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Sarah Graham
MLIS 7355
Individual Exploration Project
December 9, 2009
The Biography Classification Conundrum
Biographies, a genre which includes autobiographies, memoirs, diaries, and letters, are
the second most circulated items, behind fiction, in library collections that cater to leisure
reading (Spiller, 1988). Biography serves a dual function in the library because it is read by
general audiences for pleasure and used by researchers to study prominent people, their fields of
interest, and time periods. Because of this dual function, arrangement of these materials is a
challenge and stirs continual debate amongst librarians; should they be shelved in their own
section and arranged according to subject or should they be shelved in the nonfiction section and
arranged according to the formal classification schedule used by the library? This paper seeks to
explore how Library of Congress and Dewey Decimal Classifications arrange biographies, why
these classification schedules are problematic for biographical works, how the non-fictional
ambiguity inherent in biographical works complicates their classification, and how libraries can
employ alternative classification techniques to create greater access to biographical works in
their collections.
The Library of Congress Classification schedule was developed to address the unique
needs of the Library of Congress collection and has since been adopted for used by large
academic and research libraries around the globe as well as some large public libraries.
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According to Chan (2007) the primary reasons for the popularity of Library of Congress
Classification among these institutions are “the basic orientation of LLC toward research
libraries, the economic advantage offered by LC cataloging services…, and the increasing ease
with which many libraries can bring up full MARC records online and add them to their own
catalog databases” (p. 375). Classifying works require the identification of the subject content
and principle concepts represented in a work and then the use of provisions of the classification
schedule to accurately and precisely describe the work. The Library of Congress Classification
schedule is divided into main classes, which represent major academic disciplines and are further
divided into subclasses, both of which are presented alphabetically. These subclasses are further
subdivided into numerically represented divisions, thus resulting in an alphanumeric call
number. While subclass CT is the class for biographies, it only applies to general biographies
whose subject is not associated with a specific topic or career since in Library of Congress
Classification biographies are classified with the topic most associated with the life’s work of the
subject (Oregon State, 2007). The LLC contains a table of general application which allows for
the addition of Cutter numbers throughout the schedule to represent works of biography, thus,
alphabetical classes are assigned to the broad topic of the work, a numeric division is added to
represent a biography associated with the broad topic, and then Cutter numbers are added to
represent the subject and the author of the work (Chan, 2007 & LLC Outline). This application
of Cutter numbers causes biographies to be scattered throughout the schedule, rather than
concentrated in the class CT as one would expect.
.x
Cutter number for individual
.xA2
Collected works, by date of imprint. (If entry is open, use the earliest imprint date.)
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.xA25
Selected works, by date of imprint. (If entry is open, use the earliest imprint date.)
.xA3-39
Autobiography, diaries, etc.
.xA4
Letters, by date of imprint
.xA41-49
Letters to an individual, by correspondent (A-Z)
.xA5-59
Speeches, etc.
.xA6-Z
Biography and criticism
Figure 1. Library of Congress Biography Table
For example, the Library of Congress call number for Heartbreak: The Political Memoir
of a Feminist Militant by Andrea Dworkin is HQ1413.D89 A3 20021. The main class H is
assigned for the Social Sciences and the subclass HQ for the family, marriage, and women is
assigned to this work because Dworkin is a feminist theorist and women’s rights activist. The
division 1413 is assigned to feminist biographies. D89 is the Cutter number assigned to the
biography subject, in this case Andrea Dworkin, and A3 2002, taken from the biography table in
Figure 1, notes that it is an autobiography published in 2002. The notation in the classification
schedule that signifies that this work is an autobiography comes at the end of the call number,
which means that this biography will be shelved with works about feminist activism, not with
other biographies. This classification may be helpful for researchers studying feminism, but not
for patrons browsing memoirs and other biographical works for leisure, which is why Library of
Congress Classification is most often used in large research and academic libraries since it can
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Library of Congress catalog: http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&BBID=12488428&v3=1
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more appropriately cater to the needs of their service populations; however, this classification
creates access problems for biographies in public libraries that use LLC.
