Sunil: Library Science being classified at 000/Generalities is right (of course all classifications are arbitrary to a certain extent, however it is a necessary evil, so we need to slot very subject under one class or the other). 1. It is the most logical slot to have LIS under generalities. Ranganathan also chose to have LIS under Generalities. It follows the principle of natural order. Each classification system follows one or the other principle of arrangement of classes. 2. You might be aware that Dewey was influenced by - Francis Bacon's The Advancement of Learning. The three main branches of knowledge based on the three faculties are: "Memory"/History, "Reason"/Philosophy, and "Imagination"/Poetry. That is how Dewy derived his classes and their sequence ( Inverted Baconian order) 3. LIS is a " general" discipline that has relevance to and deals with all other disciplines ( as you said for the society etc that way all subjects including Technology are for the society, by the society, of the society only 4. Librarians are generalists. other domain experts are specialists. 5. In fact, in DDC Computer Science, Knowledge and Systems are also under 000- generalities (000)(which is correct according to me) 6. If you slot it under 300 - Social Sciences, then it becomes one of the social sciences and we lose our scope in a way. 7. You can also argue that LIS could go with Management Science, which is part of Applied Science (as it is the management of a particular type of an organization.) 8. Library Science being classed under Social Sciences in universities is not necessarily a universal phenomenon . For example, in the University of Mysore (we have proactively pursued and got it) is under the faculty of Science and Technology. Our reasoning to have it under S & T was more pragmatic than ideological. Psychology for example till recently was a social science and now it is under S & T. 9. The classification followed in education system is again, since we do not have a " generalities' class and we only have " Science and Technology; "Social Sciences and Humanities "; " commerce"; "Law" etc as faculties 10. Libraries are very closely associated with education ( learning actually) that is why they should be under generalities and before the other subjects/disciplines . Well, I could go on and on .but then I will stop here. Shalini Dr. Shalini R.Urs Executive Director and Professor International School of Information Management University of Mysore Mysore - 570006 Phone : + 91 821 2514699 Fax : + 91 821 2519209 www.isim.ac.in ISiM - Management School of IT. Technology School for IM
Dear Friends,
One of my friends, Mr. Deepak who is a library science student is having a basic question regarding classification.
We all know library science is classified under 000 (Generalities) in DDC. But,.....
1) the primary character of library is collecting and organizing of knowledge, which has come out of the society and flows again to wellness of the society.
- Knowledge â from the people â by the people â to the people! - Children libraries, libraries for blind, etc., are essentially a social activity in nature. - Coming to public libraries, they are always seen as part of social development programs. - Encyclopedia Britannica has listed library science as associate of Social Science. - Ph. Dâs in library science are awarded under social science branch.
2) Right from the time of Nalanda University, library is wedded with education system. Although there are special libraries associated with technical organizations, even there, major role of libraries is to support research (otherwise education) activities.
With above points in view, my question is why library science is not classified under Social science-300
Please enlighten me with your discussion and valuable points.
With sincere regards, -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Please consider your environmental responsibility before printing this e-mail* Sunil M.V. Librarian SDM Institute for Management Development No. 1, Chamundi Hill Main Road Siddharthanagar Post Mysore - 570 011 KARNATAKA
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