Indexing Languages for Information Management, a Promising Future or an Obsolete Resource?

Indexing languages have traditionally been an essential tool for organizing and retrieving documental information. The inclusion of indexing languages into the digital environment leads to new frontiers, but also new opportunities. This study shows the historical evolution of the indexing languages and its application in document management field. We analyze diverse trends for their digital use from two perspectives: their integration with other digital and linguistic resources, and the adjustment of them into the Web environment. Finally, there is an analysis of how these languages are used in the Web 2.0 and the incorporation of ontologies in the Semantic Web.This work was carried out within the framework of a research Project financed by the Spanish government (Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, Secretaría de Estado de Universidades e Investigación, TIN 2007-67153)