CHOICE OF SCHEME FOR CLASSIFICATION - Indian Statistical ...

Herbert Spencer arrived at the sequence: Logic, Mathematics, Mechanics, Physics,
Chemistry, Astronomy, Geology, Psychology, and Sociology (78). These Serial Systems
concerned themselves with pure disciplines only. However, they show the new trend in
the consensus of scientists. About the same time, Ampere recommended the interpolation
of each applied science next to the pure discipline on the use of which it was believed to
be essentially dependent (1).
2.5.1 Sequence of Main Subjects in CC
CC divides the Universe of Subjects into three major groups arranged as follows:
1 Natural Sciences and their applications;
2 Humanities; and
3 Social Sciences and their applications.
In the first group, the progression of the pure discipline consists of Mathematics,
Physics, Chemistry, Geology, Botany, and Zoology. This is a progression from the
abstract to the concrete. These are described as forming successive "Levels of
Integration" (15). After each pure discipline, is inserted an applied subject mainly
depending on it Thus, Engineering after Physics; Technology after Chemistry; Mining
after Geology; Agriculture after Botany; Animal Husbandry and Medicine after Zoology;
and the residual applications of sciences after Medicine. In the subjects in the two groups
Humanities and Social Sciences taken together, the progression is from the natural to the
artificial. Fine Arts and Literature are the most natural. Law is the most artificial (45, 67).
There is also some attempt to bring the pure disciplines of these groups and their
applications in juxtaposition. Social Service after Sociology is an example. Political
Science and History are in the same relation though they come in the inverted sequence.
The reason for this inversion is that Political Science was evolved as a discipline
comparatively later than the other pure disciplines. The interval was much greater than
that in the Natural Sciences. The juxtaposition of Psychology and Education may be
taken as an example. Thus the sequence of the Main Subjects in CC conforms to the
current consensus among the scholars and the scientists.
2.6 Not Wholly Important
In any Scheme for Classification the sequence of the Main Subjects is not
however very important. In the first place each Main Subject will have thousands of
books on it forming a single block. Whatever be the sequence of the Main Subjects in the
Scheme, these blocks will usually be arranged in a different sequence, in order to satisfy
Law 4 of Library Science - Save the Time of the Reader. For example, in a Generalist
Library, Literature is the most popular. Therefore, it saves the time of the majority of
readers if this block of books is inserted first. Linguistics has only very low priority in the
attraction of readers. On the other hand, a subject like History or Economics or
Philosophy will attract more readers. Therefore, to satisfy Law 4 of Library Science,
these blocks may have to be inserted between the Literature block and the Linguistics
block. In other words, a library will have to adopt only a "Broken Sequence" of the Main