Library Classification Systems - Assignment Example

Name : xxxxxxxxxxx Institution : xxxxxxxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx Title : Library Classification Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx @2010 Section A 1. Manual of geriatric nutrition related topic 612.1 Manual of geriatric nutrition can be linked to several concepts such as 612.2 The risks of poor nutrition to the elderly 612.3 How to promote proper diets for the aged 612.4 Methods of prevention of malnutrition and for the aged 612.5 Health challenges of old age The rational behind linking the concept of geriatric nutrition to the stated ideas is because geriatric nutrition categorically deals with nutritional concepts for the elderly, which is also expounded on by the stated concepts. 2. 613.1 A guide to ship sanitation 613.2 How to enhance a healthy cruise. 613.3 Hazards analysis in ship sanitation 3. 612.1 The spread of tuberculosis in prisons: a guide for managers 612.2 T.B Infection control in prisons 612.3 Monitoring and evaluation of patients with T.B in prisons 4. 613.1 A comparison of social welfare facilities between Georgia and Armenia 613.2 Comparison of the management system of social welfare facilities between Georgia and Armenia 613.3 Challenges facing social welfares facilities in Armenia 5. 612.1 Les origines de l’homéopathie en France 612.2 Vétérinaire Homéopathie 612.3 L’homéopathie de Dangers 6 61.1 Legislation for scientific experiments on monkeys 61.2 Merits of Scientific experiments on animals 61.3 Reasons for amendments of the legislation for scientific experiments in monkeys. 7. 613.1 Impact of town planning on the provision of health care services in East Lothian 613.2 Facilitation of expansion of Health care services in East Lothian 613.3 Strategies in town planning that can improve health care services. 8. 555.1 The press coverage of environmental sciences in the USA in the 1990s. 555.2 Global warming in the USA 555.3 Guide to Environmental Science Research 9. Louis Pasteur: a life devoted to the battle against germs Battle against germs is categorized under pathology and diseases using the code 615.1 Louis Pasteur: a life devoted to the battle against germs 615.2 The fight against bacteria: a new look 615.3 Battling germs during flu seasons 10. 612 .1 The application of Artificial Intelligence to the care of disabled children 612.2 Disability and culture 612.3 Costs of raising special needs children Section B Introduction Purpose of the Report Library classification systems are vital for the purpose of enhancing easy access of documents and works they further provide information concerning the location of a particular source. It is therefore essential that the library unit in the Collage of Health Science implement a classification system that will enhance effective assess of resource materials for students in this particular faculty. It is important to note that some systems of classification may actually be more appropriate for aiding assess of subject materials as opposed to shelf location. In order to adopt classification criteria that will comprehensively address the concepts of synthesis as applied in the field of Health Sciences, it is vital to make an introspective analysis of the Dewey Decimal Classification Scheme and the Universal Decimal Classification Scheme with an aim of adopting a library system that is more suitable. The aim of this report is to facilitate the implementation of a library classification system that will enhance attainment of the basic requirements of a modern Health science library in terms of user expectations and subject coverage. Scope of the Report The scope of the presentation will basically focus on providing an assessment that is balanced through evaluating the relative merits of the UDC and the DDC classification schemes. Through utilization of principles of bibliographic classifications a balanced analysis will be formulated to make recommendations of the most suitable criteria to be adopted in the new library. The report selected scheme should be able to provide both practical and theoretical considerations in the Health Science field. Analysis of the Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) The UDS classification scheme can be attributed as a criterion that is effective and highly flexible. It has extensively been developed and revised since its initial publication in 1907. The invention of the UDC Abridge edition of 2003 can be acknowledged as an edition of the UDC that is much more simplified. It comprises of roughly 4,100 divisions and incorporates the main alterations made on the system since 1999 (UDC consortium 2007). The structure of the Ambridge scheme can basically be suitable in the health science field due to various factors which form the basis of concept analysis in this particular field. The Abridge edition of UDS substituted the pocket edition and subsequently the material in the official data base was shortened using the Master Reference File. The criteria puts into consideration the official amends made in any particular field. Concepts in the Health science field can be suited to the UDC classification criteria. This due to the fact the department is basically committed to enhancing research which is interdisciplinary in the life sciences section. This particular