A method of managing information comprises generating a categorized document base. Generating the document base comprises providing a pre-existing classification of things other than documents, providing a source collection of documents, and automatically assessing the documents using Information Retrieval techniques to assign at least some of the documents to one or more taxa of the classification. For each taxon in the classification one or more numerical scores are assigned, based at least in part on a composition, makeup or constitution of the documents assigned to the taxon of the categorized document base.