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March 20, 2007

Ranganathan's fantasy

From Ranganathan, the founder of library science:

"Since multiplicity of helpful order among specific subjects is a fact independent of library classification - a fact to be reckoned with in arrangement - how are we to provide for it? It is a case of arranging concrete materials - books and other kindred materials - in such a way that one kind of arrangement presents itself to one person and another kind to another person. To secure this by pressing a button is obviously possible only in the world of fancy; it is not possible in the world of reality."

Ranganathan, Philosophy of Library Classification (1951)

Via Tim Spalding via Jacob Glenn [Tags: ranganathan taxonomy everything_is_miscellaneous ]

Posted by D. Weinberger at March 20, 2007 09:52 AM

Comments

Related to the quote, Bowker and Star in Sorting Things Out: Classification and Its Consequences (my notes) tell us how classification is never done in a vacuum, and is always politically charged. Another interesting discussion of these issues include Shirky's Ontology is overrated, and Doctorow's Metacrap article.

And of course, Vanever Bush may have been describing this world of fancy a couple years before Ranganathan's comment, but we've got our Memex now. We just have to figure out how to use it.

Posted by: futhermet | March 20, 2007 02:06 PM

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Posted by: Alexandre | March 20, 2007 02:31 PM

Ranganathan is the man. I think his ideas for faceted classification were way ahead of their time. He also wrote extensively on the transition from books to 'micro-documents' and what it would mean to the business of classification.

Posted by: Ryan | March 20, 2007 02:46 PM

Goodness, it really *is* worthwhile reading the mails *and* the blog. ;)

Quote printed and stuck to my cubicle wall.

Posted by: Joe Murphy | March 22, 2007 09:39 AM

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