PRINCTPLES OF ROOK CLASSIFICATION. Bv E. WyNouelvr

PRINCTPLESOF ROOK CLASSIFICATION.
Bv E. WyNouelvrHrrlrae.
lntroduction,
LL classificationis a meansto an
end. The objectsof
a classificationmust be definedbefore
its construction
can be attempted,and conversery
the pri;;ipi;s of construction must be serectedrvith direct ,ef.rence
to the objects
which the classification
is intendedto subserve. Before,,
we
gin to build we must first survey
the prot," i.e. lve must
have the whole pran of the buirding
cl.ariy set beforeus.
what then are the objects of
a book crassification
?
what its principresof construction
? To thesequestionswe
can find no adequateor consistent
answer in the literature
of the subject.
only treatisedearingwith the theory
.The
of bookcrassification is the weil-known i'"nu"l
of Dr. B. c. Richardson,
with lvhom we regret to find ourselves
in serious disagreement. This writer starts from the
assumptionthat book
classificationis mereryan adaptationof the theoreticarorder.
of the sciences-the iiffer.n."
betrveenthe trvo systemsbe_
ing adjustmentsin the ratter
necessitated
by the concreteor
indivisiblestructure of books.
And his concrusionis that
" the closera crassilication
can get to the true order of the
sciencesand the croserit can
keep to it, the betterthe sys_
tem rvill be and the longerit rvill
last,, Cp Ogll
To this theorv there are two objection.
,l(A) It attachesto co-ordination
(i.e. to the orderof the
classes)an importa.nceincompatibre
with tn"iyp. of classilicationto which bookcrassirication
berongs.Ail classifications
may be divided"into two groups,(a)
mechanical,(e) philosophical. The former, to *t,i.i-,
booi .tr*uin."tion berongs,
Principles of Booh Classif'cation.
355
deal with the mechanical assembling of material objects
into classes,while the latter are'concernedwith the ordering of our ideasof things. As a rule mechanicalclassifications
*r" l"ft unco-ordinated:but rvhen, as in the case of book
classification,a systematicco-ordinationof classesis introduced,this operationmust alwaysbe of secondaryimportance.
If, therefore,we were in agreementwith Dr. Richardson,
that the co-ordinationof book classificationsshould follow
the true order of the sciences,we should still be unable to
acquiescein his dictum that the test of the efficiencyand
permanent value of such classificationswas to be found in
the degreein which the order of their classesapproximated
to those of the higher tyPe.
(B) If the sequenceof classesin book classificationis to
be determinedmainty by that of the true order of the sciences,
it must befor the reasonthat the functions of the two orders
are identical, or at any rate, closely allied ; for we have
started from the axiom that function and order are intimately
connected. But this is a propositionwhich no one attempts
to defend. Philosophicalclassificationaims at teaching the
essential relations between classes of things: while book
classification,according to Dr. Richardson,is " the having
the most-usedbooks together (i.e. the books most used together) in the classesin which they are used together" (p.
55). The functions of the two orders,therefore,are essentially distinct, and this being so there will be a strong prima
facie casefor believingthat the ordersof the two systemswill
also be divergent.
our position,therefore,may be statedas follows : hitherto
the definition of book classification has not been accurately
formulated. The confusion of its type with that of philosophical classification has not only obscuredits real nature
but has materially hindered the formationof soundcanonsof
constructionand criticism. Hence systemsabound,while as
yet no sound theory of construction has been formulated.
Until this has beendone no consistentteaching of the subject is possible and the advent of any scheme of universal
classificationindefinitely deferred.
Holding theseviervswe now begleaveto introducea brief
356
The Library Association
Ilecord.
outline of the theory of book
crassification
rvith the fo,or,ving
definitionz viz. that book
classitrcationis a mechanical
tirne-saving
operationfor the discovery
of knorvledge
in litera_
ture. Ilooks are our therne
: and the discov
knowledge
in booksby the s'ortest ,our.
our aim -"0
"";:$
ChapterI._The principtes
of Classification.
