INTRODUCTION

The idea of ‘Classification’ flourishes with the evolution of the ‘human being.’ Classification is orderly
arrangement of things. Each individual from childhood to old age consciously or unconsciously
implies classification in his daily functions. The techniques of classification are inherent in mankind.
Without classification, human progress would be impossible.

Origin and Meaning:

The term classification is derived from the Latin word ‘classis’ used in Roman Empire to divide the
people on the basis of wealth and importance. Similarly in India the analogues term ‘vargikarana’ in
‘Sanskrit’ has been used in ‘Vedas’, ’smritis’ and ‘Upanishads’ for distinguishing like objects
“Classification is mode of knowledge, a way of grouping the units of certain things and their relation
between various kinds of things”
- A.Wolf

Library Classification:
The ordinary classification deals with the arrangement of ideas or objects in a systematic order. In
the Library classification the objects are documents. The term ‘document includes all forms of
recorded knowledge such as books, periodical publications, non-book materials and so on.
“Classification is a series or system of classes arranged in some order according to some principle or
conception, purpose or interest, or some combination of such”.
-H.E. Bliss.
“It is the translation of the name of the subject of a book into a preferred artificial language of
ordinal numbers, and the individualization of the several books dealing with the same specific
subject by means of further set of ordinal numbers which represent some feature of the book other
than their thought content”
- S.R Ranganathan.
The word classification was derived from the Latin word classes which meant order or rank of
mobility in Roman society based upon birth and wealth. Classification is a mental process by which
we group or separate things on the basis of common characteristics. For example, things grouped
together on the basis of a common characteristic like writing material.
S.R. Ranganathan, in his Prolegomena to Library Classification (1967), elaborately discusses the
meaning of classification. In the case of physical objects, division and assortment are the two results
of classification, According to Ranganathan, while division implies sorting objects into two or more
groups, assortment additionally denotes arrangement of these groups in a predetermined sequence.
Further, in library classification, the sequence of objects, i.e., documents, is so mechanised by the
use of notation that it is reflected in the notation when a document is withdrawn or added.

PURPOSE OF LIBRARY CLASSIFICATION

As you know, libraries were facing problems due to large number of books and started arranging
those books in some order. After trying a number of arrangements like colour, size, accession
number, finally it was found that users mostly ask for books by subject. Thus, some classification
schemes came into existence. So, the main purpose of library classification is to arrange the books on
shelves in a systematic order, so that whenever a book is needed it can be located immediately. In
general, the library classification has following purposes:
1) Arrange all the books and other documents of a library in a systematic order so that library
collection looks organised;
2) Bring together all books of same subject so that a user does not have to go to different places for
books of his subject;
3) Keep books of related subjects nearby;
4) Find a particular book of a subject on the shelf as call number (See. Sec 2.8) distinctly identifies a
particular book in the library;
5) Find total books on a given subject in the library as all the books of a subject have same class
number, and therefore, are kept together;
6) Replace the books at their proper place on the shelf after use;
7) Allocate proper place to new books in relation to other books of the library, as acquisition of new
books is a regular work in all libraries and these books are to be merged with existing library
collection;
8) Assist the cataloguer in finding subject headings for library catalogue particularly when classified
catalogue is used and subject entries are to be prepared ; and
9) Help in compilation of subject bibliographies.
There may be some other purposes for which library classification can be used. One can use library
classification for arrangement of museum objects or Internet resources. It can also be used for
maintenance of circulation statistics of the library and organization of reference queries.
LIBRARY CLASSIFICATION, ITS NEED AND IMPORTANCE
With regard to need and importance of library classification, some pertinent issues have already
been raised and discussed; some more specific areas where library Classification plays a pivotal role
are as under
i. The first and foremost purpose of any library classification scheme is to create a helpful sequence
of all the subject material acquired by a library so that same could be used by users of library in most
convenient way without wasting much time and energy in searching the documents.
ii. Library Classification helps to accommodate all the newly published literature in an already
created order of arrangement in a filiatory sequence. Even a document on its return with the help of
classification attains the same position and the same place among the already created sequence of
documents.
iii. Arrangement of books on the shelves of library is more mechanized than manual and with the
help of ICT tools, the arrangement has more or less become automated these days. Apart from fixing
the location of document in library it also facilities its easy retrieval from the huge collection of
library .
iv. Library Classification helps a great deal in exploiting the information to its optimum by maximizing
the use of a library documents.
v. It won’t be inappropriate to say that library classification helps a library professional in discharging
his/her duties more efficiently.
vi. Classification helps to fulfill the basic philosophy of library science put forth by the father of library
science Sh. S.R Ranganathan in the form of five laws of library science.
Purpose of Library Classification
 To organise books, documents on library shelves in a systematic order, bring books on the same
topic in close proximity to each other according to a classification scheme;
 To provide a known location to documents in a library where they are shelved;
 To facilitate subject access to enable users to browse, identify and locate what works or documents
a library has on a certain subject;
 To quickly retrieve documents from among thousands of items in the collection and to replace
documents to their original physical positions after use;
 Library being a service oriented organisation, classification is a tool that is employed to increase the
utility of library material;
 Proper physical arrangement of books in shelve saves the time of users as well as of the staff.
 Arrangement of books by call number provides an exhaustive view of the collection of a library on a
particular subject.

