Linnaeus, Mendeleev,
Dewey, and Ranganathan:
What can they tell us about the
organization of information today?
Purpose
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To gain insights about the creation of
universal languages of discourse.
To understand better the intellectual
capital invested in legacy conceptual
systems.
To relate these insights to our current
challenges in organizing information
in the digital age.
Classification and namegiving
“The first step in wisdom is to know the
things themselves; this notion consists
in having a true idea of the objects;
objects are distinguished and known
by classifying them methodically and
giving them appropriate names.
Therefore, classification and namegiving will be the foundation of our
science.”
Linnaeus, Carolus (1964). Systema Naturae, 1735. Facsimile of the first edition, with an introduction and a
first English translation of the "Observationes" by M. S. J. Engle-Ledeboer and H. Engel. Nieuwkoop: De
Graaf.
Before Linnaeus
Ancients
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Theophrastus (ca.370–ca.286 B.C.) - categorized plants into trees, shrubs,
undershrubs, herbs.
Dioscorides (first century A.D.) – categorized plants according to their medical and
therapeutic properties and uses.
16th Century
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Otto Brunfels (1464–1534), Leonhard Fuchs (1501–1566) – herbalists who tried to
describe and illustrate all known plants.
Andrea Caesalpino (1519–1603) began to focus on organizing plants by fruits and
seeds, including superior and inferior ovaries and the number of locules in an ovary.
Johann Bauhin (1541–1631) treated about 5,000 plants and their synonymies with
good diagnoses in his illustrated Historia Plantarum Universalis.
Caspar Bauhin (1560–1624) produced a Pinax, containing names and synonyms of
6,000 species, and pioneered the use of binomial nomenclature.
17th century
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Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1656–1708) used a form classification that divided plants
into groups based on petal characters.
John Ray (1628–1705) classified some 18,000 species in his Methodus Plantarum,
using a system based on form and gross morphology of plant structures.
Source: Order from Chaos: Linnaeus Disposes
http://huntbot.andrew.cmu.edu/HIBD/Exhibitions/OrderFromChaos/pages/02Linnaeus/search.shtml
18th Century Europe
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Lavished attention on natural history
Fashionable to own collections of
stuffed birds, pressed flowers,
preserved butterflies, seashells, etc.
European powers engaged in
worldwide and local expeditions to
identify natural products that are of
economic importance.
Europeans encountered thousands of
species of plants, animals, and
rocks/minerals each year.
Early graphic representations of the relationships
between living organisms.
Source: Withgott, J. Is it “So
long, Linnaeus?” BioScience,
50(8): 646-651.
Binomial Nomenclature & Linnean Taxonomy
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Generic (one-word) and
specific name (two-word)
In Latin
First letter of generic in
upper-case; specific name
all in lower-case (e.g. Homo
sapiens)
Genus name shortened to
the first letter in subsequent
mention of the name but
never omitted (e.g. H.
sapiens)
Genus and species names
always italicized; names of
higher taxa are not.
Authorship of names
Trinomials for subspecies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binomial_nomencl
ature
Human (Homo sapiens)
• Kingdom Animalia
• Phylum Chordata
• Subphylum Vertebrata
• Class Mammalia
• Subclass Eutheria
• Order Primates
• Suborder Haplorhini
• Family Hominidae
• Genus Homo
• Species sapiens
Uniform Description
See full explanation at:
Order from Chaos: Linnaeus
Disposes. The Linnean
System in Action.
http://huntbot.andrew.cmu.e
du/HIBD/Exhibitions/OrderFr
omChaos/pages/02Linnaeus
/system.shtml
Carl Linnaeus
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Born May 23, 1707 in Rashult, Sweden.
Died January 10, 1778 in Uppsala, Sweden.
His father, a clergyman, maintained an impressive
garden. Gave the young Linnaeus his own small
garden to tend.
“His toys were flowers.” (Caddy, 1887)
Linnaeus’ Latin motto: Tantus amor Florum! (such
a great love of flowers’)
A doctor of medicine.
Blunt, W. (2001). Linnaeus: the compleat naturalist. London: Princeton University Press.
Caddy, F. (1887). Through the fields with Linnaeus; a chapter in Swedish history. Boston: Little, Brown,
and Co.
Linnaeus’ Lapland Journey
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May to October 1732,
covered 3,000 miles.
25 years of age.
