In this presentation we discuss the works and influence of Norbert Henrichs (born 1935), a pioneer of Information Science in Europe. In the context of philosophy documentation, Henrichs developed in the 1960s a dictionary-independent method of indexing: the Text-Word Method. This method works exclusively with the term material of the documents to be indexed. It starts by using a variant of syntactic indexing, viz. the formation of thematic chains. Documents indexed via the Text-Word Method form the basis for relatively ballast-free information retrieval, but also for studies in the history of ideas. Henrichs was a leading contributor to the formulation and realization of the German Information & Documentation (I&D) program (1974 – 1977). This widely noted political program planned for the world’s entire scientific and technical literature to be made available in 20 specialized information centers. Henrichs served as scientific executive director of the central German infrastructure provision within the I&D program, the “Society for Information and Documentation” (GID), from 1980 to 1985. Over the course of the 1980s, the I&D program broke down—mainly due to a lack of financing. At the Heinrich-Heine-University in Düsseldorf, Henrichs successfully developed a curriculum for information science, which—typically for Germany in the 1980s and 1990s—had no strong ties to either library science or computer science.

1. Pioneers of Information Science in Europe:
The Œuvre of Norbert Henrichs
Katharina Hauk & Wolfgang G. Stock
Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Germany, Department of Information Science
ASIS&T AM 2012, Baltimore, MD
History of ASIS&T and Information and Technology Worldwide. October 27, 2012

2. MOTIVATION
Why is Norbert Henrichs (born 1935) a pioneer of
information science?
1. Henrichs created a method of knowledge organization beyond
KOS: the text-word method (applying indexing with thematical
chains) in the 1960s.
2. Henrichs contributed to the formulation of the German
„Information & Documentation Program“ in the 1970s and served
as CEO of the central infrastructure facility for information
science and practice in Germany (the „GID“) in the early 1980s.
3. Henrichs established Information Science (beyond LIS and CIS)
as a subject of higher education in Germany.
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3. AGENDA
Introduction
Methods
Oral History
Literature Review
Archival Material
Results
Text-Word Method
Organization of Information Practice in Germany. The
„Information & Documentation Program“
Information Science as a Subject of Study in Higher
Education
Discussion
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4. NORBERT HENRICHS IN 1968
Source: German Television Broadcast
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5. NORBERT HENRICHS IN 2012
Source: Oral History Interview,
HEINRICH-HEINE-UNIVERSITY DÜSSELDORF Düsseldorf, Germany, 2012

6. METHODS
1. Oral history: interview with Norbert Henrichs on April 12, 2012 in
Düsseldorf, Germany – video (about 200 minutes) – transcript
(stored in the archive of the Heinrich-Heine-University)
2. Literature review: analysis of the published articles of Henrichs
(as a by-product of the edition of selected works of Henrichs)
3. Review of archival material: analysis of some unpublished
materials by and on Henrichs in the archive the Dept. of
Information Science at the Heinrich-Heine-University)
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7. RESULTS, PART 1:
TEXT-WORD METHOD
• Philosophy documentation – cooperation with
• University of Louvain, Belgium (Jucquois-Delpierre, Wenin)
• Research and Documentation Center of Austrian Philosophy,
Graz, Austria (Haller, Gombocz)
• Philosophy Documentation Center, Bowling Green State
University, Bowling Green, OH, U.S.A. (Lineback)
• How to index philosophical literature?
• No classification system, no thesaurus
• No full text storage
• Introduction of the Text-Word Method
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8. TEXT-WORD METHOD
• Text-Word Method
• Only words (in original language) which occur in the text
• Syntactical indexing: no single topics, but chains of topics
• Very precise retrieval results
• But: Problems for the users to anticipate the language use of
the authors (in all languages) – Solutions:
• Term networks (as an early form of informetrics)
• Pentagram lists (as an early form of n-gram retrieval)
• (Not by Henrichs, but by M.Stock) text-words in original
language and in a unified language
• Commercial partner: Siemens
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9. TEXT-WORD METHOD
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10. TEXT-WORD METHOD
• Searching for: WUNDT, WILHELM
MAX SAME GERMANY (SAME
meaning „in the same thematical
chain)
• Here: In the printed index of „Mind“
• Hit: Article No. 3
• Online Retrieval worked in a similar
way
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11. TEXT-WORD METHOD
• Full text delivery in the
1960s, 1970s and 1980s
• Microforms
• Microfiches
• Roll films
• Commercial partner:
3M Company
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12. RESULTS, PART 2:
Organization of Information Practice in Germany
• In the 1960s the German government recognized the
importance of Information and Documentation (I&D).
• In the I&D program (1974-1977) the government was
responsible for planning, implementing and financing I&D.
• Henrichs played an essential role in planning this
program.
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13. The “Information & Documentation Program”
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14. The “Information & Documentation Program”
• A core element of the I&D program was the Society for
Information and Documentation (GID) – an infrastructure facility
for the FIZs
• The GID s main tasks lay in:
• Resarch and development in the various areas of I&D,
• Teaching, consulting and technological support for the FIZs,
• Sponsoring projects and operating a central information
service,
• Observation of international development in the I&D sphere
(branches in Washington, D.C. and in Tokyo ).
• Henrichs was the scientific executive of the GID.
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15. The “Information & Documentation Program”
• The I&D program was never implemented as planned because of:
• Financial problems: The costs had been underestimated.
• The question whether I&D ought to be left to the government
or to the markets.
• In the 1980s there was a paradigm shift toward the market
economy.
• The GID was closed because the infrastructure it was supposed
to create was not needed and because of organizational
difficulties.
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16. RESULTS, PART 3:
Information Science as a subject of study
• The origin of Information Science in Düsseldorf lay in philosophy
documentation.
• In 1970 there were the first courses that could be called
Information Science.
• By 1974 Henrichs worked out a curriculum for Information
Science as a minor subject.
• However Information Science was only accredited as a subject in
its own right in 1989.
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17. RESULTS, PART 3:
Information Science as a subject of study
• In Germany Information Science was neither combined with
Library Science (LIS) nor Computer Science (CIS).
• No LIS => In West Germany Library Science was not a subject of
study. Librarians had to pass different training courses.
• No CIS => Computer Science for data processing and organizing
information has only ever been a useful tool.
• For Henrichs, Information Science is the science of knowledge
organization, with a clear focus on applicability.
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18. DISCUSSION
Text-Word Method
Is knowledge organization beyond of Knowledge
Organization Systems (KOS, e.g. classification systems,
thesauri) useful?
Folksonomies do not make use of KOS as well. Can we
transfer the experiences of the text-word method to
social tagging?
Is syntactical indexing by thematic chains applicable in
other environments?
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19. DISCUSSION
Governmental Information Policy
Information supply: government-driven or market-
driven?
Information science think tank?
Central organization of information services?
If market-driven: Who will finance unprofitable
information services (e.g., global philosophy)?
On a for scale:
Is there a need for a central think tank for information
science?
Is there a need for a central organization of information
services for ALL kinds of (STM) information?
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20. DISCUSSION
Information Science as an Academic
Discipline
Is Information Science indeed beyond Library &
Information Science (LIS)?
Is it beyond Computer & Information Science (CIS) as
well?
Is Information Science a subject on its own right?
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21. CLOSING REMARK
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22. QUESTIONS?
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DISCUSSION?
Thank you! Best wishes from Düsseldorf, Germany!
Katharina.Hauk@hhu.de
Stock@phil.hhu.de
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23. “CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY”
That‘s NOT the real Düsseldorf.
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