TS 9580

TS 9580 is a terminology standard for the basic terms and definitions used in documentary languages within documentation and information. It focuses on conceptual tools such as notations, links, classifications and thesauri, which are used to organise information and improve access to recorded knowledge.

What the term documentary language means

Documentary languages are controlled symbolic systems used alongside, or instead of, natural language to describe, index, classify and relate information resources. In general technical terms, defining the vocabulary of this field helps cataloguing, content organisation and information retrieval practices use the same concepts consistently. Notations denote structured codes or signs for subjects; links express relationships between terms and records; and classifications arrange subjects in systematic or hierarchical order.

Core building blocks covered by the terminology

• Notations provide concise systematic signs for information items or subjects.
• Links express direction, proximity or relationship types between concepts.
• Classifications group documents or subjects into an orderly structure.
• Thesauri organise controlled terms together with synonym and relationship rules.

The purpose of TS 9580 is not to prescribe a documentary system itself, but to gather the fundamental concepts for such systems into a common terminology framework. For practitioners who design or manage documentation systems, this creates a clearer language for subject analysis and information retrieval. The standard is identified as equivalent to ISO 5127-6:1983 and is now withdrawn.