Work based on these travels:
Flora Lapponica
Linnaea borealis (twinflower)
Source:
http://www.forestryimages.org/images/768x512/0807053.jpg
Sexual Parts of a Flower
“Anthers are the male genital organs; when they
strew their genital flour (pollen) on the stigma,
the female genital organ, fertilization takes
place.” (Linnaeus, Systema Naturae)
Image sources: (left) www.linnaeus.uu.se/ online/lvd/2_1.html
(right) http://images.encarta.msn.com
Graphs and tables in Systema Naturae
Observation and the naked eye
“I predict, that botanists surely will say, that my
method presents too great a difficulty notably for
examining the very small parts of a flower, which
one can hardly see with the naked eye. I reply: if
everybody interested would have a microscopium
(magnifying glass!), a most necessary instrument,
at hand, what work would there be left? I myself,
however, have examined all these plants with the
naked eye, and without any use of a
microscopium.”
Linnaeus, Carolus (1964). Systema Naturae, 1735. Facsimile of the first edition, with an introduction and a
first English translation of the "Observationes" by M. S. J. Engle-Ledeboer and H. Engel. Nieuwkoop:
De Graaf.
Questions for us
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What are the objects of our observation as
information professionals?
Taking into consideration our tools for
observation (cameras, videorecorders,
audiorecorders, etc.), how do we
characterize observation in the digital
age?
To what extent are our senses involved?
What sensual impressions does the world
have on us?
Linnaeus and the theory of evolution
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Linnaeus’ nested hierarchy of groups within groups fit well
with many people’s conceptions of nature. (Before 1859,
often explained as divine design.)
The Linnean hierarchical pattern was compatible with the
Darwinian genealogical tree. So, although evolution
explained the hierarchical (tree-like) pattern of life’s history,
taxonomists felt no need to change how they reflected the
pattern and the Linnean framework was retained.
Phylogenetic systematics – replacing Linnean hierarchical
pattern based on ranks with cladograms and phylogenetic
trees showing relationships among organisms based on
recency of divergence.
Source: Withgott, J. Is it “So long, Linnaeus?” BioScience, 50(8): 646-651.
The Periodic Table of Elements
Source: http://chemlab.pc.maricopa.edu/periodic/periodic.html
Before Mendeleev
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Ancient Greeks – four elements: earth, air, fire, water.
Alchemy – the idea of transforming one metal into another, especially into
gold. (Ancient Egyptians well into the 17th century)
Early efforts at classifying the elements in the 18th century run parallel with
the classification of minerals.
1789 – the law of conservation of matter (Lavoisier)
1806 – the law of definite proportions (Proust)
1808 – the law of multiple proportions (Dalton)
1808 – the law of combining volumes of gases (Gay-Lussac)
1808 – Dalton’s atomic theory
1811- Avogadro’s hypothesis
1817 – Dobereiner’s triads
1864 – Newlands’ law of octaves
1868 – Meyer’s periodic table (published in 1870)
Sources:
Morris, R. (2003). The Last Sorcerers: the path from alchemy to the periodic table. Washington, D.C:
Joseph Henry Press.
Van Spronsen, J. W. (1969). The Periodic System of Chemical Elements: A history of the first hundred years. Amsterdam, The
Netherlands: Elsevier Publishing Co.
Dmitri Mendeleev
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Born February 7, 1834 in Tobolsk,
Siberia.
Died February 2, 1907 in St.
Petersburg, Russia.
Professor of chemistry, St. Petersburg
University
Gordin, M. (2004). A well-ordered thing: Dmitrii Mendeleev and the shadow of the periodic table. New York: Basic Books.
Mendeleev’s early drafts and his 1869
periodic table
(Left) A draft of Mendeleev’s periodic system dated 17 Feb 1869. (Right) The first published form of Mendeleev’s periodic system. Notice
the gaps with question marks for elements that Mendeleev suspected existed. One has to rotate the table by 90 degrees clockwise to
see the resemblance to the horizontal rows and vertical columns that we are familiar with today. (Source: Gordin, M. (2004). A wellordered thing: Dmitrii Mendeleev and the shadow of the periodic table. New York: Basic Books..Red circling mine.)
Mendeleev’s 1871 table
Source: http://chemlab.pc.maricopa.edu/periodic/foldedtable.html
Examples of the hundreds of ways used to
represent the periodic law of the elements.
