EDITORIAL By Ruth Carter
New Roles for Classification in Libraries and Information Networks. Pauline Atherton Cochrane
Paper Abstracts:
Classification, Present and Future. Lois Mai Chan (University of
Kentucky, College of Library and Information Science)
ABSTRACT. Recent developments in the way information is generated,
packaged. and accessed have broadened and changed the nature and application of
classification in library and information networks. This brief presentation examines the
role of classification by posing the following questions: what do we classify? how do we
classify? and why do we classify? Within this context, the expanding role of
classification in information retrieval and management is examined in terms of how
classification affects accessing, browsing, identifying, navigating, mapping and
evaluating information and how it is and may be used in collection and database
management, controlled vocabulary construction and development, and research.
Qualities of Classification Schemes for the Information Superhighway. Pat
Moholt (Columbia University Health Sciences)
Introduction. For my segment of this program I'd like to focus
on some basic qualities of classification schemes. These qualities are critical to our
ability to truly organize knowledge for access. As I see it, there are at least five
qualities of note. The first one of these properties that I want to talk about is
"authoritative." By this I mean standardized, but I mean more than standardized
with a built in consensus-building process. A classification scheme constructed by a
collaborative, consensus-building process carries the approval, and the authority, of the
discipline groups that contribute to it and that it affects... The next property of
classification systems is "expandable," living, responsive, with a clear locus
of responsibility for its continuous upkeep. The worst thing you can do with a thesaurus,
or a classification scheme, is to finish it. You can't ever finish it because it reflects
ongoing intellectual activity... The third property is "intuitive." That is, the
system has to be approachable, it has to be transparent, or at least capable of being
transparent. It has to have an underlying logic that supports the classification scheme
but doesn't dominate it... The fourth property is "organized and logical."
I advocate very strongly, and agree with Lois Chan, that classification must be
based on a rule-based structure, on somebody's world-view of the syndetic structure...
The fifth property is "universal" by which I mean the classification
scheme needs be useable by any specific system or application, and be available as a
language for multiple purposes.
The Future of Classification in Libraries and Networks, a Theoretical Point of View.
Ingetraut Dahlberg (International Society for Knowledge Organization (ISKO),
Frankfurt, Germany.)
ABSTRACT. Some time ago, some people said classification is dead,
we don't need it any more. They probably thought that subject headings could do the job of
the necessary subject analysis and shelving of books. However, all of a sudden in 1984 the
attitude changed, when an OCLC study of Karen Markey started to show what could be done
even with an "outdated system" such as the Dewey Decimal
Classification in the computer, once it was visible on a screen to show the helpfulness of
a classified library catalogue called an OPAC; classification was brought back into the
minds of doubtful librarians and of all those who thought they would not need it any
longer.
But the problem once phrased: "We are stuck with the two old systems, LCC and DDC" would not find a solution and is still with us today. We know that our systems are outdated but we seem still to be unable to replace them with better ones. What then should one do and advise, knowing that we need something better? Perhaps a new universal ordering system which more adequately represents and mediates the world of our present day knowledge? If we were to develop it from scratch, how would we create it and implement it in such a way that it would be acceptable to the majority of the present intellectual world population?
DDC 21 and Beyond: The Dewey Decimal Classification Prepares for the Future. Joan
S. Mitchell (Dewey Decimal Classification, OCLC Forest Press, Library of Congress,
Decimal Classification Division, Washington, DC)
ABSTRACT. The Dewey Decimal Classification is preparing for the future in
a number of ways. Editorial work is supported by a UNIX-based system and access to online
bibliographic databases. Two editions of Electronic Dewey have been published and a
Windows version is under development The Classification is continuously revised to keep
pace with knowledge. Various changes have been introduced to address classifier
convenience, modern classification design principles, and electronic distribution. A Dewey
research agenda has been identified to guide future development and explore new
opportunities. I will describe a few of the changes underway and suggest some
questions to guide future directions for the Dewey Decimal Classification.
