“ A good library does not provide haphazard access to an information jungle” (Toub, 1997

p.148).

Why ?

You don’t want a “yellow book”

“Yellow book” does not yield exact location

Do the blue books come before or after the yellow ones?

Classification schemes are used to provide systematic order, bring related items together,
provide access through browsing and provide an exact location for each information
package

Library classification schemes have four main purposes.

1. They order the fields of knowledge in a systematic way.

2. They bring related items together in a helpful sequence.

3. They provide orderly access to the shelves either for browsing or via the catalog.

4. They provide an exact location for an item on the shelves

(Dittmann & Hardy, 2000 p.8).

A library is primarily a store of information packages (Taylor, 1999). Taylor defines an “information
package” as an instance of recorded information such as a book, article, video, Internet document or
electronic journal. Classification schemes bring systematic order and control to the collection so that
an information package can be retrieved according to a particular aspect of its character. Library
classification schemes also improve retrieval through enhanced subject access via Online Public
Access Catalogs. A successful classification scheme is one that saves the time of the user by creating
an order convenient to the user (Mortimer, 2000).

Why classify library resources?

1. The library classification system arranges books and
resources by topical categories, bringing related subjects
nearby for easy browsing

2. It creates a unique call number that allows efficient retrieval of

resources and ensures that materials are returned to their proper
places after use
Unclassified collection

Classified collection
 In the business of saving time

A library classification system is designed to save the

time of the library user by:
• making it easier to retrieve desired materials
from the collection, and
• grouping similar materials together in one place
We are in the business of saving the time of our library users and
the classification system helps us accomplish that goal
http://www.libraryco.ca/NewsAndEvents/documents/KF_Modified_COLAL_200
5Revised.pdf

Why Classify?
Library collections are classified for several reasons. One reason is that it is difficult to find
library materials unless each item has a place where it belongs—where it can always be
found if it is in the library. Another reason is that classification makes a collection browse-
able by placing items of similar topics together in the same area of shelving. Also, with a
classification number on each library item, staff can easily return materials to the shelves,
making them quickly available for the next patron.

The process of classification involves using an established Classification System, created for
library use, and applying it to the materials being placed in the library collection.
Classification systems are designed to give a numerical, or alphanumerical notation to each
item in the library. This notation is designed to indicate the subject matter of the item
being cataloged. In addition to the notation from the classification system, library items
should also be given an author indicator, made up of letters or letters and numbers that
indicate the author’s last name. Some libraries may also add a title indicator, date of
publication, and/or a copy number. All of these elements together form what is called a
Call Number.
The purpose of the call number is to provide the address for an item in the library. This
address is where the staff will be sure to shelve the item, and where the patron can look for
the item to use it. This address also allows a patron browsing the collection to find all of the
available items on any given topic. The challenge in creating this address, or call number,
for each item in the library is that each item can only have one address. This is different
from our previous work with Subject Headings, where several different terms could be
assigned to the same library item. It becomes the cataloger’s job to determine the specific
focus of the item being cataloged, and group various materials dealing with the same topic
together, creating an organized, browse-able collection.

http://www.lili.org/forlibs/ce/able/course7/04whyclassify.htm

Aristotle also applied intensively the classical categorization scheme in his approach
to the classification of living beings (which uses the technique of applying
successive narrowing questions such as "Is it an animal or vegetable?", "How many
feet does it have?", "Does it have fur or feathers?", "Can it fly?"...),

The DDC attempts to organize all knowledge into ten main classes. The ten main
classes are then further subdivided. Each main class has ten divisions, and each
division has ten sections. Hence the system can be summarized in 10 main classes,
100 divisions and 1000 sections. DDC's advantage in choosing decimals for its
categories allows it to be both purely numerical and infinitely hierarchical.

It also uses some aspects of a faceted classification scheme, combining elements

from different parts of the structure to construct a number representing the subject
content (often combining two subject elements with linking numbers and
geographical and temporal elements) and form of an item rather than drawing upon
a list containing each class and its meaning.

Except for general works and fiction, works are classified principally by subject, with
extensions for subject relationships, place, time or type of material, producing
classification numbers of not less than three digits but otherwise of indeterminate
length with a decimal point before the fourth digit, where present (e.g. 330 for
economics + 9 for geographic treatment + 4 for Europe = 330.94 European
economy; 973 for United States + 05 form division for periodicals = 973.05,
periodicals concerning the United States generally).

