Library Classification and Browsing

Presents a detailed description of the various 'meeting points' between reader and material; traces the historical and technological developments that provide the background for the 'meeting'; and explores the factors that influenced both the physical form and the informational content of documents. Concepts of library material classification are reviewed from the libraries of antiquity to those of the 1990s. The main focus is on the important role played by browsing, a common information-seeking behaviour of library and information centre users. This book sheds light on the most common of human behavior patterns, and is intended for students, researchers and practitioners in the field of Library and Information Science. The book includes chapters on: Technology and the Theoretical Concepts of Knowledge Organization; Shelf Arrangement; Access to Shelves; Concepts of Browsing; and Browsing as an Information Retrieval Tool.