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{{short description|Systems of coding and organizing documents or library materials}}
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[[Image:HK Wan Chai Library Inside Bookcase a.jpg|thumb|A library book shelf in Hong Kong arranged using the Dewey classification]]
A '''library classification''' is a system
== Description ==
Library classification is an important and crucial aspect in [[library and information science]]. It is distinct from [[taxonomy (general)|scientific classification]] in that it has as its goal to provide a useful ordering of documents rather than a theoretical organization of [[knowledge]].<ref>{{
| first1 =Ganesh
| last1 =Bhattacharya
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| editor-last =Wojciechowski
| editor-first =Jerzy A.
|
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| year =1974
| pages =119–143
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}}</ref> Library classification helps to accommodate all the newly published literature in an already created order of arrangement in a filial sequence.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pandita |first1=Ramesh |last2=Singh |first2=Shivendra |title=NEED AND IMPORTANCE OF LIBRARY CLASSIFICATION IN ICT ERA |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260433354 |journal=Journal of Indian Library Association |volume=48 |issue=4 |pages=25–30 |date=November 2012 |access-date=2021-01-18 |language=en}}</ref>
Library classification can be defined as the arrangement of books on shelves, or description of them, in the manner which is most useful to those who read with the ultimate aim of grouping similar things together. Library classification is meant to achieve these four purposes: ordering the fields of knowledge in a systematic way, bring related items together in the most helpful sequence, provide orderly access on the shelf, and provide a ___location for an item on the shelf.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mlinar|first=Courtney|date=September 1, 2021|title=Library Classification System: What is the Library Classification System?|url=https://researchguides.austincc.edu/classif
Library classification is distinct from the application of [[Index term|subject headings]] in that classification organizes knowledge into a systematic order, while subject headings provide access to intellectual materials through vocabulary terms that may or may not be organized as a knowledge system.<ref name=chan >{{
|publisher = The Scarecrow Press
|isbn = 9780810859449
|title = Cataloging and classification: An introduction
|url = https://archive.org/details/catalogingclassi0000chan
|
|last = Chan
|edition = 3rd
|date = September 28, 2007
|url-access = registration
}}</ref>
The characteristics that a bibliographic classification demands for the sake of reaching these purposes are: a useful sequence of subjects at all levels, a concise memorable notation, and a host of techniques and devices of number synthesis.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Satija|first1=M P|title=Features, Functions and Components of a Library Classification System in the LIS tradition for the e-Environment|journal= Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice|volume=3|date=2015|issue=4|pages=62–77|doi=10.1633/JISTaP.2015.3.4.5|doi-access=free}}</ref>
==History==
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After the [[Printing press#The Printing Revolution|printing revolution]] in the sixteenth century, the increase in available printed materials made such broad classification unworkable, and more granular classifications for library materials had to be developed in the nineteenth century.<ref name=shera>{{cite book|last1=Shera|first1=Jesse H|title=Libraries and the organization of knowledge|url=https://archive.org/details/librariesorganiz00sher|url-access=registration|date=1965|publisher=Archon Books|___location=Hamden, Conn.}}</ref>
In 1627 [[Gabriel Naudé]] published a book called ''Advice on Establishing a Library''. At the time, he was working in the private library of
Although libraries created order within their collections from as early as the fifth century BC,<ref name=shera /> the Paris Bookseller's classification, developed in 1842 by [[Jacques Charles Brunet]], is generally seen as the first of the modern book classifications. Brunet provided five major classes: theology, jurisprudence, sciences and arts, belles-lettres, and history.<ref name=sayers>{{cite book|last1=Sayers|first1=Berwick|title=An introduction to library classification|date=1918|publisher=H. W. Wilson|___location=New York}}</ref> Classification can now be seen as a provider of subject access to information in a networked environment.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Matveyeva|first=Susan|date=2002-06-14|title=A Role for Classification: The Organization of Resources on the Internet|journal=MLA Forum|volume=1|issue=2}}</ref>
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There are many standard systems of library classification in use, and many more have been proposed over the years. However, in general, classification systems can be divided into three types depending on how they are used:
; Universal schemes: Covers all subjects, e.g. the [[Dewey Decimal Classification]] (DDC), [[Universal Decimal Classification]] (UDC
; Specific classification schemes: Covers particular subjects or types of materials, e.g. [[Iconclass]] (art), [[British Catalogue of Music Classification]], and [[Dickinson classification]] (music), or the [[NLM Classification]] (medicine).
; National schemes: Specially created for certain countries, e.g. [[Swedish library classification system]], SAB (Sveriges Allmänna Biblioteksförening). The [[Library of Congress Classification]] was designed around the collection of the US [[Library of Congress]] and has an American, European, and Christian bias. Nevertheless, it is used widely in large academic and research libraries.