Books are placed on the shelf in increasing numerical order; the whole number to
the left of the decimal is in counting order, while the digits to the right of the decimal
are compared one digit at a time, with a blank coming before zero. (Example: 050,
220, 330.973, 331 etc.) When two books have the same subject, and therefore the
same classification number, the second line of the call number, which usually has
the first letter or first several letters of the author's last name (or the title if there is no
identifiable author), is placed in alphabetical order.

It is a common misconception that all books in the DDC are non-fiction. The DDC
has a number for all books, including those that generally become their own section
of fiction. If DDC rules are strictly followed, American fiction is classified in 813. Most
libraries create a separate fiction section to allow shelving fiction in a more
generalised fashion than Dewey provides for, or to avoid the space that would be
taken up in the 800s.

[edit] DDC compared to other classification systems

For more details on this topic, see Comparison of Dewey and Library of
Congress subject classification.

DDC's numbers formed the basis of the more expressive but complex Universal
Decimal Classification, which combines the basic Dewey numbers with selected
punctuation marks (comma, colon, parentheses etc.). Besides its frequent
revision, DDC's main advantage over its chief rival—the Library of Congress
Classification system developed shortly afterward—is its simplicity. Thanks to
the use of pure notation, a mnemonics system and a hierarchical decimal place
system, it is generally easier to use for most users.

DDC and UDC are also more flexible than Library of Congress Classification
because of greater use of facets (via auxiliary tables) while Library of Congress
Classification is almost totally enumerative.

On the flip side, DDC's decimal system means that it is less hospitable to the
addition of new subjects, as opposed to Library of Congress Classification which
has 21 classes at the top level. Another side effect of this is that DDC notations
can be very much longer compared to the equivalent class in other classification
systems.

Another disadvantage of DDC is that it was developed in the 19th century, by

essentially one man, and was built on a top down approach to classify all human
knowledge which made it difficult to adapt to changing fields of knowledge. In
 contrast, the Library of Congress Classification system was developed based
mainly on the idea of literary warrant; classes were added (by individual experts
in each area) only when needed for works owned by the Library of Congress. As
a result, while the Library of Congress Classification system was able to
incorporate changes and additions of new branches of knowledge, particularly in
the fields of engineering and computer science (the greater hospitability of the
Library of Congress Classification was also a factor), DDC has been criticized
for being inadequate for covering those areas. As a result, most major academic
libraries in the US do not use the DDC because the classification of works in
those areas is not specific enough.

The Library of Congress Classification system is not without problems; because

each area is developed by an expert according to demands of cataloging pie,
there is little consistency. It is also highly US-centric (more so than DDC)
because of the nature of the system, and compared to DDC and UDC it has
been translated into far fewer languages.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Dewey_Decimal_Classification&oldid=157179385

At Amherst College Dewey worked his junior year (1872-73) in the Amherst College library,
where he was frustrated by the disarray of the book collection. As noted in the Staff Report on
public libraries, it was an era when libraries were spreading rapidly, and their collections of
books were growing. There was no uniform or consistent system for organizing books,
sometimes not even within a single library. Each library simply assigned a spot on a shelf for
each book, and recorded in its catalog where the book was.

The New York State Library organized its books alphabetically by title, without regard for
subject. Imagine the problem every time a book was acquired!

Many librarians thought it would be useful to organize books by subject matter. The problem
was, what does "subject matter" mean? Francis Bacon, in the 1600s, said there were three
branches of knowledge: history (deriving from memory), poetry (from imagination), and
philosophy (from reason.).. That formed the basic classification system of the few libraries that
bothered with such things. The Vatican library, for example, used only two classifications:
sacred and profane.

We feel obliged to note that Dewey was no saint. He was racist, antisemitic, anti-black, anti-
everything not white male Anglo-Saxon Christian.

A hallmark of DDC is the use of consistent subclassifications and mnemonics regardless of

category. For example, 73 usually refers to the U.S., on both sides of the decimal point; thus,
U.S. cooking is 631.5973 and U.S. history is 973. In contrast, LCC subclassifications have no
consistency from one class to the next.
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mdeweydecimal.html