Preparing Traditional Classifications for the Future: Universal Decimal
Classification. Ia Mcllwaine (School of Library, Archive and Information
Studies, University College of London)
ABSTRACT. Although my prime intention is to concentrate on how the
UDC is developing and to outline some of the plans that we have for its future, I think I
should begin by briefly sketching in a little of its recent past for the benefit of those
who are unfamiliar with the events of the past four or five years. Alan Gilchrist, at the
5th International Study Conference on Classification Research held at Toronto in 1991,
explained how the then UDC Management Board set up a Task Force to look into the future of
the scheme, and it held its first meeting in the summer of 1989. I was invited to be
the chairman of this committee, which reported in 1991. As the result of recommendations
made in the report of the Task Force, it was decided that the classification up to the
level of between 60,000 and 70,000 subdivisions, should be converted into a
machine-readable format, that the complex system of revision committees and international
consultations should be disposed of, and that a small Advisory Panel should be set up in
their stead to oversee the revision process. At about the same time the "ten-year
rule" was rescinded. This practice of freezing a number for that period of time
before it could be re-used slowed down revision. In January 1992 FID ceased to have
overall responsibility for the scheme and this passed to a Consortium of publishers.
BC2 &BSO: Presentation at 36th Allerton Institute, 1994, Session on Preparing
Traditional Classifications for the Future. E. J. Coates (BSO Panel Ltd)
ABSTRACT. This article pertains to two further general
classifications, which, in contrast to the reigning classifications just mentioned,
incorporate in a thoroughgoing manner a modem view of the world. One of these was
announced in 1910, to a chorus of disapproval, saw the light of day as a completed scheme
in 1935, fell into suspended animation after the death of its author in the 1950s, and was
revived, drastically revised and expanded in England by Jack Mills in 1967. A large part
of the expanded scheme has appeared in the form of separately published fascicles; the
remainder mostly in the areas of science and technology are in an advanced state of
preparation. I refer of course to the Bliss Bibliographic Classification. I use the
expression "of course" with some slight hesitation having once met a North
American library school academic who thought that Henry Evelyn Bliss was an Englishman who
lived in the London inner suburb of Islington. This was an unconscious tribute to Jack
Mills, though perhaps unfair to Bliss himself, not to mention America, whose son he was.
Classification -- An Administrator's Perspective. Janet Swan Hill (University
of Colorado-Boulder Libraries)
ABSTRACT. As I have listened to descriptions of substantial
changes being worked on in the various classification schemes, and as I have heard
exhortations to librarians to get involved in applying classification to areas that most
of us currently don't touch, I have been reminded of a T-shirt slogan that was popular
around the time of the Vietnam War, to wit: "It's hard to remember that the original
objective was to drain the swamp when you're up to your ass in alligators." And
frankly, that's where most administrators find themselves- in the swamp, fending off
alligators. Perhaps it was a process of free association that made me come up with a
rather dismal mnemonic to identify what I see as the greatest challenges for a library
administrator trying to deal with classification: MIA
· Money
· Inertia
· Attitude
"What Lies Ahead for Classification in Information Networks?" Report of a
Panel Discussion. Brendan Wyly, Reporter (Graduate School of Library and
Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Introduction. Ia McIlwaine, head of the Classification
Research Group and editor of the UDC, noticed that the session's title invited crystal
ball gazing, a talent she denied possessing. However, she admitted that she had asked the
Classification Research Group to engage in such an exercise with her. The Group found,
like the participants at the Allerton Institute were finding, that the contemplation of
classification's future provided more questions than answers, but the questions were well
worth considering. Her talk focused around a problem which originates in the difference
between classifiers' uses and users' uses for classification systems. For users, who speak
with the paraphrased self-confidence of Humpty Dumpty, a subject is a subject because they
say it is. McIlwaine pointed out that this process of "saying" is at the heart
of the users' needs which should be addressed by classification systems. Users use words
to approach information systems and their associated classification systems. Classifiers
need to recognize that this is the use to which their systems will be put. A body of users
external to the classification process will make very different demands upon the system as
compared to the users of the classification system who are also the creators of the
system. Users desire information grouped for individual usefulness, and the groupings need
to be according to words through which users can approach the system.
