In addition to the lack of completeness in terms of subject coverage, the researchers found inconsistencies and problems with how relationships between subjects were illustrated by the systems.
Researchers also noted cases where subclasses on the same level were not mutually exclusive e. Conclusion — The researchers conclude that none of the three major classification systems analyzed provides complete and systematic coverage of the world of knowledge, and call for the library community to move to new systems, such as the 10 Pillars of Knowledge. Downloads Download data is not yet available. Downloads PDF.
Published How to Cite Merkley, C. Classification schemes aid a classifier to represent the subject content of every document by appropriate notations. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel. Facebook Twitter Instagram. Next Article Different responsibility of the Librarian.
Related Posts. Depth classification December 7, Thesaurus : An overview December 3, Library Classification August 21, Enumerative Classification Scheme October 21, Freely Faceted Classification August 26, Facet August 26, Sofia on May 7, pm. This means that a cognitively sound classification is equally good at information retrieval and shelf arrangement of documents. A bibliographic classification will also be good at shelf arrangement, but may not be good as a cognitive system.
The systematic arrangement of knowledge or of the documents in a collection translates into the following functions:. The features that a bibliographic classification requires in order to achieve these ends are: a helpful order of subjects at all levels, a brief memorable notation, and a host of techniques and devices for number synthesis. Since the last decade of the previous century, most of the living classification systems have converted their print format into machine readable databases.
Now the machine readable database is the main source file while the other versions, including the print edition, are its byproducts.
In the beginning, the electronic version was used only to help the editors in the editing and publishing of the system. But now the electronic versions have been made available to the users mostly on the web and have many additional valued features apart from being easily kept updated by the publishers.
Classification systems in a machine readable database, which these days are in MARC Concise Format for Classification Data, have the following functions Slavic, :. On the other hand, an online classification system does not logically or intellectually differ from its print version, though it has many add-on functions. The Electronic Dewey, which is a highly value added online version of the DDC, can be searched by words or phrases, numbers, index terms, and Boolean operations.
Captions can be browsed and hierarchies can be displayed. An entry also shows frequently used LC subject headings associated with a Dewey number, along with a sample bibliographic record. The Electronic Dewey enables users to classify materials quickly and efficiently. Its latest manifestation is called WebDewey 2. Unlike the print editions, the WebDewey is not constrained by physical size and space.
The database includes all built numbers from the relative index of the print version and thousands more added to the electronic version. It also includes the segmentation prime marks used by the Library of Congress to show either the end of an abridged number or the beginning of a standard subdivision. A convenient work area displays and stores the parts of the Dewey number being built as one moves among the schedules and tables for instructions Satija, , pp.
There are standard as well as customizable on screen views for the user to set. The standard views are:. WebDewey has an augmented index with natural language terms from other thesauri to provide an enhanced access. Some of the important advantages of WebDewey over the traditional print version are:. However, the basic principles and number building techniques are the same. Future electronic versions may provide some built-in expert system for automatic synthesis of numbers wherever required.
Many more surprising features may be in store in the near future, including the one Dewey without notation. The software is commercially available from the company for MRF license holders. A classification, in essence, is simply a systematically arranged list of subjects and their subdivisions in the universe of knowledge.
To be of practical use in libraries, a classification needs additional features, and these are what make it into a system. It is often stated that a classification requires a fourth component: a governing body to keep it innovative, current, and for its marketing. Finally, the introduction of the system, usually including instructions and editorial information reflecting the views of the author or the governing body, can constitute another essential part of the system.
A schedule is a systematic list of classes and their subdivisions arranged in a logical way. It is the core or the terra firma of the system. Classification schedules comprise the following elements:. Aida Slavic , p.
For mathematical theory of algorithms in general use Specify mathematical process by colon combination with class Examples of combination s :.
When stored in a database, information implicit in the class information showed above will have to be made explicit using following 7 blocks of data elements:. The division of classes must be step by step, that is, by one characteristic at a time. There are two approaches to the division of classes, namely enumerative and faceted. Historically bibliographic classifications have followed enumerative systems in which classes and subclasses have been deduced top down, moving hierarchically from general to specific; this may be called gradation by specialty.
