Purpose This paper explores the longstanding disconnect between Knowledge Organization (KO) and Information Retrieval (IR), advocating for their integration to improve subject access in humanities and cultural heritage (CH) collections, including newer types of collections, such as those of research data. Design/methodology/approach Through a critical synthesis of literature, standards and recent advances in both KO and IR, the paper identifies key advantages and challenges and proposes a collaborative research agenda to address them. Findings While KO Systems (KOS) provide semantic depth and contextual accuracy, and IR systems offer scalability, their independent development has limited the effectiveness of search systems for humanities and CH collections. Today’s operational search systems lack the capacity to support nuanced, exploratory search due to this disconnect. In addition, both KO and IR fields come with challenges which might be addressed via a complementary approach. The purposeful integration of KO and IR is necessary to address challenges such as opaque IR algorithms, underused or outdated KOS, and the need for context-aware, transparent and inclusive discovery environments. Practical implications Integrated KO-IR systems can support more accurate and inclusive discovery interfaces for libraries, museums and archives, as well as any search system, enhancing the visibility and usability of their resources. Originality/value The paper brings together perspectives from traditionally separate communities and calls for a de-siloed approach to designing subject access systems. It introduces key research questions and strategies for aligning KOS with advanced IR techniques.
Golub et al. (2025) studied this question.