(Left) Spiral similar to a triple lemniscate by Charles Janet, 1928. (Right) Helix with four sizes of revolutions on four separate axes by
Paul Giguere, 1966. (Source: Mazurs, E. G. (1974). Graphic Representations of the Periodic System During One Hundred Years.
Alabama: The University of Alabama Press.)
See also http://chemlab.pc.maricopa.edu/periodic/styles.html
Statement of the Periodic Law
“The properties of the elements as
well as the forms and properties of
their compounds are in a periodic
dependence or, expressing ourselves
algebraically, form a periodic function
of the atomic weight of the elements”
[p. 16. Mendeleev, D. (1891). Principles of Chemistry, Vol. 2. Trans. George Kamensky. London:
Longmans, Green.]
The periodic table and subatomic particles.
“It is of interest to note that the periodic table reached
its final forms before atomic structure revealed the
basis for periodicity. The discovery of sub-atomic
particles in no way threw the system of
classification into doubt but reinforced the general
decisions which had been made. It was only at the
end of the table that the study of electronic
configuration and the creation of transuranium
elements brought about a change of arrangement
from transition elements to rare earth analogues.”
- Aaron J. Ihde, in his foreword to Van Spronsen, J. W. (1969). The Periodic System of Chemical
Elements: A history of the first hundred years. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier Publishing Co.
Usefulness of Mendeleev’s system
Mendeleev stated that the usefulness of a system
increases with the number of its applications. His
periodic table can be used in the following ways:
1.
As a classification of elements;
2.
To determine the atomic weights of elements not
sufficiently analyzed;
3.
To examine properties of unknown compounds;
4.
To correct erroneously determined atomic
weights; and
5.
To collect information about the properties of
compounds.
Questions for us
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What property or properties of information can we
use to organize information objects that will reveal
gaps about our knowledge of a specific domain
and which can lead us to discoveries or novel
ideas?
Do information organizers have to be experts in a
specific knowledge domain to be able to do this?
Mendeleev was a chemist but we still wonder
whether the process he went through to observe
the repetitions of properties after a number of
elements could have been observed by somebody
with a basic knowledge of chemistry. Would that
person have known what to look for and be alert
for possible patterns?
Before Dewey
The problem of the multitude of books
1255- Vincent de Beauvais wrote “Since the multitude of books, the shortness of time and
the slipperiness of memory do not allow all things which are written to be equally
retained in the mind, I decided to reduce in one volume in a compendium and in
summary order some flowers selected according to my talents from all the authors I was
able to read.”
1545 - “In the preface to his massive project of cataloguing all known books in the
Bibliotheca univeralis, Conrad Gesner complained of that ‘confusing and harmful
abundance of books,’ a problem which he called on kings and princes and the learned
to solve.”
1680 – Leibniz spoke of that “horrible mass of books which keeps on growing”
1685 – Adrien Baillet warned, “We have reason to fear that the multitude of books which
grows every day in a prodigious fashion will make the following centuries fall into a state
as barbarous as that of the centuries that followed the fall of the Roman Empire. Unless
we try to prevent this danger by separating those books which we must throw out or
leave in oblivion from those which one should save and within the latter between what is
useful and what is not.”
1704 – Jonathan Swift lamented and parodied what he called ‘Index learning,’ referring to
the growth of epitomes,abridgements,and alphabetical indexes. These, he said,were
advertised as ‘methods’ for not reading the whole book..”
Source:
Blair, A. (2003). Reading strategies for coping with information load ca 1550-1700. Journal of the History of Ideas. 64(1):
11-28.
Yeo, R. (2003). A solution to the multitude of books: Ephraim Chambers’ Cyclopaedia (1728) as “the best book in the
universe.” Journal of the History of Ideas. 64(1): 61-72.
Before Dewey (part 2)
Modern Bibliographic Systems
1841 – Panizzi’s rules for the compilation of the
catalog of printed books in the British Museum’s
Department of Printed Books (now British Library).
1848 – Panizzi makes the case for an alphabetic
catalogue for the British Library.
1853 – Charles Jewett’s 33 rules for the construction
of catalogs of libraries.
1876 – Charles Ammi Cutter’s rules for a dictionary
catalog.
Melvil Dewey
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Born December 10, 1851 in Adams
Center, New York.
Died December 26, 1931 in Lake
Placid, New York.
Attended Amherst College from 18701874.
