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Unit 1: Concept of Library Classification
possible to easily insert or reinsert the various documents in their correct places. This is Notes
how we are able to mechanize the arrangement.
(iv) Addition of New Documents: A library would acquire new documents from time to time.
Therefore, library classification should help in finding the most helpful place for each of
these among the existing collection of the library. There are two possibilities in this
regard. The new books may be on a subject already provided for in the scheme of library
classification, or it may be on a newly emerging subject, which may not have been
provided for in the existing scheme. In the second case, the scheme should have inbuilt
qualities which may allow the fixing the position of the newly emerging subjects amidst
another subject having literary warrant.
(v) Withdrawal of Documents from Stock: In case, the need arises to withdraw a document
from the stock for some reason, the library classification should facilitate such a withdrawal.
Other Purposes
Library Classification should also be able to serve the following purposes:
(a) Classification of pieces information: The classification should help us to classify even
small pieces of information, e.g., Articles of a journal, etc.
(b) Classification of reference queries: The classification also helps the reference librarian to
arrange the queries in a classified order, which makes their redressed quite fast and easy.
(c) Classification of suggestions received from the users
(d) Filing of non-book materials such as correspondences, photographs, films and so on.
(e) Classification of statistics of various kinds, for instance the classification of statistics with
regard to the issuance of books would reflect the pattern of demands on various subjects.
(f) Class number the derivative of classification is needed in the preparation of catalogue. It
assists the user of a catalogue to refer to the location of the documents on the shelf and also
helps in arranging the catalogue cards in a classified sequence; and
(g) Assist the library staff to prepare a subject wise list of documents for to cater to the demand
of different departments associated with the library or for maintaining records of docu-
ments transferred to branch library or lending centre from the stock of the central library.
1.4 Compound Subject
A compound subject is a subject having a basic subject (basic facet) and one or more isolate ideas or
concepts (isolate facet) as its components. For example, each of the following subject statement or
title of a monograph indicates that the subject matter of the monograph is compound subject.
Examples of compound subjects: Mining of gold, Chemistry of gold, Biblical study of animals,
Botanical study of flows, it men of cancer in Ayurvedic System of Medicine, represent compound
subjects. Each Isolate facet/idea of compound subject is category.
According to Ranganathan,“ if in a work or a document, one describes only part or portion of the
personality of an entity or an entity set, or gives description of one or some attributes possessed by
an entity or entities, and/or actions on it by or through other entities, in a particular space and
time context, then the subject of the work is deemed to be of type compound subject.”
Ranganathan postulated that make up of a compound subject constitutes of one or more five
mutually exclusive fundamental categories: Personality [PJ, Matter [MI or Property, Energy [El or
Action, Space [SJ and Time (TI. This set of fundamental category for brevity denoted by in it irony
PMEST. He also introduced an extended version of these in the form of levels and rounds of their
manifestations.
1.5 Complex Subject
Complex Subject (CxS) is a subject formed by a combination of two or more subjects—basic or
compound. (e.g., bias, comparison, influence, etc.) Between two or more simple subjects or compound
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