Page 18 - DLIS002_KNOWLEDGE ORGANIZATION CLASSIFICATION AND CATALOGUING THEORY

Unit 1: Concept of Library Classification

They could be used mostly in subject-based services. These schemes also do have drawbacks Notes
like:

They make co-operation between subject services from different subject areas more
difficult.
People from other subject areas may find difficulties in using the scheme.
Some fringe topics, which could be found in subject specific resources, will not be
adequately covered within these schemes.
In terms of functionality, classification systems are often described as:
Enumerative Classification: An enumerative classification of a collection of items is a
complete, ordered listing of all of the items in that collection. The term is commonly
used in mathematics and theoretical computer science to refer to a listing of all of
the elements of a set. In statistics the term categorical variable is used rather than
enumeration. The precise requirements for an enumeration (for example, whether
the set must be finite, or whether the list is allowed to contain repetitions) depend
on the branch of mathematics and the context in which one is working. Some sets
can be enumerated by means of a natural ordering (such as 1, 2, 3, 4, ... for the set of
positive integers), but in other cases it may be necessary to impose a (perhaps
arbitrary) ordering. In some contexts, such as enumerative combinatorics, the term
enumeration is used more in the sense of counting – with emphasis on determination
of the number of elements that a set contains, rather than the production of an
explicit listing of those elements.

Library Classification is the technical process:
Hierarchical Classification: A hierarchy (Greek: hierarchia ( ), from hierarches,
“leader of sacred rites”) is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories,
etc.) in which the items are represented as being “above,” “below,” or “at the same
level as” one another. Abstractly, a hierarchy can be modelled mathematically as a
rooted tree: the root of the tree forms the top level, and the children of a given vertex
are at the same level, below their common parent. A hierarchy (sometimes
abbreviated HR) can link entities either directly or indirectly, and either vertically
or horizontally. The only direct links in a hierarchy, insofar as they are hierarchical,
are to one’s immediate superior or to one of one’s subordinates, although a system
that is largely hierarchical can also incorporate alternative hierarchies. Indirect
hierarchical links can extend “vertically” upwards or downwards via multiple links
in the same direction, following a path. All parts of the hierarchy which are not
linked vertically to one another nevertheless can be “horizontally” linked through
a path by traveling up the hierarchy to find a common direct or indirect superior,
and then down again. This is akin to two co-workers or colleagues; each reports to
a common superior, but they have the same relative amount of authority.
Organizational forms exist that are both alternative and complimentary to hierarchy.
Heterarchy (sometimes abbreviated HT) is one such form.

Faceted or Analytico-Synthetic Classification: A faceted classification system allows the
assignment of an object to multiple characteristics (attributes), enabling the
classification to be ordered in multiple ways, rather than in a single, predetermined,
and taxonomic order. A facet comprises “clearly defined, mutually exclusive, and
collectively exhaustive aspects, properties or characteristics of a class or specific
subject”.

Example: A collection of books might be classified using an author facet, a subject facet,
a date facet, etc.

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