Reclassification in Academic Research Libraries: Is It Still Relevant in an E-Book World?

Abstract

This article examines whether academic libraries are still reclassifying materials, how they are doing so, and if the acquisition of electronic materials has an impact on reclassification efforts. An online survey was sent to the heads of cataloging units at libraries belonging to the Association of Research Libraries to answer these questions. Almost one-third of libraries are currently involved in reclassification projects. Most respondents reported they do not believe that purchasing e-books has affected their decisions about reclassification. The article also examines the faceted search capability of next-generation catalogs and their possible impact on patrons' use of classification.

Reclassification for the Chinese Theological Collection

“…Since the rise of LCC in the mid-1950s, many academic libraries made the switch from DDC to LCC and have reclassified their collections (Steele and Foote 2011). Reclassification was much discussed in the professional literature during the mid-1950s through 1970s, and the focus usually was on the choice between Dewey and Library of Congress (Steele and Foote 2011).…”

“…The class number of electronic resources were not used for physical location, but it was used for other purposes, such as virtual browsing or collection development and maintenance (Bothmann 2004). Classification and reclassification are still relevant in the digital environment even in a mobile world (Steele and Foote 2011). If we chose to use DDC, the librarian will reclassify e-resources from LCC to DDC for resource management; as a result, it would increase the staff time for cataloguing and resource management.…”