attributes of health sciences will require a library system that is able to incorporate new developments and discoveries in the field. The scope of human knowledge can be well articulated in the UDC system and furthermore information can be treated as a whole unit in balanced criteria. UDC has undergone modification over the year which is suitable for accommodation of information in the health science discipline. The UDC arrangement is founded on the system of decimals whereby each number is perceived as a decimal fraction. The original point is omitted and therefore determining the order of filing, basically for the purpose of easing of reading. UDC is frequently punctuated after each third digit. For example the digit 612 which represents the Health Sciences category can be subdivided into 61 2.1 to 61 2.9; under 61 2.1 comes each of the subdivisions before 611.2 is recorded. An advantage the UDC system is that it is basically infinitely extensible, and furthermore when various new subdivisions are initiated or introduce, they do not disturb the numbers in the existing allocations. This therefore implies that the UDS system is efficient in showing relationship between subjects which would be useful in showing relationship of concepts in the health science field for better understanding of concepts (UDC consortium 2007). Organization of information in the UDC system is quite effective. Retrieving information from an overwhelming volume of material that may to be irrelevant can be quite simplified. A variety of aids that can facilitate this particular activity for instance   the integration of search engines from the website such as Google and other in form of either electronic or print (catalogues directories and bibliographies). The system also is very effective in assessing relevant information through provision of questions which direct an individual when trying to assess the information they require. The field of health science basically requires such mechanisms to facilitate easy access of the information concerning human health. (UDC consortium 2007). The human health department focuses on the public health tradition which is reflected on concepts of the epidemiological model, which involves aspects such as (environment, host and agent). The focus of the public health field is disease prevention. The concept of illness has for instance has been integrated into the aspect of health, and therefore by using aggregate methods of study it is possible to achieve synthesis of the two bodies. The UDC system can also be accessed through the table system, there are two kinds of table systems; the main table which gives an outline of various fields and he auxiliary tables which consists of signs like (colons, stroke and the plus). The signs use two or more numbers for the purpose of giving the relationship of two or more concepts in a particular field. The use of the auxiliary tables in this particular classification system would therefore be useful in linkage of concepts in the health science field for example linking illness to the concept of health (UDC consortium 2007). The most influential and innovative feature of the UDC is its ability to communicate not just easy topics but relationship that exists between the topics. This facility uses the aspect of originality which is basically aimed at organizing documentation in terms of everything that has ever been written about a certain subject. This particular characteristic of the UDC system is useful for the health science study which basically requires integration of all past knowledge and new discoveries in order to introspectively understand the background of the concepts. For example information concerning diseases such as malnutrition in children can be well analyzed using past documentation containing the history of the condition. The major strength of the UDC system is that it preserves the logical structure of information and works equally fine whether it is utilized only at the applied level or at the Abridge level. It is further useful in organizing all types of objects such as information resources, files, books and objects. The system can also classify motion picture when categorized using the subject criteria. In fact the UDC system can be perceived as an index of exploiting any information in a particular field. These are therefore necessary benefits to the health science field (UDC consortium 2007). The UDC can also be linked to internet services which are vividly compatible to key internet services being developed in the UK currently. Problems associated to the UDC System One of the weaknesses linked to the UDC scheme is the aspect of integration of new knowledge, knowledge continues to be redefined this develops a problem to the UDC system because of constant revisions of the scheme which is actually a tasking activity. However the UDC Consortium has tried to tackle the problem with revisions that are performed on contractual basis Another setback of the system is that many institutional libraries mainly use the simplified version of the scheme, which may to some extent not be very beneficial to the health science library (Bowman 2005). Another major weakness of the UDC system is that it does not adequately cater for some subject areas .NISS gave suggestions that the UDC is mostly weak in