'\ll crassification
is trreassembring
oi things,or our ideas
of things, by reasonof their
commoncharacteristics,
resemblances,or attributes i.e. by
;
selectedfeaturesdistinctive
of
the units severailyand thereior.
.o**",
i"',rre crasscoilectively. 'rhus the test of membership
;i; ;;"., is rhe possession of the attribute or attributes
common
-,f",
to the crass.
The simprestform of crassification
i.
rvhich has for
its objectthe bringingtogether
of Iike mat"riat in burk
with
a view to the economyof it,
s-ubsequent
Jirtribution
and
consumption. This is effected
indusiri;tr;iy
uurio,,. me_
chanicalsorting,sifting,separat
ing,o,
ng processes
familiar to us alr. tn Jtrese
inauslriar"on".itrati
p;;;;.;s crassification
results from the redistribution
of particresof the original
H|]::ffi;:
*.t.rial intof.oup*or standard
compo.il;;:
Distinct in methodbut rerated
in type to theseindustrial
processes
are the firing methods.o**olr-,o
,t * businessor
record side of Administration
or Commerce.
l..i- of
ao.ur.n**i,t, ui.*io
,ff::ffi;rlti;
".r"nging
their storage,
"
location,anclexamination.
ifr"y
may be described as administrative
index systems. Their
efficiency
dependsupon the bringing
together of a' rerated
matters
into a common,file. A."a
!.n.r.f rule the filer
in a num"rt"*t,,o.::tf,.. artinci"t
f.,?.iy
ora.it;T il::r-:l
which is to faciritate ,.f"r.nc.
to the fires. iiut in
certain
cases-such as tha.! of
Jiblary classification-it is desirabre
to assertsomedefinitererationlhip
betw.*n *" firesor crasses
of matters,and in such ."r..-ii-,.
system becomesa co-ordinated index system. In
library administration
the above
types are both represented-the
unco-ordinatedin the
arpha_
betical subjectcatarogue,
the co-ordinateoin ihe
'or
crasscataIogue' The sup.rioJty
t'" tutter sysi*.on.irts
sorely
Principles of Booh Classifcatiott'
357
on the shelves
in this-that it admits of a partial reproduction
catalogue'
class
the
in
of the order of the books as set forth
substanare
But apart from this efficiencythe two systems
Th:
,i"tty'identical, and their methanism interchangeable'
index order and
alphabeticalcataloguepresentsits classesin
The
securesthereby the advantageof immediate"reference'
a rela'
class cataloguesacrificesthis advantage,but.asserts
order'
class
in
them
presenting
tionship betweenclassesby
ttll'
the
of
plotting
the
by
But whatever efficiencyis secureil
verbally
asserted
well
tionship betweenclassescan be equally
construction
ff ***rr* of references. Hence the rules for the
one and
oi tt. alphabeticaland class catalogueare-logically
the
the same. Both systems are concernedin classifying
purpose'
same
the
for
attributes
same material by the same
rests in
The differencebetweenthe two is merely formal, and
with
use.
public
for
the method of presentingthe results
the
of
detail
in
this prefacewe may pass to an examination
methods of book classification'
Booksmaybeclassifiedintwoways_directlyonthe
catalogue'
shelves; intliiectly by their titles in the class
the same
are
they
extent,
in
differ
Although the two *y*i.**
to
applying
as
read
be
may
here
in hini, and our remark.
either system indifferentlY.
Book classificationconsistsessentially of four operations'
r. Definition, or the formulation of class headings.
books
2. Registration,i.e. the rnechanicalassemblingof
in classesin accordancewith their definition.
of these headings in
3. co-ordination,i.e. the tabulation
relationship.
common
an Jrder indicative of some
of the classes,
4. Notalion, i.e. a shorthandsymbolization
without the
system
locaiing their relative position in the
recital of the class headings
Definition provides a standard of comparison by which
.*"ri.ined, and acceptedor rejected as membersof
books
"r.
the class in process of formation. Definition may b.e compared to Stalute Law and Registration to the executive acts
two
ivhich make the Statute operative' The result of these
index
simple
its
is
books
of
operationsappliedto a coliection
classification,the effectof which is to impart to a collection
35s
Tht l-ibrar],
Assocjcf;oil itrrt,r.ri.
an efficiencywhich it did not belbre posscss.
