Faceted classification is a method of organising information by decomposing it into multiple independent categories, or facets, such as subject, format, date and location, which can be combined in any order to describe or retrieve an item. Unlike a single hierarchical taxonomy, it allows an item to be reached through several different combinations of attributes, which better suits heterogeneous and evolving collections. It is a foundational technique in information architecture and underlies faceted search interfaces and controlled vocabularies.

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  • Faceted classification is a method of organising information by decomposing it into multiple independent categories, or facets, such as subject, format, date and location, which can be combined in any order to describe or retrieve an item. Unlike a single hierarchical taxonomy, it allows an item to be reached through several different combinations of attributes, which better suits heterogeneous and evolving collections. It is a foundational technique in information architecture and underlies faceted search interfaces and controlled vocabularies.