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Shera And The Three Treasures [key Serial Number]l



During this period, the facet formula was rigid and predetermined. The colon was the only connecting symbol for all the facets. That is, until the fourth edition (Ranganathan 1952) the only connecting symbol was the colon; even the absent facets had to be indicated by dummy colons, e.g., 2::::N for "libraries in twentieth century". Here the first three colons indicate the absence of matter, energy and space facets, the last colon is the connecting symbol for the time facet, i.e., "twentieth century". This made the class numbers unwieldy and even slippery. An inadvertent extra colon could land the book in an alien place, thus misplacing it. Some adversaries made fun of the cluttering of colons.




Shera And The Three Treasures [key Serial Number]l




This period was devoted to the close study of the properties and structure of the universe of subjects. The matter category was split into three sub-categories: Matter-Property, Matter-Method and Matter-Material. Discovery of new common isolates, the concept of speciators to further differentiate a facet into species, and the development of highly hospitable sector notation and devices for improvising class numbers made CC more flexible. This led Ranganathan to declare it as a freely-faceted analytico-synthetic scheme, which is a sort of a self-perpetuating system. A self-perpetuating system is one that needs least revision, and which allows forging of new isolates as needed with the help of inbuilt devices. The new version has a virtually infinite capacity to incorporate new subjects at their proper places with the help of hospitality devices for the creation of new isolate numbers. However, even though CC is a truly postulate-based analytico-synthetic classification, and a highly faceted classification, history has proved that no classification can be self-perpetuating. The theory or concept of a self-perpetuating KO system is flawed.


The CC presumes the entire body of knowledge woven into a system, and considers there to be an evolutionary unity in it. All knowledge is one, Ranganathan learnt from the Vedas (1700-500 BCE). The structure that ultimately emerges from CC is both traditional and revolutionary at once. But in the end it is not Vedic or Eastern in its appearance or working. The fact that Ranganathan recognizes and uses the existence of time-honored main and canonical classes, makes his scheme look steeped in the Western disciplinary tradition going back to Francis Bacon (1561-1626). Ranganathan identified three types of subjects in the universe of knowledge: basic, compound and complex, analogous to chemical substances. Basic subjects are unitary subjects, such as physics, thermodynamics, economics, Marxian economics, Homeopathy medicine, music, law, and library science. Compound subjects are basic subjects with subdivisions or additional facets, e.g., velocity of light, transport economics, guitar music, law of marriage, and libraries in India. Compound subjects of varying degree are virtually infinite in number. Complex subjects are mostly interdisciplinary in nature, e.g., mathematics for engineers, geophysics, medical geography, or comparative physiology. Ranganathan postulated that every subject, be it of any type or level, has a basic subject that forms the first, or the base, facet in constructing a class number. CC further divides basic subjects into:


A complex subject is a two-phased subject depicting mostly interdisciplinary relations. Six types of phase relations have been identified:TypeIndicator digitsExampleClass numberGeneralaRelation of political science with historyV&aWBiasbPsychology for doctorsS&bLComparisoncPhysics compared with chemistryC&cEDifferencedDifference between Christianity and IslamQ,6&d7TooleMathematical physicsC&eBInfluencinggInfluence of Mahatma Gandhi on John Lennon NR,56,NwN40&gzGThese relations can occur at three levels, namely: between two main classes for interdisciplinary subjects (e.g., Phase relation: chemistry and physics); between two foci of the same facet (e.g., Intra-facet relation: Islam and Judaism); and between two isolates of the same array within a facet (Intra-array relation: Catholics and Protestants). Therefore, there are 6 x 3 = 18 such relations in all. The number of relations does not seem comprehensive, but it should be noted that phase relations supplement other relationships depicted through PMEST, citation order, hierarchy, and helpful-sequence principles (Satija 2001). The general phase relation comprehends any relationship not expressed through the other five, while other relations are obvious. Definitive rules for primary and secondary phases and constructing their class numbers ensure the expression of the relationships in a mathematically precise and consistent way (Ranganathan 1987, 33). Ampersand & is the indicator symbol for phase relation, while each of 18 relations has its own indicator symbol a/y.


Analysis is followed by synthesis of facets in an analytico-synthetic classification. For any document, first of all subject per se is to be separated from common isolates denoted by Roman lower case, and added after the subject facets with their own indicator symbols. These are the two types: anteriorising and posteriorising.Anteriorising Common Isolates (ACIs) denote forms of documents, e.g.,a bibliographyk encyclopediam periodicalr administration reports statisticst commission reportx collected worksThese are added with a connecting symbol (indicator) double inverted comma ” and documents fitted with ACI file anterior to core documents. Posteriorising Common Isolates (PCIs) which denote associations, centers, critical studies, are further instances of three types: Personality, Matter-Property, and Energy.b14 calculationaTc critical studyt educational/research institutions or learned societiesThese are added with their respective indicator symbols of comma, semicolon, and colon respectively, and take the document to a backward position:2;5'P”a Bibliography of twenty-first century library classification2;5”k1,P1 ISKO Encyclopedia of knowledge organization (IEKO)2;5.1,g,N9 International Society for Knowledge Organization (ISKO)2.73,g,M7 American Library Association (ALA)2.73,g,M7,1;3 Functions of the President of the ALA2,J1*Z.73:aT Assessment of U.S. academic librariesE*Z:aR Research in chemical sciencesY;aa Theories of sociologyClass numbers look like lengthy algebraic equations, or even unwieldy and surrealistic. Savor a few: 2ff7e9595c


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