The Dewey Decimal Classification is a strictly numeric classification schema that also
organizes material by discipline, much like the Library of Congress, but it only contains ten
classes categorized by field of study. These classes are then subdivided into ten divisions and
each division is divided into ten sections. Items are arranged by discipline, then subject at
various levels of subdivision, geography or period, and then by form. This reliance on class
division by ten and strict arrangement guidelines across classes makes Dewey Decimal
Classification a more predictable, but also more rigid classification schedule than the Library of
Congress. The DDC also incorporates mnemonics into the schedule by using the same numbers
for recurring subjects throughout the schedule. The predictability of this schema makes it better
suited to public and school library collections. Because DDC classifies items according to their
subject and then their format, call numbers consist of a class number, which reflects the main
content of the work, and the item number, which reflects the bibliographic characteristics of the
work (Chan, 2007, pg. 333). In Dewey Decimal Classification, the primary class for biographical
works is 920 for Biography and Genealogy. Within this class, biographies are further subdivided
by persons associated with specific subjects, biographies of heads of state, and biographies about
men and women. Like the Library of Congress, however, Dewey Decimal Classification does not
always classify biographical works in one location. Works in which the subject is associated with
a field of study are classed in that field and Cutter numbers and work marks are added to the call
number to distinguish autobiographies from biographies, arrange works about the same person
together, and then arrange according to main entry, which is usually the author’s surname.
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-9024
The standard subdivision for biographies of individuals
020. 92
Collective biography in library science
020.921
Individual biography in library science
326.92
Biographies of slaves (both individual and collective)
610.92
General and collected biography in medicine
610.923
Individual biography in medicine
780.92
Collected biography in music
780.923
Individual biography in music
791.43
Individual biography of filmstars, directors, etc.
940.919
Biography and illustrative material on European War
Figure 2. Sample of DDC-established call numbers for biography; adapted from University Library at
theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
For example, according to this item’s entry in Worldcat, the Dewey Decimal call number
for Heartbreak: The Political Memoir of a Feminist Militant is 305.42. The work is assigned to
class 300, which in Dewey Decimal Classification is for the social sciences and includes works
on sociology as well as social problems and services. 305.4 is the designated class for
interdisciplinary works about women, which is appropriate for Dworkin since she is a feminist
theorist and activist and 305.42 is devoted to feminist politics and the women’s movement. The
essential problem with this classification of this item is that it fails to notate the book’s
biographical nature. Additionally, in libraries using Dewey Decimal Classification, primarily
public libraries, this call number hinders access to the item for patrons who are browsing for
biographies since it classifies the work in the social sciences.
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The primary challenge with classifying biographical works using either the Library of
Congress or Dewey Decimal Classifications is that they break up the biography genre and scatter
works throughout the subject sequence. This is less of a problem in academic and research
libraries where the majority of patrons are using the library to conduct research on various topics,
but it hinders access for those patrons interested primarily in biographical works as they will
have to scour the entire schedule to locate works of interest. In Dewey Decimal Classification,
literary works are classed in the 800s, but due to the rigid hierarchical arrangement guidelines
that require works to be classified by form, works by the same author, but constituting a different
literary form, will be scattered across the class (OCLC, n.d.). For this reason, many libraries have
abandoned Dewey Decimal Classification guidelines for fictional works and instead organize
them alphabetically by genre. Since one of Ranganathan’s Five Laws of Library Science
instructs librarians to save the time of the reader, it would behoove librarians to construct
biography sections and classify these works similarly to fiction in libraries where biography is
highly circulated.
One very common suggestion for the treatment of biographies is to separate them from
the nonfiction section of the library, which is particularly useful for patrons who are seeking
biographical works for pleasure reading and wish to browse all biographical holdings at once as
it solves the problem caused by both the Library of Congress and Dewey Decimal Classifications
in which biographies are scattered throughout the library. In a poll taken by the Whakatane
District Libraries in New Zealand about how member libraries handled biographical works, it
was reported that some shelved them alphabetically by subject in a biography class, some
classified all biographies by subject in the traditional manner, some classified special classes at
the subject level and the rest in 920, some had special displays for new biographies and moved
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them to subject classification when no longer new, and some used a “Biography” spine label to
make finding biographies within subject sections more user-friendly (Spanake, 2007). The lack
of uniformity amongst libraries in this system underscores the controversy involved in providing
the best access to biographies, but also highlights the many options available to librarians
struggling with this issue.
