Page 11 - DLIS002_KNOWLEDGE ORGANIZATION CLASSIFICATION AND CATALOGUING THEORY

Knowledge Organization: Classification and Cataloguing Theory

Notes
Example: UDC which uses a complicated notation including plus, colons are more difficult
to use for the purpose of shelf arrangement but are more expressive compared to DDC in terms
of showing relationships between subjects. Similarly faceted classification schemes are more
difficult to use for shelf arrangement, unless the user has knowledge of the citation order.
Depending on the size of the library collection, some libraries might use classification systems
solely for one purpose or the other. In extreme cases a public library with a small collection
might just use a classification system for location of resources but might not use a complicated
subject classification system. Instead all resources might just be put into a couple of wide classes
(Travel, Crime, Magazines etc.). This is known as a “mark and park” classification method, more
formally called reader interest classification.
1.1.5 Categories, Facets and Isolates

The Colon Classification system, like enumerative classification systems, divides the universe
of knowledge into a number of main classes, such as agriculture, philosophy, and literature.
Dewey Decimal Classification, for example, has ten main classes, labelled zero through nine.
The Colon Classification system has 42 main classes, labelled with one or two letters of the
alphabet. A few are labelled with number or Greek letters. But Colon Classification, rather than
simply dividing the main classes into a series of subordinate classes, as most systems do,
subdivides each main class by particular characteristics into facets. The facets, which are labelled
in the Colon Classification system by Arabic numbers, are then combined to make subordinate
classes as needed. For example, literature may be divided by the characteristic “language” into
the facet of language, including English, German, and French. It may also be divided by “form”
which yields the facet of form, including poetry, drama, and fiction.
Colon Classification contains both basic subjects and their facets, which contain isolates. A basic
subject can stand alone, for example, “literature” in the subject “English literature”. An isolate,
in contrast, is a term that mediates a basic subject, such as the term “English.” To create a class
number, the basic subject is named first. The isolates follow, entered according to a facet formula.
This formula states that every isolate in every facet is a manifestation of one of five fundamental
categories, personality, matter, energy, space, and time. Personality is the distinguishing
characteristic of a subject. Matter is the physical material of which a subject may be composed.
Energy is any action that occurs with respect to the subject. Space is the geographic component
of the location of a subject. In addition, time is the period associated with a subject.
Thus, the basic subject “handicrafts” of the topic “19th century woven wool Peruvian clothing
handicrafts” would have the isolate from the personality facet “clothing”; from the matter facet,
“wool”; from the energy facet, “woven”; from the space facet, “Peru”; and from the time facet,
“19th century”. Some topics have fewer than five fundamental categories. Some have more than
one facet in a given fundamental category. Isolates are always arranged in order of decreasing
concreteness, based on the fundamental categories. Personality is considered the most concrete
and time the least concrete.

Did u know? The acronym PMEST helps the classifier remember the formula and its order.

Self Assessment

State whether the following statements are true or false:
1. Subjects can be arranged either by similarity of concept or alphabetically.

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