Faceted Classification and logical division in information retrieval

Abstract

The main object of the paper is to demonstrate in detail the role of
\nclassification in information retrieval (IR) and the design of classificatory
\nstructures by the application of logical division to all forms of the content
\nof records, subject and imaginative. The natural product of such division
\nis a faceted classification. The latter is seen not as a particular kind of library
\nclassification but the only viable form enabling the locating and relating
\nof information to be optimally predictable. A detailed exposition of
\nthe practical steps in facet analysis is given, drawing on the experience of
\nthe new Bliss Classification (BC2). The continued existence of the library
\nas a highly organized information store is assumed. But, it is argued, it must
\nacknowledge the relevance of the revolution in library classification that has
\ntaken place. It considers also how alphabetically arranged subject indexes
\nmay utilize controlled use of categorical (generically inclusive) and syntactic
\nrelations to produce similarly predictable locating and relating systems
\nfor IR.