fields such as Health Sciences and Medicine. Other suggestions concerning the problems linked to the UDC system is that it is actually difficult to use. Three services (OMNI, BUBL and BIZ/ED) highlighted that using the UDC system is actually complex. OMNI discovered that the UDC system is complicated during classification due to the fact that it requires the development of classification codes that are composite for the purpose of expressing complex subjects. NISS on the other hand highlighted that the use of decimal notation for classification does not actually give a reflection of the subject hierarchy (Langridge 2002). Weakness is also depicted from the internet section due to the aspect of complexity of adoption of new knowledge. Dewey decimal classification (DDC) The (DDC) system of classification has experienced continuous evolution since its initial development. Dewey basically works the way the online services work or in other terms by book. The use of the Dewey classification system in the Health Science Library can be linked to some of its positive characteristics such as the system keeps pace with the manner in which people work. The DDC system can be used in several formats that are convenient. The print edition in four-volume has thousands of added updates to the system which has been performed over the past seven years. The 14th edition of Abridged Edition is also available online and in print. Whether one chooses the electronic or the print format, the DDC system makes it much easier for to organize the library collections. The print version is still dominantly popular, many modern libraries usually want both the online version and the print The WedDewey provides the advantage of accessing information online and additional it offers updates that are regular through out the year. The online version of the WebDewey uses standard browsers, which offers unlimited access to the 22 DDC data bases (Hunter & Bakewell 1991). The structure of DDC is formulated using number building machines. The numbers that are built represent categories that are not distinctively named in the schedule. The classification is using listed topics according to the Dewey criteria. The advantage of this particular classification is that the numbers are built in a manner in which complex topics can be integrated in the DDC account system. The DDC system can therefore be useful in the development of the health science library. The system can facilitate the integration of complex concepts in the health science field. The DDC system also facilitates getting current information. Changes included in the library of congress, built numbers and index terms. The system can facilitate simplification of the work flow. It is less time consuming and eliminates repetitive tasks when trying to trace information. (Bowman 2005). The DDC system can also be used in several formats that are convenient. The print edition in four-volume has thousands of added updates to the system which has been performed over the past seven years. The 14th edition of Abridged Edition is also available online and in print. Whether one chooses the electronic or the print format, the DDC system makes it much easier for to organize the library collections. Problems associated to the DDC System One of the problems associated to DDC system is that the classification experiences difficulty in terms of adapting to continued changes that happen in various fields. This is because the system coveys only certain contents in a particular field. Furthermore the DDC classification is frequently not specific enough due to the type of numerical used in categorizing resource materials. Developing cataloging numbers is also an aspect that is time consuming (Hunter & Bakewell 1991). Recommendations Library classification schemes are essential for formulation of an effective library classification system. The two systems the UDC and the DDC have been used over time to classify materials. For instance the DDC system can be viewed as more useful for the Health sciences library. This is because of the innovative feature of its ability to communicate not just easy topics but relationship that exists between the topics. The DDC on the other hand is flexible and available in different formulas. These schemes are basically compared in terms of the various general characteristics that exist between them. The best recommendation for the classification of the Health science library is the utilization of adoption of the UDC classification system. I believe that the main aim of a library is to effectively serve the users. UDC generally has more weight in terms of being user friendly. The DDC on the other hand has good user characteristic such as well structured web access however the UDC system deploys more benefits to users as indicated by the report (Langridge 2002). Conclusion The collage of Health science should adopt the UDC classification system which would be much more efficient, as opposed to the DDC Classification system. Bibliography Bowman .J, 2005, Essential Dewey, Facet Publishing, London. Hunter, E & Bakewell, K. 1991.Cataloguing, Clive Bingley, London. Langridge, D, 2002, Subject Analysis: Principle and Procedures, Bowker, London McIwaine, I, 2007, Guide to the use of UDC (FID 703). 2ND edition. The Hague: UDC consortium. Read More