The cited advantages for providing users with a separate biography section include:
providing enhanced browsing capability for the genre, providing higher visibility to more
obscure biographies, grouping biographies about the same person or family together, and
allowing reference staff to quickly locate biographies on broad topics, for example, “a woman
who influenced history” (Troxel, 2001). In reviewing how Georgia libraries are classifying
Heartbreak by Andrea Dworkin, I noticed that academic libraries using Library of Congress
Classification are classifying this work in the traditional manner with the social science subject
and adding the subject heading for feminist biography to the catalog record2. In reviewing the
catalog record for this work in the Uncle Remus Regional Library System, which uses Dewey
Decimal Classification, I noticed that of the two holdings, one library classed this work in a
biography section under the subjects surname and the other classed it in 920 for general
biographies, subclassing again by subject’s surname. Classing this work in the subject class
works well for academic libraries where scholars and students are likely researching a topic
within a field of study and the context for the inclusion of biographies in the collection is likely
for the impact or contribution individuals had in that field. In public library collections, grouping
biographies together creates better access for the higher population of biography readers. In the
2
Reviewed catalog record for University of Georgia, Emory University, and Georgia Institute of Technology via
Worldcat.org.
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case of the Uncle Remus Regional Library System, both approaches essentially group
biographies together, whether it be in a more recognizable biography section or the classic 920
class for general biographies since both subdivide by subject’s surname.
Another challenge in classifying biographical works is that they are not always strictly
nonfiction. For example, Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan by Edmund Morris, The Rebels’
Hour by Lieve Joris, and more recently A Million Little Pieces by James Frey, were all published
as nonfiction biographical works when in fact, they contained many fabricated characters and
events (Manley, 2000 & Reahl, 2008). When a reader selects a biographical work from the
nonfiction section of the library, they expect the work to actually be nonfiction and a major
criterion used by librarians in selecting nonfiction works is the accuracy of the information they
contain (Manley, 2000), a criterion upon which researchers and general readers trust and rely.
Due to this controversy, some publishers are taking a more careful eye to biographical
manuscripts while others suggest including a broad spectrum of subdivisions in the genre to
include “literary reportage” among other veiled attempts to disguise the disingenuousness of
pseudo-biographical works (Deahl, 2008), which would compromise the integrity of the
nonfiction section of the library. Manley (2000), in the amusingly titled Catalogers, Cast Off
Your Shackles, implores librarians to fight back with creative classification as they are the
readers’ last line of defense against literary deceit.
In order to address the possible factual ambiguity of biographical works and maintain the
trust of patrons, librarians have an obligation to review the accuracy of these publications and
either reclassify them to a different genre or add subject headings and scope notes to the catalog
records that more accurately define the work. In the case of Dutch, Manley (2000) goes so far as
to argue that it should be classified as a work of historical fiction and not biography. Of all the
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PINES member libraries, only one classes this work in fiction while all the others class it in
biography or nonfiction; however, there is a note in the MARC record stating that the work
contains “genuine and fictional characters”. Even though The Rebels’ Hour was originally
published as nonfiction, the Gwinnett County Public Library System classifies it in fiction, the
University of Georgia classes it in historical fiction, and both MARC records contain subject
headings for fiction. A Million Little Pieces, the most notorious pseudo-biographical work of
them all, is classed in nonfiction and biography in every PINES member library that owns the
first printing, but the MARC record contains a note field that states:
“In response to allegations published in The Smoking Gun Web site that the author had
fabricated many of the facts and experiences described in the book, later printings include
an insert in which the publisher states that ‘Memoir is a personal history whose aim is to
illuminate, by way of example, events and issues of broader social consequence. By
definition, it is highly personal. In the case of Mr. Frey, we decided 'A Million Little
Pieces' was his story, told in his own way, and he represented to us that his version of
events was true to his recollections. Recent accusations against him notwithstanding, the
power of the overall reading experience is such that the book remains a deeply inspiring
and redemptive story for millions of readers."
