theory and practice of classification · session overview this session aims at introducing students...

College of Education

School of Continuing and Distance Education 2014/2015 – 2016/2017

THEORY AND PRACTICE OF CLASSIFICATION

SESSION 4 – SUBJECT APPROACH TO INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

Lecturer: Ms. Patience Emefa Dzandza Contact Information: [email protected]

Session Overview

This session aims at introducing students to how to

determine the subject content of library materials

Slide 2

Session Outline

The key topics to be covered in the session are as follows:

• Topic One : the subject approach to information management

• Topic Two : tools and aids for classification

Slide 3

Reading List

• Read Chapter 7 of Recommended Text – Chan, Lois Mai. (2007) Cataloging and classification: an introduction Lanham, Md. Scarecrow Press

Slide 4

• Topic one:

• Subject approach to information organization

Slide 5

Subject Approach to Information Management

• Information centres provide library materials and these materials must be provided promptly in order not to waste the time of users or readers.


• Users of information centres may require of materials by means of divers approaches. Example; author, publisher or subject etc.

• Among these majority of information resources are required on account of their subject matter irrespective of size, colour, author etc. although many readers may also link their reading materials with a particular author or title.


• some people arrange materials according to sizes, however the size of a document bears no relation to its content and fails in the attempt to satisfy the requirement of most readers.


• Arrangement by author is also useful but if information resources with a definite subject interest were arranged in this order the user looking for materials on that specific subject will be greatly disappointed as he has to search through many resources.


• If documents were grouped according to the predominant subject matter or content, all readers will be reasonably served.


• Subject order is therefore the most significant and helpful way in which we can order a collection of documents


• When bringing information materials which are related by means of subject content together, we seek to achieve two basic aims;

– We want an infallible way of locating materials on any given theme.

– We want the materials to be sympathetically related so that closely associated topics are helpfully represented nearby.


• We cannot possible display all subject relationships on shelves or classified catalogue,

• But we can seek to show the most significant ones

• The success of classification can be determined by the degree of proximity or related subjects.


• Classification is not only the grouping of things for location or identification purposes.

• It is also their display in some sort of rational, progressive by subject order so that their chief relationships may be ascertained.


• It is for this reason that all bibliographic classification schemes are based on the subject matter of the materials to be classified.

• The underlining factor is that different materials share some common attributes so they should belong to one class.


• By subject we mean the specific subject of the book concerned by which we classify it accurately an precisely.

• It is only by placing a book under its specific subject that we can arrange library materials in a helpful sequence on shelves.

• Within each major subject field, the sequence should begin with general material and proceed to more specialized branches of the subject.


• Ranganathan defines “specific subject” as being that division o knowledge whose extension and intension are equal to those of its thought content.

• Classification of books by specific subjects has the value of economizing time and energy.

• Topic two:

• Classification tools and aids

Slide 18

Classification Tools and Aids

• Classification Schemes:

• Classification Schemes help us to organize information resources in an orderly and helpful manner.

• They are used for the systematic arrangement of information resources.

• They can be general or special.

• Examples are Bibliographic classification; Colon classification, Decimal Classification, Library of Congress Classification, Subject Classification, and Universal Decimal Classification.


• List of Subject Headings:

• Subject Headings are terms standing for the subject content of information resources Prytherch (2005) defines subject Heading as the word or group of words under which books and other materials on a subject are entered in a catalogue in which the entries are arranged in alphabetical order.


• Current Information in Periodicals:

• These are periodical articles and occasional publications issued in the field of classification.

• Eg: Cataloguing and Classification Quarterly


• Classification Manuals:

• They guide the classifier to make correct decisions in the classification of books.


• Textbooks on Classification

• These are books which deal with how to classify materials stating the steps to follow. They serve as guide to the classifier.


• Cataloguing in Publication

• It is the inclusion of cataloguing information of a book on the version or back of the title page as the book is published.

• This helps the classifier to do quick classification of the materials as the information needed for the classification number is already in the item being processes.


• Dictionaries: - Mostly subject dictionaries which are used to understand terms.

• Bibliographies :- These are list of materials which often have class numbers eg. BNB, GNB.

• Atlases and Gazettees: - Use to locate places that are not well known.


• Electronic Resources;

– Databases: these are electronic resources that are subscribed to by libraries. They contain full text journals or books on topics that may be of interest to classifiers.

– Some of the databases may not contain full text of records but only their bibliographical details.

– Online catalogues: these are the electronic versions of library catalogues which classifiers can access remotely to copy or very details of resources they have to classify

Activity

• Visit a library close to your place of stay and ask the library staff to help you retrieve 2 or three books published from USA.

• Open the page after the title page

• You will find a session with the heading ;

• Library of congress cataloguing in publication

• That is the cataloguing in publication details

• Study the information provided in that session of the book

Slide 27

theory and practice of classification · session overview this session aims at introducing students...

Documents