10th International AIDS Conference Yokohama, Japan — Aug 7-12, 1994

Int Conf AIDS 1994 Aug 7-12; 10:403 (abstract no. PD0792)
Pluskwa D, Jayle D, Madsen P, Clerc F, Akehurst C, de Wit P, Bertrand-Baschwitz T, Mirabet M, Shotton P; Centre Regional d'Information et de Prevention du Sida, Paris, France.

INTRODUCTION: Since January 1992, over 20 information and documentation centers on aids in Europe have cooperated to distribute more effectively information throughout European Community. Together, these centers create documentary tools and produce information documents.

OBJECTIVES: Create a European multilingual thesaurus (German, English, Danish, Spanish, French, Greek, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese) on the topic of aids and HIV and aimed at harmonizing the vocabulary used in aids documentation. The increasing volume of publications, the pluridisciplinary aspects of the problem, the diversity of information sources make the existence of a complete and updated thesaurus a necessity to documentation centers.

METHODS: Within the network of information and documentation centers on aids, a work group of librarians has been created. The work has started with the inventory of the different existing tools (thesauruses, glossaries, filing arrangements) in order to assemble a vocabulary and determine which fields to develop. In the same time, a thesaurus was developed by using a branching method. The multilingual thesaurus rests on specific software, first in French and English, and then translated into the seven other languages of the European Community. The received financial backing from the Commission of The European Community, as well as from the organizations against aids on a national level.

RESULTS: A first version of the thesaurus will be available in December 1994. It will allow the processing of any kind of document (files, reports, studies, notices, press releases, information brochures, posters, sound and video tapes, training kits, etc.) in all fields (ethics, economies, psycho-sociology, prevention, medical treatment, etc.). It will be used as an index and research material for a database that will be created later on...

CONCLUSION: Every information and documentation center in Europe will have free access to this thesaurus, as well as the bibliographical database on aids literature that will be created later on. These two tools will also be of considerable help to countries who wish to create a documentation center.

Copyright © 1994 - International AIDS Society (IAS). Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the IAS.