For resenrch
which was hither:topossibleonry,
by the examinationof each
work separaterv
r:ntrres;her"-es
i* irow rimiteJ ;o the examination of one or rnorectrasses
of books. The econornyis purery
one of time' It may be summarized
as the shorteningof
distancest' he traveiled*a recruction
or *y* strain*of consequentmental fatigueas rvell as
of the ih.vsical labour of
locomction.
'l'o
rvhat condition,if any, is this erficiency
subject?
obviously,unless the atiributes
by which a coilectionis
.
classifiedcorrespondwith those
of ivhich the reader is in
search,no increaseof efficie'cy resurts.
Trre arrangement,
for instance,of incunaburaunder
the tor,vnsin which they
y/erepublishedis of ncl
assistance
to searchersin questof incunabula on a gi'en subject,and
an alphabeticararrangenrent by authors r,voulcrr
be equaily i'efficient ; rbr in either
casethe entire list must be examinecl
befbrethe r,rbject
of the
inquiry is attained.
And, secondly,assumingthat the attributes
uponwhich a
classificationis based.o....pond in substance
rvith those of
rvhich a reader is in *.ur.h, it is crear
that trre degreeof
efficiencyobtainedunder a given crassification
is conditioned
by the principleson rvhicrrirre classificatio'
has been constructed. We have,therefore,to ask
ourselves:*
(o) l3,r;rvhat attributesshould
booksbe classified?
(6) on rvhat prirrcipreis trre definition
of crassheadings
to be determined?
Itoth these questionsare of consicrerabre
importanceand
lequire carefuland separateexamination.
(To be cantinued,.\
PRINCIPLES OF BOOK CLASSIFICATION.
Bv E. Wyuoneu Hulup.
Ghapterll,-Principles of Division in Book Classification,
-f
HEORETICALLY the choice of attributes by which
I
bookscan be classiliedis unlimited ; for the possession
of any attribute, however trifling, ffi&y be made a principle
of division (principium d,iaisionis)by the simple process of
dividing all booksinto two classes,(a) possessing,(b) wanting
the particular attribute. In practice,however,this unlimited
power of selectionis possessedonly by the bibliographer;
while the library classifier is restricted in practice to a few
essential attributes of books. The relationship between the
two arts, however, is so close that we propose to devote a
chapter to its elucidation. This can best be shown by a
systematicclassificationof the principles of division employed
in book classification,distinguishing those which are peculiar
to bibliography from those common to bibliography and
library classification.
Some valuablepioneerwork has been done in this direction by Prof. Ferguson in his " Some Aspects of Bibliography " (Edinburgh, rgoo). In this work Prof. Ferguson
groups under 16 headingsthe leading principles of division
employedby bibliographersin the constructionof their class
bibliographies. They are : (r) date; (a) place; (g) printer;
(4) material; (S)type; (6) size; (7)illustration ; (8) language;
(9) subject; (ro) group of authors; (rr) individual authors;
(rz) single books; (rS) anonymous books; (t+) suppressed
books; (rS) rare books; (16) general b ibliographies. Each
of these classesis illustrated by descriptions of recent examplesof bibliographiescompiledon the aboveprinciples.
3go
The Li,braryt Association Record.
To the studentrvho has masteredthe contents
of the
above essay,and who has further famili
arized himself with
the constructionand use of the'principal
bibliogr"pni.. io
commonuse, we now submit the followingsystematic
classificationof the principlesof book crassificaiion.
we begin by dividing book attributes into two
primary
classes.A. Accidentalattributes, acquiredby books
subsequent
to their issue.
B Inseparabre attributes, i.e. attributes
inherent in
booksprior to such issue.
Attributes in crassA wilr
l..:::"riry be founded upon
circumstancesarising out;of the
rife-historyof books,and
thesewe shall further divideinto attributes:_
A (r) commonto an editionor portion of
an edition.