Organized conference that would
establish the ALA
Wiegand, W. (1996). The Irrepressible reformer: a biography of Melvil Dewey. Chicago: American Library
Association.
Dewey on theory and practice
Dewey (1876) acknowledges that “theoretically, the
division of every subject into just nine heads is
absurd.”
“philosophical theory and accuracy have been
made to yield to practical usefulness. The
impossibility of making a satisfactory classification
of all knowledge as preserved in books, has been
appreciated from the first, and nothing of the kind
attempted. Theoretical harmony and exactness
has been repeatedly sacrificed to the practical
requirements of the library or to the convenience
of the department in the college.”
Dewey, M. (1876). A classification and subject index for cataloguing and arranging the books and
pamphlets of a library. Facsimile reprinted by Forest Press Division, Lake Placid Educational
Foundation. Retrieved 2/12/05 from Project Gutenberg
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/2/5/1/12513/12513-h/12513-h.htm.
Texts that have influenced
Dewey
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Edward Edwards’ “Memoirs of
Libraries.”
Charles C Jewett’s “A Plan for
Stereotyping Titles.”
William Torrey Harris’ article on book
classification which appeared in the
Journal of Speculative Philosophy.
Nathaniel Shurtleff’s pamphlet entitled
“A Decimal System for the
Arrangement and Administration of
Libraries” privately printed in 1856.
Dewey Decimal Classification
10 Main Classes
• 000 Computers,
information and
general reference
• 100 Philosophy and
psychology
• 200 Religion
• 300 Social sciences
• 400 Language
• 500 Science and
mathematics
• 600 Technology
• 700 Arts and recreation
• 800 Literature
• 900 History and geography
Notational Hierarchy
796
Athletic and outdoor sports
and games
796.3
Ball games
796.34
Racket games
796.342
Tennis (Lawn tennis)
796.343
Squash
796.345
Badminton
796.346
Table tennis
796.347
Lacrosse
Structural Hierarchy
972
Middle America Mexico
636.2 Ruminants and Camelidae
Bovidae
Cattle
Source: Mitchell, J. (2001) Relationships in the Dewey Decimal Classification System. In C. Bean & R. Green
(2001). Relationships in the Organization of Knowledge. Dordrecht, Germany: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Relationships in DDC
Generic
583-584 Angiospermae
(Flowering plants)
583 Magnoliopsida (Dicotyledons)
583.3 Ranunculidae
583.34 Ranunculales (Ranales)
583.35 Papaverales (Rhoedales)
583.36 Sarraceniales
Whole-part
611.31 Mouth
611.313 Tongue
611.314 Teeth
611.315 Palate
611.316 Salivary glands
611.317 Lips
611.318 Cheeks
Instance
005.133 Specific programming languages
Arrange alphabetically by name of
programming language, e.g. C++
Polyhierarchical
551.21 Volcanoes
Class here comprehensive works
on craters
For meteorite craters, see
551.397
Equivalence
572.86 DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid)
Associative
004.7 Periphals
See also 004.64 for communication
devices.
Source: Mitchell, J. (2001) Relationships in the Dewey Decimal Classification System. In C. Bean & R. Green (2001).
Relationships in the Organization of Knowledge. Dordrecht, Germany: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Relative Index & Tables for synthesis of
numbers
Relative Index – alphabetical list of subjects
Sample entry:
Mercury (Element)
Mercury (Planet)
669.71
523.41
Tables
Table 1: Standard subdivisions (form, time)
Table 2: Geographic areas and persons
Table 3: Subdivisions for individual literatures, for
specific literary forms.
Table 4: Subdivisions of individual languages
Table 5: Ethnic groups
Dewey’s Four Causes
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Metric reform
Spelling reform
Shorthand
Libraries
Dewey to Ranganathan (13 Nov. 1930)
“Naturali the sistem ist publisht in
1876 was from the standpoint of our
American libraries. Thru the 12
editions, it has constantli broadened.
But we need speciali to cover Asia
mor adequateli and hope we shall hav
yur aktiv cooperation in making the
decimal sistem stil mor wydli useful.”
(p. 30, Ranganathan, S. R. (1967). Prolegomena to library classification. Bombay: Asia Pub. House. )
Questions for us
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In what information contexts can we
impose hierarchical structures today?
How can we make hierarchical
knowledge structures more flexible in
linking to other knowledge structures
between different domains?
How can we use it to define shared
rules of inference and shared
vocabularies across domains?
