Classification one hundred years after Dewey

Abstract

The Decimai Classification devised by Dewey hundred years ago is, in spite of all its deficiencies, more viable in our days than ever before. Its success can be attributed mainly to its simplicity, practicality and its revision mechanism. Its survival - similarly to that of its developed version, the Universal Decimai Classification (UDC) — may be accounted for its possibility of continuous updating and development. Both DDC and UDC are used to a larger or smaller extent in nearly all countries of the world.
Naturally, somé other encyclopedic classification systems have also been developed beside the DDC an UDC, for example the LCC (Library of Congress Classification) originally serving for the shelving of books in the collection of the Library of Congress. The LCC has been applied in several European countries. Another example is the not so widely applied classification system of the Lenin Library in Moscow, the BBK (Bibliograficeskaja i Bibhotecnaja Klassífikacija). Attempts were made in several countries to introduce a national classification system, among them mention should be made of the Colon Classification (CC) of Ranganathan and of the Bibliographic Classification (BBC) of Bbss. Numerous specialized information systems exist (e. g. in medicine, physks, agriculture, etc.) which are used both on national and international level, but the new trend of thesauri begins to replace them.