The Development of Classification in America

Abstract

The story of the development of classification from Aristotle to Ranganathan has been told so often that, as I worked on this paper, I found myself wondering what I could possibly contribute to the subject. In our planning sessions the committee had agreed that it was desirable to provide some kind of a summary of classification practices before we attempted to analyze the conditions which exist today and to divine what the future holds. Even so, as I stand before you this morning, I find myself wondering if we might not have done better to omit the history and begin with the stimulating and provocative talk which will follow this introductory speech. But to fulfill our program I shall talk briefly on the development of book classification in American libraries. In theory I should cover the period from colonial times to the present, and I shall touch on some of the earlier attempts at classification, but my emphasis will fall on the last half of the nineteenth century, that period in American library history when many things were happening.