Taxonomies might not always be the most glamorous topic in information management, but they are crucial for effective data organisation and retrieval. For library and information professionals, the challenge lies in helping the rest of the organisation understand their importance and embrace taxonomy projects with enthusiasm.
After all, getting your colleagues excited about taxonomies is the key to ensuring that they will be used every day.
In this post, we’ll explore the basics of taxonomies, their enduring relevance, their value to organisations, and the potential of GenAI in their creation. We’ll also provide practical examples of how taxonomies can be applied, offer insights on how to get started with a taxonomy project, and highlight common challenges — with tips on overcoming them.
At its core, a taxonomy is simply a system of classification. The word comes from the Greek táxis, meaning “arrangement, order,” and nómos, meaning “law, rule.” In practical terms, a taxonomy helps categorise information in a structured way, allowing users to easily locate and retrieve relevant data.
Taxonomies have come a long way from their biological roots — today, they are the backbone of modern data management. Linnaeus’ classification system in the 18th century aimed to organise the natural world, but now, taxonomies do far more than label species.
They label, name, and sort data, helping businesses and organisations streamline processes and improve communication. When done strategically, taxonomies enable people to find exactly what they need, quickly and accurately. This makes them invaluable in knowledge management systems, where efficiency and accessibility are essential for productivity.
In an era dominated by big data and artificial intelligence (AI), you might wonder why taxonomies still matter. Can’t AI handle this? The answer is not clear cut.
While AI has made significant advancements, it relies on well-structured quality training data to be truly effective. AI can assist with certain elements but potentially lacks the contextual “human” understanding needed for nuanced decision-making. Human input is essential to ensure that data aligns with specific business needs and goals.
But what if GenAI capabilities could make your taxonomy even better? It is our professional responsibility to take technology and make it work for us – and our organisations.
I will shortly be highlighting how “need” is essential for the success of any (taxonomy) project. Interestingly, the idea of need came up at the most recent AALL conference. A panel laid out what it called “needs and seeds” — the tasks that today’s law librarians need to undertake… and the takeaways that will help them accomplish those tasks.
Law librarians need to be advocates, both for themselves and for the necessary technology to position law libraries as a trusted resource for technological knowledge and execution.
[They] should seek to be part of decision-making processes for any AI implementation, adding that librarians also should advocate for legal research instruction at all levels, and for preserving and advancing the profession of law librarians as critical thinkers and evaluators of legal information.
This is why we should be talking about taxonomies and how GenAI can assist. This also adds an element of shiny tech to get people excited!
Taxonomies ensure that data is meaningful, consistent, and easy to navigate. The primary value of a taxonomy lies in its ability to turn raw data into actionable knowledge. For knowledge-driven organisations such as law firms, taxonomies offer numerous benefits, including:
For example, in a law firm, a consistent taxonomy across practice areas helps teams quickly identify relevant cases, sector-specific insights, or client-related materials. Without a structured taxonomy, a firm could be overwhelmed by — or unable to find — critical information.
Let’s say a firm has worked on property disputes involving farming. By tagging data points across practice areas and industry groups, a taxonomy allows them to pull together similar cases quickly, making pitches or case preparation faster and more efficient.
This post was partly inspired by the 2024 BIALL conference session presented by Katy Snell and Alice Laird from Howard Kennedy. Alice shared excellent examples of taxonomies in everyday life — proving that they’re all around us, even when we don’t notice.
These examples show that taxonomies are everywhere, helping people find what they need faster and more efficiently — which is precisely what makes them so valuable to your organisation.
The key to a successful taxonomy implementation is twofold: engagement and need. You need buy-in from different parts of the organisation, particularly senior stakeholders who can champion the project. Equally important is identifying a genuine cross-organisational need for a structured taxonomy — this ensures momentum and support.
In Howard Kennedy’s case, their taxonomy project started with the Business Development (BD) department, which wanted to label data more effectively for legal industry directories — a traditionally time-consuming task. Having key information organised rapidly led to a quick win for the team.
They began with an off-the-shelf taxonomy to organise countries and jurisdictions. They then adapted the European standard classification scheme, incorporating legal vocabulary to meet their needs. Organising ‘work types’, however, required collaboration across the firm — engaging fee earners, business operations and knowledge teams.
Here are a few steps to get started with your taxonomy project:
Implementing a taxonomy isn’t without challenges, but they can be overcome with careful planning and a great strategy:
You don’t always have to build a taxonomy from scratch. There are several off-the-shelf taxonomies available, especially in industries like law and healthcare:
Off-the-shelf taxonomies can offer an exciting quick win, however you will need to customise some elements to meet the specific needs of your law firm / organisation.
In a world driven by data, a well-designed taxonomy is invaluable. By improving access to information and enhancing workflows, taxonomies provide the foundation for better legal and business decisions. The key to success is not just in designing the right taxonomy but in getting people excited about it.
By making taxonomies engaging and demonstrating their value, library and information professionals can ensure they remain a critical part of an organisation’s strategy in the age of AI. Stay tuned for our deep dive into how GenAI can further revolutionise taxonomy creation and implementation.
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