Library Classification

Library Classification
Classification is a process of grouping (Like categorizing). It involves putting together like entities and separating unlike entities. . Class is a group of concepts that have at least one thing in common. This shared property gives the class its identity. Classifications may be designed for various purposes. They include:
Scientific classificationClassification for information indexing and retrieval
In library classification we are concerned with documents, Papers, Books…etc, and the aim is to arrange these in the most helpful and permanent order. Following are the few definitions of Library classification.
Sayers: "the arrangement of books on shelves, or descriptions of them, in the manner which is most useful to those who read" The emphasis is on usefulness, so that users can search for books without difficulty.
Mann: Classification "is the arranging of things according to likeness and unlikeness. It is the sorting and grouping of things, but in addition, classification of books is a knowledge classification with adjustments made necessary by the physical form of books."
Four Major Classification Schemes:Source: John Feather and Paul Sturges (ed.) (1997). International Encyclopedia of Information and Library Science.
Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC)
Devised by Melvil Dewey and first published anonymously in 1876, since when it has been revised nineteen times. Knowledge is divided into the ten main classes, each designated by a numeral from zero to nine, which can then be subdivided by the addition of two numerals before a decimal point and further numerals after it. It has a relative index which shows the relation of each subject that is indexed to a larger subject (or class or division). The published schedules have been extended and modified in successive editions.
Example: To find the classification number for butterflies, we need to start with the class for natural sciences the 500's This means that the first number of the call number will be a 5 Let's look at the ten divisions of this 500 class.
510 Mathematics 520 Astronomy 530 Physics 540 Chemistry 550 Earth Sciences 560 Paleontology 570 Life Sciences 580 Botanical Sciences 590 Zoological Sciences
Butterflies will be classified under the Zoological Sciences 590. Now we know that the second number of the call number will be a 9. Let's look at the ten divisions of the 590's to find the next number.
591 Zoology
592 Invertebrates
593 Protozoa
594 Mollusa
595 Other Invertebrates
(worms and insects)
596 Vertebrates
597 Fishes
598 Reptiles and Birds
599 Mammals
Insects, including butterflies would be under 595.
Now we have the first three numbers of thecall number 595.
The 595's are further divided by the useof decimals to specify what type of insects.---
Beginning to get the picture......the more numbers, the more specific
500--Natural Science
590--Zoological Sciences
595--Other Invertebrates
595.7--Insects
595.78--Lepidoptera
595.789--Butterflies
Library of Congress Classification (LCC)
The scheme of classification drawn up by Herbert Putnam in 1897, Although based in some respects on the Dewey Decimal Classification and Cutter's expansive schemes, it does not conform to theoretical rules for classification. It was quite explicitly compiled to meet the needs of the library's huge collection of books and is too detailed and complex for use in small libraries. It has, however, been adopted by research and university libraries throughout the world.
Most academic and research libraries use a different system called Library of Congress Classification (LCC) in which the call numbers begin with letters of the English alphabet. For example, the work of adult nonfiction titled A History of Modern Germany 1648-1840 by Hajo Holborn has the following call number attached to its spine:
DD175.H62v the call number in the example given above is listed in the holdings display (inside the box) on a single line, with spaces between the four parts:
DD 175 .H62 v. In LC Classification, the first letter of the call number indicates the general subject area or discipline. If there is a second letter at the beginning of the call number, it specifies the subsection or subdiscipline within the general subject area. In the example given above, the first D in the call number indicates that the book is a work of history. The second D indicates that it is a work on the history of Germany.
In the LCC system, works of fiction are assigned call numbers in the same manner as nonfiction. Most works of fiction can be found in the Ps, the section for language and literature, located on the fifth floor of the Haas Library. A detailed list of Library of Congress Classification is available at:
people.wcsu.edu/reitzj/res/lcclass.html.

Universal Decimal Classification (UDC)
Essentially an elaborate expansion of the Decimal Classification of Melvil Dewey, using various symbols in addition to Arabic numerals to create long and expressive notations for particular documents, This makes it particularly appropriate for use in specialist libraries and collections, and its adoption by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has ensured its worldwide use. It was developed by the Institut Internationale de Bibliographie, now FID, under the direction of Paul Otlet and Henri la Fontaine.
Colon Classification (CC)
Designed by Dr. S.R. Ranganathan, it is based on the classification of any subject by its uses and relations, which are indicated by numbers divided by a colon ':'. It was the first example of an analytico-synthetic classification, in which the subject field is first analysed into facets, and class numbers are then constructed by synthesis. Ready-made class numbers are not provided for most topics but are constructed by combining the classes of the various unit schedules of which the scheme consists. It has proved particularly popular in India and has inspired classification researchers in many parts of the world.
The most commonly cited example of the Colon Classification is the classification for:
"Research in the cure of the tuberculosis of lungs by x-ray conducted in India in 1950s":
Main classification is Medicine
(Medicine)
Within Medicine, the Lungs are the main concern
(Medicine,Lungs)
The property of the Lungs is that they are afflicted with Tuberculosis
(Medicine,Lungs;Tuberculosis)
The Tuberculosis is being performed (:) on, that is the intent is to cure (Treatment)
(Medicine,Lungs;Tuberculosis:Treatment)
The matter that we are treating the Tuberculosis with are X-Rays
(Medicine,Lungs;Tuberculosis:Treatment;X-ray)
And this discussion of treatment is regarding the Research phase
(Medicine,Lungs;Tuberculosis:Treatment;X-ray:Research)
This Research is performed within a geographical space (.) namely India
(Medicine,Lungs;Tuberculosis:Treatment;X-ray:Research.India)
During the time (') of 1950
(Medicine,Lungs;Tuberculosis:Treatment;X-ray:Research.India'1950)
And translating into the codes listed for each subject and facet the classification becomes
L,45;421:6;253:f.44'N5

Benefits of Classification:
A classification scheme is an indexing and retrieval language. It groups related items into classes, and arranges such groups in a hierarchy so that users can then trace topics in their context and scan subject field from general to specific or vice versa. :
Subject organization in classification is not language-dependent, as the subject is symbolized by a class number, which allows for cross language and cross collection information discovery. Documents on a certain subject will be collocated under the same class number irrespective the language they are written in or the language of cataloguing centre assigning the UDC number, For instance, documents on nanotechnology in e.g. Chinese, German, French or British library will all be classed as 620.3 irrespective the language of the publication. lt overcomes the ambiguities of natural language; for instance, the word 'paraffin' has both a technical sense (a series of saturated aliphatic hydrocarbons of the general formula CnH2n+2) and a popular one (=kerosine, a petroleum fraction with a particular boiling range), so a verbal search would retrieve many irrelevant results - but a class number is unambiguous. In UDC, paraffin production is at 665.637.2 and kerosine production is at 665.634.
It can also help to overcome problems of unfamiliar terminology, allowing non-specialists to find information through subject browsing
An internationally widely used scheme, such as UDC, can facilitate the exchange of information between systems, and provide a basic standard from which more specialized information retrieval tools may be developed.