Book excerpt: Perspectives on Ontology Learning brings together researchers and practitioners from different communities − natural language processing, machine learning, and the semantic web − in order to give an interdisciplinary overview of recent advances in ontology learning. Starting with a comprehensive introduction to the theoretical foundations of ontology learning methods, the edited volume presents the state-of-the-start in automated knowledge acquisition and maintenance. It outlines future challenges in this area with a special focus on technologies suitable for pushing the boundaries beyond the creation of simple taxonomical structures, as well as on problems specifically related to knowledge modeling and representation using the Web Ontology Language. Perspectives on Ontology Learning is designed for researchers in the field of semantic technologies and developers of knowledge-based applications. It covers various aspects of ontology learning including ontology quality, user interaction, scalability, knowledge acquisition from heterogeneous sources, as well as the integration with ontology engineering methodologies.