Page 93 - Cataloging and Classification for Library Technicians, 2nd Edition

Chapter 6

Classification

Before the clas sification system is discussed, let us re view the
steps in volved in the cataloging pro cess so that it is clear where the
task of clas sification be longs. Re call the first step of cat aloging,
called de scrip tive cat a log ing, is performed ac cording to the rules in
AACR2R. Within this step, we have learned how to phys ically de -
scribe the material at hand, and how to de termine the main en try and
the added en tries. Then we con tinued to the sec ond step, called sub-
ject cat a log ing. The task of sub ject cataloging in cludes two parts: as -
sign ing sub ject head ings and as sign ing clas si fi ca tion num bers. Chap-
ter 5 ex plained the pro cess of as signing sub ject headings to ma terials.
Now we are ready for the dis cussion on clas sification.
In su per mar kets or in stores, a clas si fi ca tion sys tem ar ranges all
the same and re lated merchandise to gether on the shelves so that it is
easier for the cus tomers to find what they want. In a li brary, this ob -
jective is even more im portant. First of all, the clas sification system is
im por tant be cause the clas si fi ca tion num ber, com bined with the au-
thor num ber, forms a unique no tation that be comes the lo cation sym -
bol for the ma terial. This “address” makes it con venient for li brary
users to find the materials on the shelves. In ad dition, the sys tem is
designed so that ma terials of the same sub ject are grouped to gether
on the shelves, with re lated sub jects nearby for easy brows ing. More -
over, with the unique lo cation sym bol la beled on the spine, the li brary
staff can easily shelve the ma terial in its proper place af ter each use.
Whether a library tech nician works in the cataloging de partment or in
pub lic ser vices, a thor ough knowl edge of a li brary’s clas si fi ca tion
scheme is es sential to better serve li brary users. A classification sys-
tem pro vides a pow erful tool to extract in formation not only from the
library cat alogs but from the global in formation net work as well.

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