Faceted Search by Daniel Tunkelang
Think of this as the book David Mamet would have written if he had written on the subject of faceted search. For about $29, it was little surprising to see how thin the volume was when it arrived – a scant 70 pages of reading. The text is part of the Synthesis Lectures on Information Concepts, Retrieval, and Services which is described on their website as “50- to 100-page publications on topics pertaining to information science and applications of technology to information discovery, production, distribution, and management.” I’m afraid I didn’t follow the reference to ‘lecture’ – but I can only assume the author has lectured on the subject at some point, and the text captures the essence of his presentations.
But in truth, if you strip out the fluff that accompanies most texts, it’s likely you’ll wind up with something not much longer than Tunkelang’s book. It’s a worthwhile (and very quick!) read and takes the reader through a brief history of the subject, identifies the key concepts, compares academic research and commercial applications and finally deals with some of the practical concerns of implementing faceted search. There are 119 references which form the basis for lots of additional reading. Actually, it’s not a bad approach. Read through the text in a couple of hours or less to get an overview of the subject, then use the references to expand knowledge if interested or if additional explanation is required. There are at least a couple of referenced books and websites I’m inclined to follow up.
As the author says on page 25; “You might wonder why you have picked up an entire book on faceted search only to find it summed up in a couple of pages…not quite halfway through.” Indeed. But as he alludes to shortly thereafter, faceted search is a simple concept which gets complicated in the details, many of which are introduced in the balance of the book. But in summary, you could spend a lot more money and time getting the same basic information Tunkelang provides in his book, and it’s therefore recommended reading for those looking to get up to speed quickly on the subject.