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Heather Hedden

Taxonomy Manager at Northern Light

Heather Hedden is a leading expert in taxonomy and knowledge organisation, known for her books, teaching, and consulting that help professionals design smarter vocabularies for better information access.

Talks about

On a broader level, Heather talks about taxonomy design, controlled vocabularies, and semantic structures, sharing best practices to improve search, metadata quality, knowledge graphs, and information access.

taxonomy

data strategy

metadata management

information management

knowledge management

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Highlights

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Working Group Member, ISO/TC 46/SC 9/WG 8

In this role, Heather contributes to the review and revision of ISO 25964-1:2011, the international standard on thesauri and their interoperability, focusing on information retrieval applications.

Founding and Leading Professional Taxonomy & Indexing Communities

Heather founded and managed the Taxonomies & Controlled Vocabularies Special Interest Group (ASIS&T), chaired SLA’s Taxonomy Division committees (Mentoring and Membership), and served as Vice President and President of the New England Chapter of the American Society for Indexing .

Leading Taxonomy Consulting, Training & Education | Hedden Information Management

Since 2004, she has run Hedden Information Management, offering taxonomy consulting, training, indexing services, and information architecture guidance

Authored Indexing Specialties: Web Sites

This book explores techniques for organising and indexing online content, bridging traditional indexing with the challenges of digital environments & offers practical guidance for web information professionals.

Authored The Accidental Taxonomist

The Accidental Taxonomist is a practical guide to creating and managing taxonomies, offering methods, examples, and insights for information professionals who find themselves working with vocabularies.

Insights

Unlock the "why". Dive into interviews, blogs, and videos where thought leaders unpack their insights. Go beyond the resume, connect with the mind behind the expertise.

Data Management

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Aug 10

When to Design a New Taxonomy for a New System

This article outlines how to assess whether an existing taxonomy can be adapted or if a fresh design is needed & provides practical criteria for making the right choice.

Data Management

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Aug 1

Foundation for a Knowledge Graph: Taxonomy Design Best Practices - Part 1

Heather shares essential taxonomy design best practices as foundational steps for building effective knowledge graphs, covering controlled vocabularies, label strategies, hierarchical and associative relationships, and governance

Data Engineering

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Apr 17

The Role of Taxonomy and Ontology in Semantic Layers

Heather explores how combining taxonomies and ontologies creates a rich semantic layer that improves tagging, retrieval, and organisation of enterprise content and demonstrates how this integration elevates information architecture beyond basic search, bridging content and data for smarter, more connected access.

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Heather Hedden

Talks about

Badges

Highlights

Working Group Member, ISO/TC 46/SC 9/WG 8

Founding and Leading Professional Taxonomy & Indexing Communities

Leading Taxonomy Consulting, Training & Education | Hedden Information Management

Authored Indexing Specialties: Web Sites

Authored The Accidental Taxonomist

Notable Contributions

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Insights

When to Design a New Taxonomy for a New System

Foundation for a Knowledge Graph: Taxonomy Design Best Practices - Part 1

The Role of Taxonomy and Ontology in Semantic Layers

Meet other data experts

Your Profile, Your Way!

Have changes or updates for your profile? Reach out to us! Share the latest details & updated resources with us here: