Abstract
Modeling and application of models affect virtually all areas of human activity, including those of interest to information science. Although the creation and use of models have always been implicitly included in the practice of libraries and other memory institutions, their explicit exploration by information science so far has been concentrated more on the application of knowledge from other disciplines, particularly from computer science.
The aim of this study is to suggest ways in which thinking about models in information science could be taken towards forming the theory of conceptual models applicable in the processes of obtaining, processing and using information resources. For the description of the conceptual models, a faceted structure, loosely based on the 5W1H method, is proposed.
The facets have been derived from an analysis of the structural components of the model: they determine what is being modeled, who is the creator and who is the model user, wherewith it is modeled, for what the model is used. From the semiotics perspective, the functions of conceptual models relevant to information science are specified and the typology of their content and form is proposed, set out in the context of conceptual models and modeling languages in computer science.
Conceptual models in information science are divided into conceptual reference models, and metadata models comprising metadata element sets, metadata schemas, and value vocabularies. Their characteristics are accompanied by representative examples of each type.