View source for Norbert Henrichs

'''Norbert Henrichs''' (1935-2016) pioneered information science in Germany.

Norbert Henrichs was born on 5 July 1935 in Essen, Germany and died on 2. May 2016 in Düsseldorf.

Henrichs worked on the documentation of Philosophy, developed a Text-Word method of indexing, and was a leading contributor to the formulation and realization of the German Information & Documentation Program), 1974-1977.

=== Text-Word Method ===
Henrichs argued that each specialty had its own particular language and, therefore, standardized vocabularies, categories, and knowledge organization systems suppressed or distorted meanings and so should only be used for areas of stable, established normal science. 

For less standardized areas, notably studies in philosophy and many humanistic and social disciplines, expertly selected words in the original (“text-words) should be used, with linguistic standardization to preferred grammatical forms and preferred forms of personal names.

Henrichs found an indexing depth of 0.5 – 2.0 terms per page to be effective. Thematic links are then established by noting associations between chosen text-words, thereby forming small sets of text-words. Syntactic (grammatical) relationships are not used, only intellectual association. Each set is assigned an identification number. A given text-word may be associated with more than one set. Text-words could be translated to create indexing in another language. 

A worked example in Stock & Stock (2013, 740) for a 50 page book chapter in German on ''Gegenstandstheorie'' (Theory of objects) has 31 text-words and 4 personal names associated in 18 different numbered sets. Text-word ''Gegenstand'' (Object) is associated in sets 1-15 and ''Wirkliche, das'' (Real) is associated only with sets 2 and 3, e.g.

    Gegenstandstheorie (1-18), Wirkliche, das (2-3), Existenz (4-5), Sosein (5-6), Objekt (10) . . . 

An English language index to this chapter would correspondingly be:

    Theory-of-objects (1-18), Real (2-3), Existence (4-5), Being-so (5-6), Object, single (10) . . .

Disadvantages are that concepts are not used, only words in the text and their thematic associations. There is no attention to synonyms and controlled vocabulary.

Advantages are claimed for historical studies of language, language development, and disciplines and for use in topical areas that lack firm terminology. If and when such a field becomes a stable knowledge domain  knowledge organization systems become more suitable.

== Publications ==
Numerous publications are listed in Hauk & Stock (2012) and in Stock (2016).

== Further reading ==
*Hauk, Katharina and Wolfgang G. Stock,(2012), "Pioneers of information science in Europe. The œuvre of Norbert Henrichs", in Carbo, T. and T. Bellardo Hahn, T. (Eds), ''International Perspectives on the History of Information Science and Technology.'' Medford, NJ: Information Today, pp. 151-162.
*Stock, Wolfgang G. (2016). "Norbert Henrichs (1935–2016): Pionier der Informationswissenschaft in Deutschland" ''Information - Wissenschaft & Praxis'' 67, no. 4 (2016): 257-268. https://doi.org/10.1515/iwp-2016-0042
*Schröder, T.A., Hrsg. (2000). ''Auf dem Weg zur Informationskultur. Wa(h)re Information? Festschrift für Norbert Henrichs zum 65. Geburtstag''. Düsseldorf: Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek.
*"Text-word method". In: Stock, Wolfgang G. & Mechtild Stock. (2013). ''Handbook of Information Science.'' Berlin: De Gruyter, pp: 735-43.