This gradual division takes the shape of a funnel. Today, faceted approach prevails. Enumerative classifications typically start out with a hierarchical structure and list or enumerate concepts within it. Enumerative classifications list or enumerate all possible topics of interest subclasses of a particular class in top-down manner.
The enumerative method has the following problems Buchannan, , pp, :. Enumerative systems today are almost out of fashion, giving way to the faceted approach.
On the other hand, the faceted approach may not be clear in representing the structure of knowledge in a specific area. Rather, the enumerative structure might be better in representing the structure of knowledge e. Rowley and Farrow summarize some of the advantages of enumerative classifications as follow:.
However, the impossibility of enumerating all compound and complex subjects and the awareness of the inefficiently enumerative nature of the DDC led Ranganathan to invent the faceted approach for his Colon Classification Ranganathan, , p. In a faceted approach:. According to Broughton some of the advantages of faceted classifications over enumerative classifications include:.
As for the Web, it is said that the logical and predictable structure of the faceted system undoubtedly makes it compatible with the requirements of mechanization in a way that enumerative and pre-coordinated systems are not p.
In the Web environment classification is passing through its second golden age. Classification is all about relations. The classification process is essentially correlating or discovering relations between two entities. There are two types of relations, both displayed or inherent, in the classification schedules. Semantic relations are hierarchical, cognate, collocative, and filial. The arrangement of the main classes and their subdivisions into arrays and chains are semantic relations which are deemed helpful to the users.
For the arrangement of subclasses in an array, Ranganathan prescribes eight principles of helpful sequence such as chronological arrangement, geographical arrangement, evolutionary arrangement, conventional arrangement, and so on. Hierarchy arranges entities from general to specific, or from whole to parts. In other words, these relations are governed by citation order. Ranganathan postulated a grand but broader formula in the form of PMEST Personality, Matter, Energy, Space, Time in which the facets are arranged in the order of their decreasing concreteness.
To arrange facets within Rounds and Levels, Ranganathan formulated an over-arching Wall-Picture principle, which is an analogical name for a dependency principle. This formula bypasses the mazy and confusing act of arrangement of entities in Rounds and Levels and it is much simpler. In the s S. Ranganathan , pp. The citation order prescribes an arrangement of facets from specific to general, or concrete to abstract.
But the arrangement of documents on the shelves or entries in a catalog is in a pedagogical order of general to specific, i. This general to special order on the shelves is achieved by manipulating the ordinal value of notational digits and indicator digits. In the UDC, the auxiliary facets are arranged in tables 1c-1k, which are in general to specific order, but these are applied in the 1k-1c order. The inversion principle is embedded in the retroactive notation of the BC Within the overall general to specific order there are four sub-orders:.
General treated generally General treated specially Special treated generally Special treated specially. In both systems the first division is by broad classes called main classes.
All current classifications base their main classes on divisions by discipline. Barbara Kyle experimented in vain to design a classification system for social sciences without the notion of main classes.
Although arbitrary, there seems no alternative to them. A discipline is a broader division of the universe of knowledge which gives context to the phenomena. Main classes form the first order array of the division of universe of knowledge. These, being conventional, are postulated a bit arbitrarily by the designer of the system Palmer, , pp. The number of main classes and boundaries vary from system to system and from time to time.
As its name implies this is the general works class provided to accommodate such books as general encyclopedias, newspapers, magazines, and other poly-topical books, or form classes such as serials, manuscripts, museums, anthologies which cover knowledge in general, or such a portion of it that is impossible to place under any other main class in the schedules. This holdall class is an essential feature of book classifications.
Its place precedes the disciplinary divided subjects. In providing places for works which on account of their form do not specifically belong to any other main class, the Generalia class may be considered a form class. In its practical form, however, those subjects dealing with varied knowledge cannot be considered as a rigid form class.
Thus a Generalia class is more than a form class. The outline of the Generalia class in the Dewey Decimal Classification is:. A book on any particular subject may deal with that subject in various ways, from different viewpoints or in different forms. This may be an encyclopedia, a dictionary, a periodical, an advanced or elementary treatise, or it may be written as history, philosophy, in essay, or another literary form of the subject covered.