In terms of functionality, classification systems are often described as:
;
;
;
There are few completely enumerative systems or faceted systems; most systems are a blend but favouring one type or the other. The most common classification systems, LCC and DDC, are essentially enumerative, though with some hierarchical and faceted elements (more so for DDC), especially at the broadest and most general level. The first true faceted system was the [[colon classification]] of [[S. R. Ranganathan]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ferreira |first=Ana Carolina |last2=Maculan |first2=Benildes Coura Moreira dos Santos |last3=Naves |first3=Madalena Martins Lopes |date=2017 |title=Ranganathan and the faceted classification theory |url=http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-37862017000300279&lng=en&tlng=en |journal=Transinformação |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=279–295 |doi=10.1590/2318-08892017000300006 |issn=2318-0889}}</ref>
==Methods or systems==
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* [[Dewey Decimal Classification]] (DDC)
* [[Library of Congress Classification]] (LCC)
* [[Colon classification]] (CC)▼
* [[Universal Decimal Classification]] (UDC)
Other systems include:
* [[BISAC Subject Headings|Book Industry Standards and Communications]] (BISAC), originally developed for use by U.S. booksellers, has become increasingly popular in libraries.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Martínez-Ávila |first=Daniel |date=2016 |title=BISAC: Book Industry Standards and Communications |url=https://www.nomos-elibrary.de/index.php?doi=10.5771/0943-7444-2016-8-655 |journal=Knowledge Organization |volume=43 |issue=8 |pages=655–662 |doi=10.5771/0943-7444-2016-8-655 |issn=0943-7444|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
* [[Harvard-Yenching Classification]], an English classification system for Chinese language materials▼
* [[Garside classification]] used in most libraries of [[University College London]]<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/library/subject-support/garside-classification-scheme | title=Garside classification scheme | Library Services - UCL – University College London| date=8 August 2018}}</ref>▼
* [[Bliss bibliographic classification]] used in some British libraries
▲* [[Colon classification]] (CC)
*Gladstone Library Classification, devised by [[William Ewart Gladstone|W.E. Gladstone]] and used exclusively at [[Gladstone's Library]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gladstone Foundation Collection|url=https://www.gladstoneslibrary.org/reading-rooms/the-collections/special-collections/gladstone-foundation-collection|access-date=2022-01-18|website=Gladstone's Library|language=en-GB}}</ref>▼
▲* [[Garside classification]] used in most libraries of [[University College London]]<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/library/subject-support/garside-classification-scheme | title=Garside classification scheme | Library Services - UCL – University College London| date=8 August 2018}}</ref>
▲* Gladstone Library Classification, devised by [[William Ewart Gladstone|W.E. Gladstone]] and used exclusively at [[Gladstone's Library]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gladstone Foundation Collection|url=https://www.gladstoneslibrary.org/reading-rooms/the-collections/special-collections/gladstone-foundation-collection|access-date=2022-01-18|website=Gladstone's Library|language=en-GB}}</ref>
▲* [[Harvard-Yenching Classification]], an English classification system for Chinese language materials
===Non-English universal classification systems===
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* [[Korean Decimal Classification]] (KDC)
* Russian [[:ru:Библиотечно-библиографическая классификация|Library-Bibliographical Classification]] (BBK)
* [[Swedish library classification system]] (SAB)
===Universal classification systems that rely on synthesis (faceted systems)===
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Newer classification systems tend to use the principle of synthesis (combining codes from different lists to represent the different attributes of a work) heavily, which is comparatively lacking in LC or DDC.
==Practice==
Library classification is associated with library (descriptive) cataloging under the rubric of ''cataloging and classification'', sometimes grouped together as ''technical services''. The library professional who engages in the process of cataloging and classifying library materials is called a ''cataloger'' or ''catalog librarian''. Library classification systems are one of the two tools used to facilitate [[subject access]]. The other consists of alphabetical indexing languages such as Thesauri and Subject Headings systems.
Unlike subject heading or thesauri where multiple terms can be assigned to the same work, in library classification systems, each work can only be placed in one class. This is due to shelving purposes: A book can have only one physical place. However, in classified catalogs one may have main entries as well as added entries. Most classification systems like the [[Dewey Decimal Classification]] (DDC) and [[Library of Congress Classification]] also add a [[cutter number]] to each work which adds a code for the main entry (primary access point) of the work (e.g. author).
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Some classification systems are more suitable for aiding subject access, rather than for shelf ___location. For example, [[Universal Decimal Classification]], which uses a complicated notation of pluses and colons, is more difficult to use for the purpose of shelf arrangement but is more expressive compared to DDC in terms of showing relationships between subjects. Similarly [[faceted classification]] schemes are more difficult to use for shelf arrangement, unless the user has knowledge of the citation order.
Depending on the size of the library collection, some libraries might use classification systems solely for one purpose or the other. In extreme cases, a public library with a small collection might just use a classification system for ___location of resources but might not use a complicated subject classification system. Instead all resources might just be put into a couple of wide classes (travel, crime, magazines etc.). This is known as a "mark and park" classification method, more formally called "reader interest classification".<ref>Lynch, Sarah N., and Eugene Mulero. [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/14/us/14dewey.html "Dewey? At This Library With a Very Different Outlook, They Don't"] ''[[The New York Times]]'', July 14, 2007.</ref>
==Comparing library classification systems ==
{{See also|Comparison of Dewey and Library of Congress subject classification}}
As a result of differences in notation, history, use of enumeration, hierarchy, and facets, classification systems can differ in the following ways:
* Type of Notation: Notation can be pure (consisting of only numerals, for example) or mixed (consisting of letters and numerals, or letters, numerals, and other symbols).
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{{reflist}}
==
{{commons category|Library cataloging and classification|Library classification}}
{{Libraries and library science}}
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