A (e) peculiar to single copiesof works.
A (r) will comprisethe history of editions
or portions of
editions,and will includeevents
out of the relation of
"ii.ing
an edition to its environment, e.g.
1i; rrre state or other
authority (Fergu19n14);
Natural
forces,e.g. destruction
Q)
by fire, etc.; (3) variation in the reration
of suppryand demand-e.g. rarity-market value,.etc. (Ferguson
r5), e.g.
book auctioneers,
booksellers'catarogue.,aniother registers
of book-prices.
A (e), though numericalrya much stronger
crass,is not
representedin Ferguson's list. Broadly
it"comprises the
entire history of book tradition, or the
successivr;*;.;i;
of books, including the modifications
una.rgon. by books
during such ownership.
To this classthereforeberong(a) afi
administrativecataloguesand registersof libraries,pubric
and private ; (&)attributes founded on modifications effected
in books by their
owners' e.g. extra annotation(books
annotatedby colertdg.);
extra illustration (county histories,
etc.); inl"ying
size; methodsof attachmentin librari.-i;.g:;;ained t" l;;g;;
books);
style of rebinding (e..g.booksbound
by Roger payne).
To this classificationthe student
may i.,ou, that many
cataloguesincluded in A (z) arcaccepted
in practice as standard works of referencein nationar,
literary, or subject bib-
Principlesof Booh Classif'eation'
39r
liography. This of course is the case. Nevertheless,all
prop.i"t"ry cataloguesprimarily assert,and are consequently
subject to this ownership limitation. A class list or class
bibliographymay be approximatelycompletein respect of a
given ctass of literature-the correspondinglibrary publicaiion n.uer can be so. The librarian may know of the past
existenceof booksrecorded,but not transmitted to his timeof unique copies preservedelsewhere-of long lists of desideratawhich he hopes to acquire; but none of these can
be recordedin his class list or class bibliography without
materially altering its scopeand definition.
We now passto class B which comprisesattributes inherent in booksat their date of issue. This classwill be
again divideclinto:(r) Physical.
(e) Non-physicalattributes.
B (r) wili consistof attributesderivedfrom the mechanical
constitution and make-up of books (Ferguson, Class 2'7).
The facts forming the basis of this class are the foundation of
bibliography,or the natural
the scienceof mechanico-historical
history of books-a sciencewhich classifiesliterature by the
mechanicalcharacteristicsof its typography.andexecutionin
so far as these throw light upon its common origin or provenance. This sciencetherefore covers the history of the
genesisand distribution of printing and the generalplotting
of the output of the printing press accordingto date, printerpublisher,and place of origin. These characteristicsare for
ihe most part peculiar to this branch of systematic biblio'
.graphy. In the purely utilitarian schemesof library classification, the physical characteristics of books are admitted
as principlesof division only in the case of MSS. which are
,often treated as a separatecollection, and of siee characteristics which necessarily determine the primary division of
every shelf classification.
We may therefore pass to our final class B (z), viz. the
inseparableand non-physicalattributes of books. These are
common both to the bibliographer and library classifier.
Being somewhatnumerousit wilt be convenientin placeof a
.simpleenumerationto group the principal attributes accord-
J92
fhe l.ibrary Association
.Rccord.
ing to the fu'ction and
prace rvhi.c_h
they are found to occupy
in general schernesof
book classifications.
Bookidcntification
marks
[*lt
Subject.
f
Primarv
Principles | -
f
r,?[f
it,,tffiffi3:fiaehy)
1 , ::" t;[:: (Poetrv'-i
niciLi,'etc'
Secondary
Principlei
Formal
Principles
t r::?'"X'J"
ibrrn
area'
{ ffi5;lttical
).
I Language.
{ :t'U1t",i::1lg.j:"'t
t-xtension
\
of treit
Final order
or
I
Work-mark
f
^;;;T$":i,tffr'
( pf
(svstematic-atphabetic,
chronorogicar-
medium,
short).
ofaccession.