Books on almost every subject frequently fall into one of these categories. Many schemes recognize their generality of application by converting them into common subdivisions, i. All bibliographical classifications make provisions for such aspects of books by the addition of the so-called auxiliary form divisions, or common divisions.
In the DDC, such form divisions are now termed as standard subdivisions as given in Table 1 of Volume 1, e. These divisions can be added to specify any class number in the schedules.
Similar provisions exist in all other library classifications. Many of the terms representing these forms also correspond to terms used in the main schedules for specific subjects.
There is, however, a distinct difference in their meaning and implication. In the main schedules, the terms are used to represent recognized subjects from the field of knowledge, e. Similar terms used in the form divisions represent either a special way in which a book is written and produced, or an aspect from which the subject is viewed.
In other words, it is not the subject but a subject qualifier. Hence these cannot be used alone. Form divisions are exclusive to a library classification; they form the generalia divisions of a specific class.
In practice, these divisions enable a further, more detailed, and convenient grouping of books by format or form to be made on the shelves Philips, , p. All the dictionaries of science will come together, as do all the histories of science.
A schedule, always equipped with many notes, instructions, devices, and techniques, is more than a systematic list of subjects. These notes and such are for the uniformity of application of these entries, for what is called inter-indexer consistency. These instructions and devices make the system a mint for forging new class numbers for unforeseen subjects of the future.
To a classifier, it is a joy and a feeling of accomplishment to synthesize numbers. In a system like the DDC or the UDC, the minted or synthesized numbers may be much more than the explicitly listed numbers. These are devices for classifying interdisciplinary or composite subjects which are in ad hoc relations. This type of synthesis is much more sophisticated and detailed in CC and BC A classification notation is a series of codes or symbols which denotes the names of a class or any division or subdivision of a class.
Notation forms a convenient means of reference to the arrangement of a classification. Although notation is an important addition to a classification schedule, in no way does it determine its logic, its scope, or its sequence of development.
It just furnishes a convenient reference to the arrangement of a classification. The notation is not assigned until the schedule has been worked out in the idea and verbal planes.
Ranganathan harshly terms notation as a servant of the Idea Plane to implement the decision taken by the latter. In fact, it is the executive authority of the Idea Plane. Notation is the engine of library classification, far from being any menial servant. Notation itself is not the classification but an essential adjunct for a library classification.
Without notation it would be impossible to apply classification to documents. There are two types of notation by pedigree: pure and mixed. Pure notation is comprised of single species of digits, usually either numerals or alphabets. Pure notations, in the face of the growing knowledge and complexity of subjects, are no more possible to employ; their time is long gone by. Mixed notation is obviously comprised of two or more species of digits.
Mixed notations can again be divided into two categories, of moderately or highly mixed. The LCC and BC-2, which use only alphabets and numerals together, are considered ideal models of a library classification notation. The CC and UDC use highly mixed notations which are comprised of alphabets, numerals, punctuation marks, and so on.
Moderately mixed notations are elegant and work effectively. The Library of Congress uses an alphabetical notation A-Z for the main classes; the subdivisions are denoted by a second sequence A-Z, and within these divisions a numerical span from 1 to is used. Gaps are left in between for expansion, e. Leadership Staffs of Armies Headquarters, Aides, etc. Inspectors Intelligence Attaches Spies. Choice of a notational system can benefit or be detrimental to a classification.
The DDC has thrived mostly due to its simple notation, while the CC is smarting under the weight of its highly mixed notation. In a library classification, the class number alone is not able to provide a unique place to a document on the shelves Satija, , p. For example, there may be many books on the History of Mughal India bearing exactly the same class number. If not further subdivided, there would be pockets of chaos on the shelves within the same group of subjects.
For a proper and effective organization and location, those books having the same class number must be further divided granularly. The device to do this is called book number or author number. The Library of Congress uses simplified Cutter author numbers as an integral part of the notation to provide a complete call number.
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