BIBLIOGRAPHIC CLASSIFICATION, SYSTEMS. — The need for a systematic ordering of bibliographic material for the purpose of immediate retrieval gave rise to special systems of bibliographic classification, on the basis of which library catalogues can be arranged "by subject" (v. CATALOGO).
The classification of human knowledge originated in the field of philosophy, and systems of this kind have not been lacking even in the modern age; some indeed have remained famous (F. Naville [1784-1846], A. Bain [1818-1903], H. Spencer [1820-1903], W. Wundt [1832-1920]), but none of them has ever found practical application in library science. Among the properly bibliographic systems, which are in truth innumerable, after the French ones of J.-Ch. Brunet and of L. Crozet, the American systems of decimal classification and of the Library of Congress have certainly established themselves, and they must be regarded as the only scientific systems in use today. By eliminating the "order word," which is tied to the language in which the work is written, they can be called truly universal, and they serve not only for the bibliographic classification of the card catalogue but also for the shelving of books in the library.
THE BRUNET SYSTEM
It takes its origin from the catalogue of the Thuana library of 1679, modified around 1700 by P. Marchand, between 1711 and 1760 by G. Martin, later by De Bure, and finally by Brunet, from whom it took its name, in two successive editions of a Table méthodique of his (Paris 1842 and 1865). It comprises five main classes: 1. Theology; 2. Jurisprudence; 3. Sciences and arts; 4. Belles-lettres; 5. History; each divided into categories. These in turn branch out into various divisions and subdivisions. It is the system that served as the basis for all later elaborations, and it is still used in some libraries in France.
CROZET'S BIBLIOGRAPHIC CLASSIFICATION
Elaborated in the Manuel pratique du bibliothécaire (Paris 1932), it has ten divisions: 1. General works; 2. Religions; 3. Philosophy; 4. Pure sciences; 5. Applied sciences and technology; 6. Fine arts; 7. Languages and literatures; 8. Geography; 9. History of peoples; 10. Social sciences. Each division comprises several subdivisions.
THE DECIMAL BIBLIOGRAPHIC CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM
Devised by Melvil Dewey for the library of Amherst College, Massachusetts (1873), and then applied by the same inventor to the libraries of Columbia College in New York and of the University of Albany, it was expanded and disseminated by the Belgians H. Lafontaine and P. Otlet, who to that end founded in Brussels, in 1895, the Institut International de bibliographie, with the aim of securing its universal application. According to this system, human knowledge is divided into 9 classes, each class into 9 divisions, each division into 9 sections, each section into 9 subsections, and so on, each numbered with digits from 1 to 9; zero is reserved, within each subdivision, for general works. The classes are as follows: 1. Philosophy; 2. Religion; 3. Sociology; 4. Philology; 5. Pure science; 6. Applied science (useful arts); 7. Fine arts; 8. Literature; 9. History. Each work thus comes to be characterized by a number, with as many more digits as its subject is more detailed: for example, a general encyclopedia will be 03 (third division of the class of general works), but an Italian encyclopedia 035 (fifth section of the third division of the class of general works); and M. Rosi's work, L'Italia odierna, will have the number 945.08, that is, class 9 (History), division 4 (Europe), section 5 (Italy), subsection 08 (wars of the Risorgimento). The specifications can be extended indefinitely, and become necessary within each class or each division when the system must be applied to specialized libraries. In particular, for ecclesiastical libraries, there have been detailed developments of class 2 (Religion): cf. J. Murphy Lynn, An alternative classification for Catholic books: a scheme for Catholic theology, Canon law and Church history (Milwaukee 1937), and P.-A. Martin, Religion, théologie, droit canonique: classe 2 et division 348 de la classification décimale (Montréal [1938]). For the purposes of the c. b. the decimal system
Muñoz, Antonio, 1884.
... La basilica di S. Lorenzo fuori le Mura. Roma, F.lli Palombi, [1944].
2 f. p., 7-106 p., 2 f. III., ex tav. 34,5 cm.
« Bibliografia »: p. 106-106.
Le tav. sono stampate sul recto e sul verso di 55 f.
1. Roma. S. Lorenzo fuori le Mura.
Bibl. Vaticana
DG510.3.LCM9
Va 43-1529
Geminiani, Francesco, 1687-1762.
Compleat instructions for the violin, containing the easiest and best methods for learners to obtain a proficiency, with some useful directions, lessons, graces, &c., by Geminiani. To which is added a favorite collection of airs, marches, minuses, &c., with several excellent pieces [1] for two violins. [London; G. Goulding 1170-1].
1 p. 1, 28, 30; p. front., pl. 17 x 24 cm. [With Entire new ... instructions for the life. London 1177-1].
Caption title: New instructions for the violin.
1. Violin—Instruction and study—To 1800. 2. Title. 3. Title: New instructions for the violin.
MT356.C62
11-19416 rev
Library of Congress
(1884)
(phot. Enc. Catt.)
CLASSIFICAZIONE BIBLIOGRAFICA, sistemi di - Cards of the Vatican Library and of the Library of Congress.
(whose name is in a certain sense improper, because in the numbers each digit retains its isolated value) is accompanied by a very rich analytical index, or "relative index of subjects" in alphabetical order, with 43,000 classified subjects. It is adopted in over 40,000 libraries in America and in a certain number of European libraries, among them some Italian ones.
THE BIBLIOGRAPHIC CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Introduced by the Library of Congress in Washington, which has been publishing its scheme, still incomplete, since 1904. It consists of several classes, designated by one or two letters of the alphabet, as follows: A. General works. Polygraphy; B. Philosophy and Religion (BA-BI. Philosophy; BJ-BZ. Religion); C. Auxiliary disciplines of history; D. History and Topography (excluding America); E. General History and Topography of America and of the United States; F. Local history and topography of America and of the United States; G. Geography and Anthropology; H. Social Sciences and Economics; I. Political Science; K. Law; L. Instruction and education; M. Music; N. Fine arts; P. Language and literature; Q. Science (excluding medicine); R. Medicine; S. Agriculture and agricultural industries; T. Technology; U. Military science; V. Naval science; Z. Bibliography and Library Science.
Each class is further subdivided by the addition of another letter (e.g., G. Geography; GA. Economic geography) and a place determination obtained through the use of Arabic numerals, which however vary from class to class. Various other combinations of letters and numbers serve to indicate the author's name, the title of the work, etc. (e.g., the work of M. Rosi, L'Italia odierna, is classified as follows: DG. 552. R. 779; D. History, DG. History of Italy; DG. 552, History of Italy, Risorgimento; R. 779 is the determinative of the name Rosi). The Library of Congress publishes detailed indexes for each class and furthermore prints the cards of the books it holds, supplying them, upon order, to other libraries as well: the wealth of elements included in them makes it possible to use them also as a bibliographic repertory. In some libraries, such as the Vatican, they are merged with those of the alphabetical catalog into a single dictionary catalog.
NOTATION BY AUTHOR
In order to distinguish and arrange alphabetically two or more books by different authors on the same subject, notations have been devised which, added to the symbol of the decimal library classification or of the Library of Congress, serve to determine the author or at least the first letters of his name. They consist of the initial letter of the surname, followed by one or more Arabic numerals, which represent the subsequent letters: the group thus obtained is made to follow the symbol of the library classification, separated from it by a period. For these notations too there exist special tables, of which the most widespread are the Cutter-Sanborn three figures tables.
Bibliography6 works
Alessandro Pratesi