How are current world events or new discoveries included in classification schemes?

Question

When a new event happens in the world (like an outbreak of war) or a new discovery is found, how do the classification schemes absorb them? How long does it take for a new numbers to be assigned? Who determines that a new classification number is needed for a event or discovery?

Answer 1

Most controlled vocabularies (classification schemes included) run on the principle of "literary warrant" -- that is, you have to have something in hand that begs for a new vocabulary term before you can actually ask for or create one.

So in theory, your war outbreak would work like this:

• War starts.
• Someone writes or films something about the war.
• The writing or film (or whatever; it could be anything catalogable) is acquired by a library.
• That library's cataloger looks at the item and says "Drat! There's no place in the classification scheme for this!"
• The cataloger assigns it a temporary best-guess number, writes up a proposal for new number, and sends the proposal off to the authorities (per Mary Jo Finch's answer), citing the item in hand as literary warrant.
• The authorities decide what to do. (They may well decide "nope; use this existing number instead.") If they decide a new number is warranted, they decide where it goes and send out the news (again, see Mary Jo Finch's links for how the news gets out).

In practice, I wouldn't be surprised if the authorities occasionally jump the gun (er, so to speak). A war is pretty clearly going to get a new term, so why wait?

Answer 2

Just as LOC added new classification for the "War on Terror" and other Wars, they would do the same for your proposed situation. There are committees that decide the classification numbers for new topics.

Library of Congress was developed to easily accept new topics. Dewey (DDC) is much too rigid to properly add in new topics (it is done, obviously, but in a much more awkward way - like longer decimals).

Answer 3

While the DDC is indeed a rigid classification system, there are parts of the DDC that are currently unassigned that could be used for such new discoveries. Whether Melvil himself did that, well, I doubt it. Either way, those at the LC and OCLC have designated room to place new things if and when they're discovered.

As for LCSH and Deweyless classification schemes, that's much easier. They can just add a new subject heading and call it something that makes sense. Since most Deweyless classification schemes are based off BISAC, then the publishers would get together, add a new heading like "SCIENCE - LIFE SCIENCE - EUROPAEAN" and call it a day. I'm sure the LC would do something similar, but there'd be some kind of committee meeting, debate over the name of the heading, and a final vote.

Answer 4

OCLC owns the Dewey Decimal system and is continually updating it: http://www.oclc.org/dewey/updates/default.htm

The Library of Congress's Cataloging Policy and Support Office maintains and updates its classification system. It is updated weekly. http://www.loc.gov/aba/cataloging/classification/weeklylists/