{ate
chronoro$car
{
lil-*::
I
iiffiix}ll#:
As a discussionof the different
principresof book crassification and arrangement
cannot be adequatery
<lealtwith
rvithin the limits oiou,
*p".", we shat .onfin,
ourserves
a few generat remarks
to
on the above ,.rr"'o.,
which merery
representsthe order in
which various prin.ipl.s
are custom_
arily appriedin generar
book .ru.rifi."ii";'.t";.mes.
It wilr
be seen that cert"in- prin.ifr..
or
stagesof the act of classification. division appearat several
Exact crassification
1i.e.classificationcarried out
to its
fullest extent) emproys
u"riou, combinations
of the above
principles,the particuia.
.orbin";i;;;;;,ns
with the crass
of literature dealt with
;;h;
function which the crassification is intendedto uub..rv1.
For the primary requirements
seentwo distinct classifications of library serviceit w'r be
are needed:_
A' An arrangement of
rvorks ry **.
which w'r best
to their ready identification,
i.e.
by
their
authors or
fii:fr"
ts' A crassificationbased
upon the most important
characteristicsot noot,
,-viz.their *0,. or literary
;;fi:-tr
A' The primary function
of the authorand titre
catarogue
is that of a finding list.
i,-*",u be descrin.J
a hybrid
index crassification'baseo
,*"" the arte;;;;
",of
entering
Prhrciples of Booh Classi'ficati'an.
393
works underthe namesof their authors,if ascertainable(or
disclosed),or under some portion of their titles if not thus
ascertainable. Its secondaryfunction is the assertion of
authorship. tsoth functionsare adequatelysecuredby codes
of cataloguerules, though the codes vary considerablyaccording to the relative importance attached to the two functions. Cataloguing practice, however, concerns us here
only in so far as it indicatesthe extent to which the function
of the topical classcatalogueis satisfiedor has been usurped
by the author and title catalogue. At first sight it wctultl
appearimpossiblethat the two should conflict. The line of
division between authorship or title, and topic or literary
form is so clear that confusion of function seemsout of the
question. So far from this being the case, it is generally
that the author and title catalogueis an efficient
"d*itt.d
classcataloguein respectof certain classesof literature, and
that here will this class of literature be studied by preference
by the students to whom it appeals. Now let us see how
this has come about.
The tendencyof modern cataloguingpractice has beento
almanacs,
breakup the old classor form headings(academies,
to suband
etc.),
anonymousworks, catalogues,dictionaries,
At the
headings.
stituie direct entry under authorship or title
sametime a practicehasgrown up of supplementingand completing the literature of headings and entries by the formaiion of special class appendicesdirectly bearing upon their
subjectmatter. Thus under Homerwe find not only editions,
translations,and commentariesof the poems,but appendices
dealing with their lexicograPhy, archeology, geography,
appendiceson the life,
and authorship. Under Shakespeare,
characteristics,and celebrationsof the poet; under Bible
and Liturgies a conspectusof the entire literature of biblical
and liturgical study. The rules regulating this duplication
of entry and consequentformation of topical headings have
been left intentionally vague and discretionary(cfl Ltnnenv
AssocregoN RBcono, Feb. 19o6,where an extensionof the
practice is suggested). All that can be said of the practice is
have crystallized around certain headings
ih*t
"l".sifications
of individual or personalinterest,leavingin solutionthe whole
394
Th.e Library Association Record,.
of general subject-matterto be crassified
elsewhere. There
is thereforeno sharp line of demarcation
betweenthe generar
(author and title)
the general topicJ .i".rincation
of a
library. so far Td
tL. formJr possessesan efficient
crassificair
tion of individualsubject-matter,the only
additionarefficiency
obtained by transferring these headings
and appendicesto
the general topical crassificationis that
on tie shelvesthese
classesare brought into existenceand
co-ordinatedin some
convenientorder' p-u!ror the purposes
of research,inasmuch
as these classeswil be *ori conveniently
studied in the
author and title catarogue,the printing
of ther" crassesin
the class catarogue *itt be uneconomicar,
and the two
systems must be brought ihto rine
by direct reference from
the classto the author and title cataiogue.
(To be continued.)