying semantic structure of a domain, provide a semantic road map of individual fields and the relationships among and across fields, and relate concepts to terms. Today KOS are a necessity in that they inform and promote discovery, use and re-use of information. They serve as the prerequisites for enhanced semantic interoperability.

A wider discussion of this topic can be found on the Technical Foundations Web site.