The traditional schedules of Library of Congress and Dewey Decimal Classification may
suit research and academic libraries well; however, in public libraries where biography
circulation is high and in cases where biographical works are more subjective, or even fabricated,
than factual, the best solution could be to separate these works from the nonfiction section.
Furthermore, adding creative catalog notes where appropriate or taking the path less traveled to
completely reclassify dubious biographical works can maintain the integrity of the library and its
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nonfiction section. Even thought the controversy wages on, the bottom line with the
classification of biographical works is that librarians need to choose the option that best serves
the access needs of their service population and represents works accurately and fairly.
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Resources
Chan, L. M. (2007). Cataloging and classification: An introduction. Lanham, MD: The
Scarecrow Press.
Deahl, R. (2008). Call it nonfiction…sort of. Publishers Weekly, 255(12), 12-13. Retrieved from
Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text database.
Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Regan. Georgia PINES Catalog. Retrieved from http://gapines.org/
opac/en-US/skin/default/xml/rdetail.xml?r=1187729&t=dutch%3A%20a%20memoir%
20of%20ronald%20&tp=keyword&d=0&hc=5&rt=keyword.
Heartbreak: The Political Memoir of a Feminist Militant. (n.d.). In WorldCat. Retrieved via
Valdosta State University subscription.
Library of Congress. (n.d.). Library of Congress Classification outline. Retrieved from
http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/.
Manley, W. (2000). Catalogers, cast off your shackles. American Libraries, 31(2), 104.
Retrieved from Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text
database.
Million Little Pieces. Georgia PINES catalog. Retrieved from http://gapines.org/opac/enUS/skin/default/xml/rdetail.xml?r=2274135&t=a%20million%20little%20pieces&tp=key
word&d=0&hc=8&rt=keyword.
Online Computer Library Center. (n.d.). Introduction to Dewey Decimal Classification.
Retrieved from http://www.oclc.org/dewey/versions/ddc22print/intro.pdf.
Oregon State University. (2007). Biography. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from
http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/jspui/bitstream/1957/8293/1/
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Biography.ppt#256,1,Biography.
Rebels’ Hour. Gwinnett County Public Library. Retrieved from https://twain.gwinnettpl.org/
ipac20/ipac.jsp?profile=hq&npp=25&index=PALLTI&term=the%20rebels'%20Hour#fo
cus
Rebels’ Hour. University of Georgia Library Catalog. Retrieved from https://gil.uga.edu/cgibin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=1&ti=1,1&SAB1=the%20rebels%27%20hour&BOOL1=all%20o
f%20these&FLD1=Keyword%20%28Title%2FSubject%29%20%28FKEY%29&GRP1=
AND%20with%20next%20set&SAB2=&BOOL2=all%20of%20these&FLD2=Keyword
%20Anywhere%20%28GKEY%29&GRP2=AND%20with%20next%20set&SAB3=&B
OOL3=all%20of%20these&FLD3=Keyword%20Anywhere%20%28GKEY%29&CNT=
25&PID=wZl5_Wh31sv0KMbUumihVolTvkau&SEQ=20091210165050&SID=3.
Spanhake, C. (2007, January 4). Classification of biographies using DDC-22- Summary of
responses. Retrieved from http://lists.vuw.ac.nz/pipermail/nz-libs/2007
January/000841.html.
Spiller, D. (1988). A strategy for biography provision in public libraries. Library Review
(Glasgow, Scotland), 37(1), Retrieved from Library Literature & Information Science
database.
Troxel, S. (2001). Message posted to http://listserv.kent.edu/cgibin/wa.exe?A2=
ind0110c&L=libref-l&P=1554
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University Library at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (n.d.). Biography and
criticism. Retreived from http://www.library.illinois.edu/cam/callnumbers/bio.html.