PRACTICAL CLASSIFICATION:

1. DEFINITION: This is the art of placing a document in its correct or proper

place in the classification schedules. It is the process of defining the exact

topic or subject of a book in relation to all possible placing offered by the

classification scheme.

2. GENERAL GUIDING PRINCIPLE: Practical classification should be

guided by the principle of use when classifying books in the library. This

means that classification should not be a mechanical process. The needs or

interests of library users should always be upper most in the mind of

classifier. Therefore, the classifier should always place a book where it will

be most useful to the majority of library users.

3. LOGICAL PRACTICAL STEPS IN LIBRARY BOOK

CLASSIFICATION:

The following are the logical practical steps that should be followed in

library classification:

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1. Establish the specific subject or topic of the book by reading the

following parts of the book:

i. The publishers blurb

ii. The title page

iii. The preface, introduction and foreword

iv. The table of contents

v. Browse through the text quickly. If you have not

established the subject at this stage,

vi. Consult a subject specialist.

2. When the specific subject of the book has been determined, turn to

the index of the classification scheme in use in the library, and

look up the subject to see whether it is there. If it is there, it will

most likely have a notation attached to it.

3. Equipped with this notation from the index, turn to the schedules

and look up the number. If it is there, check also the numbers

before and those following it in the schedules just in case a more

suitable one is to be found among them. If there are scope notes

read them carefully and follow instructions that may be given.

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 4. Before settling down for what you consider the most suitable class

number for the book, check in the library stock database to

ascertain that other books in the library bearing the class number

are on the same subject as that of the book on hand. This is to

ensure consistency in classification.

5. After this has been confirmed, the number is then written in all the

appropriate places in the book and elsewhere according to the

policy of the library.

4. PRINCIPLES OF BOOK CLASSIFICATION:

The following principles can also be referred to as “important rules in
classification.” They should be closely observed so as to ensure consistency
in book classification. The term “Book” is broadly taken to mean all forms
of information resources classified in libraries.

1. Classify a book first according to its subject and then within this subject,
by the form in which it is written. For instance, a dictionary of Chemistry
is not primarily a dictionary, but Chemistry presented in dictionary form.
Therefore such a book should be classified in the Chemistry first, with the
form in which it is presented or written indicated by the use of the
appropriate standard subdivision if there is no in-built number in the

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 schedules. An exception to this rule is the classification of literature books
where form is more important than the subject.

2. If a book deals with two or three subject divisions, class the book in the
one predominantly treated, otherwise class it in the subject treated first, if
all have equal treatment.

3. A book dealing with more than three divisions of subject should be

classified in the more general class, which covers them all, e.g. a book on
Chemistry, Physics, Botany and Zoology should be classified in Science.

4. Place a book under the most specific or precise heading provided for it.
Loose approximations should be avoided as much as possible, e.g. a book
on houseflies should be classified in the specific number for flies rather
than the general one of insects. Likewise, a book on moles should be
classified in the specific number for moles rather than the general class for
rodents.

5. When a book appears on a subject, that has no stated place in the

classification scheme, the heading to which it is most nearly related should
be determined and a place made for it there.

6. Any decisions taken relating to the use of any alternative class numbers for
a given subject in a particular library should be properly indexed or

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 recorded to ensure consistency in the classification, e.g. Classification of
Biographies and Subject Bibliographies using the DDC.
7. Never classify a book by its title alone. Though most titles give an
indication of the subject of a book, others can be misleading and this is
why the title alone should not be relied upon to determine the subject of a
book.

8. Never use the classification index alone to classify a book. The index
should only be used as a guide to the schedules where the class number has
to be determined. In the schedules, quite often you find some instructions
and scope notes that help a classifier to make the right decision. These are
not to be found in the classification index.

9. Classify a book where it will be most useful to most library users.

10. Always have a reason for placing a book on a particular class number.
Classification should never be mechanical exercise and should never be
carried out for the sake of it, or haphazardly. Always reason out why you
place a particular book in a particular class number rather than in another.
By so doing, you will be showing loyalty to all those who use the library.

11. The class number considered for a subject during the classification process
should always be checked against the database of the library stock to
ensure that the book being classified is on the same subject as those
already in the library bearing the class number being considered for it
before the final decision to settle for the number is made.
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5. BOOK NUMBERS AND THEIR APPLICATION:
In a library there may be many books on the same topic or subject. All these
will therefore bear the same class number. They will all claim the same
position on the shelves. This presents a problem in the shelf arrangement.

In order to achieve a convenient order on the shelves, therefore books on the

same topic are further sub arranged generally according to their authors
using some form of author marks. These marks are of two types, namely:
1. The first three letters of the authors surname.
2. Those derived from a set of tables such as the Cutter Table or the
Library of Congress Book Number Table.

1. Use of the First Three Letters of the Authors Surname.

When this method is used, the first three letters of the authors surname or the
first three letters of the main entry heading are added to the class number to
facilitate sub-arrangement within the same class. This is a simple method but
it has a problem in those books by authors who share the same surname or
who have the same first three letters cannot always be properly distinguished
on the same shelves, e.g. Wambiri Wambua, Wambugu, Wambui, etc.

However, this method is very popular and despite its shortcomings, most
libraries that use the DDC also use it.

