SOC 335: Nowheres: How libraries are organized

Williams Libraries Organization

The Williams library uses the Library of Congress to organize the general collections in Sawyer and Schow.  The Library of Congress comprises of the following elements: 

• Call Numbers  (Library of Congress Classification Outline) 
  • act as an individual identifier and is a way to shelve the books in the library 
  • provide a subject-based organization (materials with similar subject have a similar call #) 
  • Guide:  Finding materials in the library
     
• Subject Headings (Library of Congress Subject Headings - LCSH)
  • are descriptive phrases assigned to library materials 
  • enable to search for similar/related items 

 Library of Congress cataloging practices:

• Subject Headings Manual
  • Establishing certain entities in the name or subject authority file (H405) 
  • Formulating Geographic Headings (H690)
  • US Board of Geographic Names
  • PCC: Program for Cooperative Cataloging
    • Name Authority Cooperative (NACO) - FAQ on establishing geographic names
    • Subject Authority Cooperative (SACO) - FAQ on Subject Headings Proposals

The Library of Congress and Dewey Decimal classifications are universal classification schemes. These are used widely throughout the world. [Countries that use the Dewey Decimal System]. 

Beyond the universal schemes, there are also National Classification Schemes and Specialized (specific themes) based on type of materials or particular subjects. List of classifications: Source codes for vocabularies, rules and schemes 

Examples from Worldcat:

• Becoming Somaliland
  • International Thesaurus of Refugee Terminology (ITRT)
  • Répertoire de vedettes-mattière
  • Peace Palace thesaurus
• The Horn of Africa: state politics and international relations
  • African Studies thesaurus
  • ECLAS thesaurus
  • Gemeinsame Normdatei
  • GOO-trefwoorden thesaurus
  • Peace Palace thesaurus
  • RAMEAU: répertoire d'authorité de matières encyclopédique unifié
• The Soviet Union in the Horn of Africa: the diplomacy of intervention and disengagement
  • Gemeinsame Normdatei
  • GOO-trefwoorden thesaurus
  • RAMEAU: répertoire d'authorité de matières encyclopédique unifié
  • National Library of Israel Authority File
  • Schlagwortnormdatei
• The Horn of Africa : intra-state and inter-state conflicts and security
  • BISAC Subject Headings 
  • RAMEAU: répertoire d'authorité de matières encyclopédique unifié

To counter the hegemony of the Library of Congress Classification System, libraries are developing new methods of organizing their collections and looking at international coordination options

• Indigenous Knowledge Organization at the University of British Columbia Vancouver
  • Indigenous Knowledge Organization 
  • Feature article from Yes magazine 
• Gender related classifications
  • Homosaurus (International LGBTQ+ linked data vocabulary) 
  • Classification at the Out On The Shelves Library (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Two-Spirit, Queer, Intersex, Aromantic/Asexual (LGBT2QIA+) in Vancouver) 
• Virtual International Authority File

"Rule 4: Every person on the planet must be a citizen of at least one country" Joshua Keating. Invisible Countries. 

Change the Subject (2019) is a 54-minute documentary film about a group of Dartmouth students who challenged anti-immigrant language in the Library of Congress subject headings. 

• Information about the documentary 
• The story of the film and the status of the request
• Example of updated record in Williams library catalog (with added subject Undocumented Immigrant)  
• Watch the film!