TermBank

TermBank is a term bank, a structured repository designed to store terms and their metadata for indexing, retrieval, and interoperability across information systems. It typically serves as a centralized source of controlled vocabulary used to standardize terminology across disciplines, languages, and platforms, helping to improve search precision and data integration.

A term entry in a term bank usually includes a preferred term, alternative or synonyms, part of speech, definitions or usage notes, and language variants. Many term banks also relate terms to concepts in a broader ontology or taxonomy through relationships such as broader, narrower, and related terms. Additional metadata may cover domain, provenance, version, authority, licensing, and validity status, along with information about editorial rules and changes over time.

Data models commonly employed include SKOS (Simple Knowledge Organization System) and other ontology-aligned formats, enabling term-centric and concept-centric views. Data can be stored in formats such as RDF, JSON-LD, or CSV, and can be exported for reuse in information retrieval systems, databases, and content management workflows. Governance practices often involve editorial oversight, version control, and review workflows to ensure consistency, accuracy, and alignment with standards.

Typical applications span libraries, museums, research institutions, healthcare, government, and software localization. Term banks support multilingual search, semantic tagging, and metadata interoperability, facilitating clearer communication, efficient data curation, and improved cross-domain data exchange.