Recounts the development of a slide storage and retrieval system at the Philip Morris Research Center in Richmond, Virginia and describes the methods used to classify and access slides in the collection. A reference list and three appendices accompany the text. (JL)

Almost all disciplines make extensive use of the resources provided by slide libraries and picture collections. Growing demands for pictorial material have stimulated a concern for making slide and picture collections more useful and more usable by better physical arrangement and more thorough indexing. The system provides a classification scheme…

This paper traces the development of classification at the Library of Congress in terms of its broader context and by accounting for changes in the present system since its initial period of creation between 1898 and 1910 and the present. Topics covered include: (1) Early Growth of the Collections; (2) Subject Access During the Early Years; (3) A.…

Outlines the kinds of contributions picture postcards can make to library or museum materials, particularly to historical files as documentation of certain aspects of history. Various methods for putting collections of cards in order are described, from general policies concerning use and disposal, to sorting, indexing, and housing. (Author)

Suggests that libraries abandon full cataloging in favor of indexing, using the information provided by micropublishers. While a national index to the contents of microforms would be best, an alternative for local libraries would be to create their own COM (computer output microfilm) index. Twenty references are included. (Author/RAA)

The complexity explosion has led to ever-increasing difficulties in subject specification, especially in the use of notation in classified arrangement. Two recent developments, the use of Dewey Classification 18 and the Preserved Context Indexing System (PRECIS) in the British National Bibliography, form a substantial contribution towards a…

This discussion of the nature of classification schemes and their functions focuses on the differing classification systems of North American and European-type libraries. The functions are bibliothecal, bibliographical, and cognitive. The bibliothecal function concerns the physical location of items within a library (e.g., the Dewey Decimal and…

A CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE RECORDINGS, DEVISED FOR USE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX, IS DESCRIBED IN THIS ARTICLE. CODING AND CROSS-REFERENCE SYSTEMS FOR THE VARIOUS CATEGORIES OF TAPES ARE OUTLINED, AND SPECIFIC EXAMPLES ARE INCLUDED. APPENDED IS A LIST OF TAPE REFERENCE CODES. THE SYSTEM OUTLINED IS NOT CONSIDERED IDEAL, BUT IT…

Explores how theories of Afrocentricity can affect the arrangement of knowledge and the dissemination of information in libraries. Various aspects of cataloging are discussed, including controlled vocabularies, computer applications, and classification schemes; historical collections are reviewed; and examples of problems with Library of Congress…

Using decision points from Esther Piercy's "Commonsense Cataloging" as a framework for analysis, this paper compares the opinions of experts on cataloging, classification, and shelf arrangement of audiovisual materials in school libraries, public libraries, and media centers with actual practices in four school and community libraries in…

Investigates techniques for automatic classification of book material focusing on: computer-based surrogation of monographic material, book surrogate clustering on basis of content association, evaluation of resultant classifications. Test collection (250 books) is described with surrogation by means of back-of-the-book index, table of contents,…

Review of the 1991 literature on subject access in online systems discusses users and subject searching; subject access in online catalogs, including improvement of the database, search processing, the user interface, and user understanding; subject cataloging and indexing; information retrieval; thesaurus and indexing approaches; classification;…

This paper examines the use of the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system at the U. S. Conn Library at Wayne State College (WSC) in Nebraska. Several developments in the last 20 years which have eliminated the trend toward reclassification of academic library collections from DDC to the Library of Congress (LC) classification scheme are…

Describes and evaluates several fiction classification systems from the perspective of how well they answer likely reader queries regarding subjects of novels, and their utility for browsing. The usefulness of subject headings for card catalogs and print and online indexes to enhance topical access to fiction is discussed. (Author/MBR)

Historically, bibliographical classification and indexing systems have concentrated on textually-based materials. More recently, archives and libraries have realized a pressing need to provide access to visual documents. An institution like the Ohio Historical Society must consider many different tools of access to achieve this goal. The growth of…