Purpose and Need of Library Classification

Let us study the purpose and objectives of library classification.

Objectives
The need for library classification can be understood through its objectives. The main objective of
library classification is to arrange the library documents in afiliatory sequence for the convenience of
both the readers and the staff in the library. In fact, According to Dr. S.R. Ranganathan, library
classification mechanizes the correct placement of library documents after use, fixes the most helpful
place for a newly added document or a book amongst the other books available in the library on a
similar subject and files the most helpful place for the first document on such other already existing
subjects which are related to it. For this purpose, the class number must be coextensive with the
subject of a document and easy subject must be individualized to the extent that no other subject
must share the same class number
1. It brings like books together: Classification arranges books in an order most convenient to the
readers and the librarians. Readers should find all the related books together and librarians should
use minimum time and energy in locating the documents. Classification brings together all the books
on the same subject. Not only that, books on different branches of the subjects are also collated in a
way that their mutual relationship is clearly displayed.
2. It saves time: Classification is a great time saving device for readers, as well as librarians and, thus,
fulfils the demand of the fourth law of library science. The arrangement by subject, a natural
consequence of library classification, saves a lot of time of the readers as well as of the staff, bringing
together all the related documents.
3. It reveals the weakness and strength of the collection: As classification arranges books on shelf by
subject, it clearly shows which subjects have a good collection, and which subjects require more
attention. In this way, it facilitates the book selection process and helps in developing all round
collection of the library. Similarly, it assists the librarians in making up their collection, for the
departmental or branch libraries or lending centres, from the central stock.
4. It helps in bibliographic research: Classification is of value in bibliographic research as it helps in
the compilation of bibliographies, catalogues and union catalogues.
5. It helps in stock verification: Classification plays a significant role in the stock taking procedure.
Generally, verification of stock is done through a shelf list, which is arranged in a classified order.
Books on the shelf are also arranged in the same order. In the stock taking procedure, a person on
the shelf goes on calling the call number of the books while the other person, holding the shelf list
goes on pushing the relevant cards forward. Thus, the process of stock taking is completed within a
relatively short time.
Library classification assists the librarian to make available the requisite book to the reader in the
shortest possible time. The purpose of any library classification scheme is to allow libraries to
arrange the documents in a sequence that will be of immense help to the readers. The library
classification scheme offers the leaders a basis for organizing books and other reading material so
that these can be used by the readers as and when they desire. A variety of classification schemes
have been developed in various countries throughout the world to maintain the library collections in
the most helpful manner possible.

Purpose of Library Classification

The following are the main purposes of library classification:
1. Helpful sequence: Classification helps in organizing the documents in a method most convenient
to the users and to the library staff. The documents should be systematically arranged in classes
based on the mutual relationship between them which would bring together all closely related
classes. The basic idea is to bring the like classes together and separate these from unlike classes.
The arrangement should be such that the user should be able to retrieve the required document, as
a result, it will make a helpful sequence.
2. Correct replacement: Documents whenever taken out from the shelf should be kept back in their
proper places. It is essential that library classification should enable the correct replacement of
documents after they have been returned from use. This would require a mechanized arrangement
so that arrangement remains permanent.
3. Mechanized arrangement: It means to adopt a particular arrangement suitable for the library so
that the arrangement remains permanent. The sequence should be determined once for all, so that
one does not have to pre-determine the sequence of documents once again when these are
returned after being borrowed.
4. Addition of new document: The library would acquire new documents from time to time.
Therefore, library classification should help in finding the most helpful place for each of those among
the existing collection of the library. There are two possibilities in this regard. The new books may be
or a subject already provided for in the scheme of library classification, or it may be or a newly
emerging subject that may not have been provided in the existing scheme.
5. Withdrawal of document from stock: In this case, the need arises to withdraw a document from
the library collection for some reason, and then library classification should facilitate such a
withdrawal.
6. Book display: Display is adopted for a special exhibition of books and other materials on a given
topic. The term is used to indicate that the collection in an open access library is well-presented and
guided. Library classification should be helpful in the organization of book displays.
7. Other purposes:
 Compilation of bibliographies catalogues and union catalogues
 Classification of information
 Classification of reference queries
 Classification of suggestions received from the users
 Filing of non-book materials such as photographs, films and others
Functions of Book Numbers
Book numbers indvidualise a book so that it “may be quickly and accurately placed, called for, found
and charged,” wrote Melvil Dewey in 1898. Miss Bertha R. Barden (1937) in her enduring study of
book numbers has described the following six uses of book numbers which are wonderfully valid to
this day:
– To arrange books in order on the shelves.
– To provide a brief and accurate call number for each book.
– To locate a particular book on the shelf.
– Provide a symbol for charging books to borrowers.
– To facilitate the return of books on the shelves.
– To assist in quick identification of a book when inventories are taken. It helps in stock-taking.
In addition to these, an author number also brings together all the books by one author in one
specific subject. A chronological book number will clearly portray the development of a subject over
a given period. Book numbers are indispensable for a shelflist.