Classification in Libraries and Networks Abroad: Report of a Panel Discussion.
Ann Marie Ziadie (Graduate School of Library and In-formation
Science, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign)
Introduction. Ia McIlwaine discussed the importance of
addressing the issue of lack of user-friendly access to systems for users located in many
parts of the world. The diversity of the European classification systems is a case in
point. A good example of how to handle this diversity, in her opinion, is the system at
the Federal Technical University in Zurich. It has an especially user-friendly French and
German interface which, along with UDC numbers, provides captions helpful for the average
user. Having examined the problems associated with transnational copy cataloging she
emphasized the consideration of cultural constructs in transnational cataloging. For
example, the Islamic countries tend to adapt translations quite well in their
classification schemes due to the fact that they possess greater literary warrant in
Islam. China appears to have solved difficulties concerning transnational copy cataloging
by incorporating Chinese materials into specialized classification schemes while utilizing
MARC records in the national library for cataloging Western materials. Philip Bryant
called for the balance of "utopian vision" with practicality. He stressed that
existing bibliographic notations must be pushed to the limit in an attempt to function
with the network He applauded the continuous work of Stephen Walker, Stephen Robertson and
Jill Venner for developing an online catalog (OKAPI) which allows the average user to
obtain help existing in the database by using the classification system already
established in the data. He emphasized the significance of the BUBL project at the
University of Strathclyde, where UDC subject divisions are employed as a means of dividing
subjects into fairly large groupings.
Critical Appraisal of the Use of Classification in the Future: Non- Traditional Uses
of Classification. Report of a Panel Discussion. Shirley Lincicum, Reporter (Graduate
School of Library and Information Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Introduction. Dagobert Soergel opened the discussion by
saying, "Users need our help to find and make sense of information." He
said that he believes that classification can provide much of the support users need. He
sees little distinction between the concept of a thesaurus and that of classification
since both seek to provide structure for knowledge bases in order to facilitate
information retrieval. Soergel's discussion of his concept of a multifunctional,
multilingual thesaurus comprised the bulk of his presentation. This thesaurus would be a
database of concepts, terms, and relationships which would include classification.
In this context, classification has a much broader set of functions than it
currently does in most American libraries where classification serves primarily as a
method of shelf arrangement. The thesaurus Soergel envisions would lay out the
semantic map of a field and could therefore be used as a learning tool or as a basis for
research planning, or to assist users in clarifying terms and concepts. It could support
indexing and searching and provide for the organization of knowledge for expert systems
and other artificial intelligence applications. Among its other features, such a thesaurus
could assist users in making sense of information by providing structured presentation of
search results based on user needs and preferences, and it could enhance natural language
processing capabilities such as automated indexing and abstracting and machine
translation.
New Roles for Classification in Libraries and Information Networks: An Excerpt
Bibliography. Angela R. S. Thomas
The idea that classification has more to offer than a scheme for shelf arrangement is
not new. This collection of articles attests to the idea that classification has an
important role to play as technology changes the way information is stored and retrieved
from libraries and information networks.
Bibliography compiled by Angela R. S. Thomas with acknowledgements to Pauline A. Cochrane.
Sponsored by the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of
Illinois at Urbana, Champaign
Classification Access in the Online Catalog. Elaine Broadbent (Marriott
Library, University of Utah)
ABSTRACT. With the development during the last few years of the USMARC
Format for Classification Data, the potential for improving call number browsing in
online catalogs has increased dramatically. For example, it is now possible to create
various types of indexes to classification numbers in the online catalog. Two types of
possible indexes, a chain index and an index using Library of Congress subject headings as
an index to the Library of Congress classification are discussed and examples given in
appendices. It is also noted that these two indexes are only two of various forms an
online index to classification numbers could take.