2. Book Numbers

Book numbers are variously referred to as “Author Numbers” or “Cutter

numbers.” They are usually based on the main entry which has been chosen
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 for a particular work through descriptive cataloguing. But when the term
“author numbers” is used, it tends to exclude works whose main entry is not
under an author.

The original Cutter numbers were devised by Charles Ammi Cutter and were
later revised by Kate E. Sanborn. That is why they are often referred to as
Cutter-Sanborn numbers.

These numbers involve the provision of a table that enables classifiers to

translate the second and sometimes the third letter of the author’s surname or
title into a sequence of figures. Thus, the same author sequence within a
class is achieved through the use of the first letter of the author’s surname or
title, followed by a figure or figures representing the 2nd and at times the 3rd
letters.

The Library of Congress too has over the years devised its own “Book
Number Table” similar to Cutter’s and this is used in exactly the same way
as the Cutter Table. Both kinds of table are equally good and serve the same
purpose.

In either case, the book number chosen is added to the class number and
both, class and book numbers, form what is known as “Call number” or
“Call mark”

6. TECHNIQUES USED IN THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Logical steps used in the Library of Congress classification scheme to
classify

When classifying a book using the Library of Congress Classification, the logical
practical steps covered in number (3) at the beginning of these notes are applied.

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The components leading to the class number must be shown. This is important
because it indicates how the class number of the book was established.

A worked out example is shown below:

Title page

Perspectives in business
ethics

Laura P Hartman

McGraw-Hill

San Francisco. London.

New Delhi

2005

Other details

The Third Edition of Perspectives in Business Ethics offers a foundation in

ethical
2005 thought, followed by a variety of perspectives on difficult ethical dilemma
in both the personal and professional contexts. This anthology encourages the
reader to “critically evaluate each perspective using his or her own personal ethics
theory base.”

➢ Procedure:
1. Understand the title given.
2. Read the details given about the book (Other details) as shown
above.
3. Decide on the subject of the book to look for in the index.
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 4. Go to the INDEX usually at the end of the schedule. Business
is a Social sciences You will most likely get the general class=
H
5. Open the appropriate location in the SCHEDULES and trace
the suitable subdivision class number based on the general class
H.
➢ The suitable subdivision is HF which
denotes “Commerce”
➢ Go to HF 5387, which is the class for
Business ethics.
➢ Trace the hierarchical arrangement of the
subdivisions from the most general to the
most specific of the selected subject.
6. Establish the specific shelf number for the book, which is
derived from the first letter of the author and a figure (3),
obtained from the Library of Congress Book Numbers or Cutter
Tables.
7. Settle for the more specific class number “HF5386.H3”
Business ethics
8. Add the year of publication to denote the year of edition since it
is not the first edition.

Below are the components of the call number:

H Social Sciences

HF Commerce

HF 5386 Business ethics

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 H3 Cutter number for Author’s surname (Hartman, Laura
Pincus)

2005 Year of the edition

Call Number HF

5387

H3

2005

or Call Number HF5386.H3 2005

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 7. Logical steps used in the Dewey decimal classification scheme

When classifying a book in Dewey decimal classification the logical practical

steps covered in number (3) above are applied. The components leading to the
class number must be shown. This is important because it indicates how the class
number of the book was established.

A worked out example is shown below:

Example

Title page

Study and teaching of

libraryClassification
An introduction.

Firth Gladwell

John Wiley and Sons

London. New York

2007

Other details

This introductory resource is well illustrated and written with the beginner of
library classification in focus. It provides the readers with well worked out
examples. Teachers of library classification are guided step by step in teaching
methods. There are numerous suggestions of analyzing a subject into logical

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components. The book is highly recommended to learners and teachers of library
classification.

The example above can be worked out as follows:

1. Understand the title given.

2. Read the details given about the book (Other details) as shown above.
3. Go to the INDEX (Volume IV, 22nd, 23rd edition…). Get the general
number of “Library Science” = class 020.
4. Go to the SCHEDULES (volume II)
5. Look at the Summary.
➢ Go to 025 which is the class for Operation for
Libraries and Archives.
➢ Go to 025.42 which is the class for “ Classification
and Shelf Listing.
6. Settle for the more specific class number “025.42: Classification and
shelf listing”

7. Establish the class number of “Study and Teaching of Library

Classification:”
➢ Go to TABLES (Volume I)

➢ In Table 1: the most appropriate Standard Subdivision

is –07: Education, research, related topics.

8. Build up the class number:

➢ The Table standard subdivision number –07 is

joined to the class number 025.42. to become
025.4207
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 ➢ In DDC when the class number exceeds 3 digits
a space separates the third digit with the fourth.
The class number for the book is therefore
025.420 7.
➢ The first 3 letters of the surname of the first
author may be added to the class number e.g.
GLA to denote Gladwel, Firth
➢ The last step is to show the components from the general to the specific
drawn from the appropriate subdivisions as shown below:

020 = library and information science

025 = operations of libraries and archives
025.42 = Classification and Shelf Listing
-07(Table 1) = Study and Teaching (s.s.)
025.42+ -07 = Combination of class number and
standard subdivision (s.s.)
025.420 7= Class number
Class number = 025.420 7 GLA

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