Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction
- 2 The need for classification
- 3 First principles of classification
- 4 The variety of classification: systems and structures
- 5 The classification scheme: internal structure
- 6 Types of classification scheme
- 7 Order in the classification scheme
- 8 Content analysis 1: document description
- 9 Content analysis 2: practical constraints
- 10 Controlled indexing languages
- 11 Word-based approaches to retrieval
- 12 Library of Congress Subject Headings 1: basic headings
- 13 Library of Congress Subject Headings 2: structured headings
- 14 Classification scheme application
- 15 Library of Congress Classification 1: basic classmark construction
- 16 Library of Congress Classification 2: use of tables
- 17 Dewey Decimal Classification 1: general properties and basic numbers
- 18 Dewey Decimal Classification 2: number building
- 19 Universal Decimal Classification 1: general properties and basic number building
- 20 Universal Decimal Classification 2: auxiliary tables
- 21 Faceted classification
- 22 Managing classification
- 23 Classification in digital space
- Glossary
- Bibliography and further reading
- Index
7 - Order in the classification scheme
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 June 2018
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction
- 2 The need for classification
- 3 First principles of classification
- 4 The variety of classification: systems and structures
- 5 The classification scheme: internal structure
- 6 Types of classification scheme
- 7 Order in the classification scheme
- 8 Content analysis 1: document description
- 9 Content analysis 2: practical constraints
- 10 Controlled indexing languages
- 11 Word-based approaches to retrieval
- 12 Library of Congress Subject Headings 1: basic headings
- 13 Library of Congress Subject Headings 2: structured headings
- 14 Classification scheme application
- 15 Library of Congress Classification 1: basic classmark construction
- 16 Library of Congress Classification 2: use of tables
- 17 Dewey Decimal Classification 1: general properties and basic numbers
- 18 Dewey Decimal Classification 2: number building
- 19 Universal Decimal Classification 1: general properties and basic number building
- 20 Universal Decimal Classification 2: auxiliary tables
- 21 Faceted classification
- 22 Managing classification
- 23 Classification in digital space
- Glossary
- Bibliography and further reading
- Index
Summary
Now that we have examined the ways in which the internal structure of a scheme might be organized, we'll consider the broader question of order throughout the scheme.
Main classes
In Chapter 4, we looked at the difference between scientific and bibliographic classifications, and at the fact that the bibliographic scheme is usually an aspect classification. That is to say, the organization of topics is based on areas of study or activity, and the first division of the scheme is into disciplines or subject domains.
This first division of a classification creates what are called main classes. A rough definition of a main class is that it corresponds to a single notational character: for example, in UDC, class 2 is the main class Religion, and in LCC, class N is the main class Fine Arts. You can see from Figure 7.1 that the number of main classes depends on the notation used. Not everybody would agree with this interpretation, and another understanding of main classes is that they equate to the traditional disciplines. In these terms, chemistry would always be a main class, whether it has notational main class status (as in the Bibliographic Classification's class C) or not (as in DDC's class 54).
Whatever the notational status of a main class, it is clear that the classification must treat it as a coherent subject. The different aspects of geography as studied in the UK aren't brought together in DDC, so students of this subject using a DDC classified library will find their books in several different places. It could therefore be said that DDC has no main class ‘geography’.
What constitutes a main class varies from one scheme to another, and the provision of main classes for unusual subjects can encourage the adoption of that classification in special libraries. For example, the Bibliographic Classification is the only one to have a main class for social welfare, and this has led to its adoption by many social service libraries and libraries of charitable organizations. LCC is the only scheme that has main classes for military and naval science.
Cross-disciplinary studies and phenomena classes
Users of the big general classification schemes will have trouble in classifying books about cross-disciplinary studies.
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- Essential Classification , pp. 41 - 56Publisher: FacetPrint publication year: 2015