Bibliographic Classification Schemes after
Dewey
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Expansive Classification (Charles
Ammi Cutter, 1890s)
Universal Decimal Classification (Paul
Otlet, Henri La Fontaine, 1895-)
Library of Congress Classification
Subject Classification (James Duff
Brown, 1906-)
Colon Classification (S.R.
Ranganathan, 1933-)
Bibliographic Classification (Henry
Evelyn Bliss, 1940-)
Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan
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Born August 9, 1892 in Madras,
India.
Died September 27, 1972 in
Bangalore, India.
Taught mathematics and physics
First librarian of the University of
Madras
Ranganathan’s inspiration
“I could not then say that what was needed was a faceted
classification. But something was engaging my thought
continuously. While in that condition, I happened to see a
Meccano set in one of the Selfridges Stores in London. That
gave me the clue. It made me feel that the class number of a
subject should really be got by assembling ‘Facet Numbers’
found in several distinctive schedules, even as a toy is made
by assembling an assortment of parts.”
- (p. 106, Ranganathan, S. R. (1967). Prolegomena to library classification.
Bombay: Asia Pub. House.)
Facets
Facets – “a generic term used to denote
any component – be it a basic subject
or an isolate – of a Compound
Subject, and also its respective
ranked forms, terms, and numbers”
(Ranganathan, 1967, p. 88).
Five Laws of Library Science
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Books are for use
Every reader his book
Every book its reader
Save the time of the reader (and its
corollary – Save the time of the
staff)
Library is a growing organism.
Five Fundamental Categories
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Time – “in accordance with what we commonly understand by
that term.” Millenium, century, decade, year, and so on are its
manifestations.
Space – as with time, in accordance with its usual significance.
“The surface of the earth, the space inside it, and the space
outside it” are manifestations of space.
Energy – ‘its manifestation is action of one kind or another. The
action may be among and by all kinds of entities – inanimate,
animate, conceptual, intellectual, and intuitive.”
Matter – its manifestations are of two kinds – Material, which is
what an entity is made of, e.g. steel, timber, or Property, e.g.
being 2 feet wide and 8 ft long. Both are intrinsic to the entity but
are not the entity itself.
Personality – Ranganathan regarded this category as the most
difficult to identify. “It is too elusive. It is ineffable.” The process of
identifying it is a Method of Residues – “if a certain manifestation
is easily determined not to be one of Time, Space, Energy, or
Matter, it is taken to be the manifestation of the fundamental
category, Personality
Hierarchy in Ranganathan’s System
Ranganathan’s diagram to illustrate his theory of classification. Shows Original Universe, Division, Assortment, Classes,
Arrays, Collateral Classes, illustrative Pseudo-classes, Chains, Subordinate classes, Order of classes and of arrays. The
numbers in the rectangles are decimal fractions. [p. 46 Ranganathan, S. R. (1967). Prolegomena to library classification.
Bombay: Asia Pub. House.]
Colon Classification (main classes)
z Generalia
1 Universe of Knowledge
2 Library Science
3 Book Science
4 Journalism
A Natural Sciences
ß Mathematical Sciences
B Mathematics
Г Physical Sciences
C Physics
D Engineering
E Chemistry
F Technology
G Biology
H Geology
HZ Mining
I Botany
J Agriculture
K Zoology
KZ Animal Husbandry
L Medicine
LZ Pharmacognosy
M Useful Arts
Δ Spiritual Experience and Mysticism
Μ Humanities and Social Sciences
v Humanities
N Fine Arts
NZ Literature and language
O Literature
P Linguistics
Q Religion
R Philosophy
S Psychology
Σ Social Sciences
T Education
U Geography
V History
W Political Science
X Economics
Y Sociology
YZ Social Work
Z Law
Summary
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Knowledge domains went through a factgathering period.
Facts reached critical mass.
Terminology for describing them increased
and became confusing.
Lists, catalogs, encyclopedias, glossaries,
indexes, and other compilations were
created to manage the growing body of
information.
The plethora of finding aids themselves
became confusing.
Questions for us
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What is different in the digital age?
Can we look at an object from
different perspectives and still be able
to relate things together?
What combinations of hierarchical
and faceted organization of
information can we put together to
meet our current information needs?
What other knowledge structures can
we create for digital information
Semantic Web – Enabling Technologies and
Standards Layer Cake
Sources: (left figure) Berners-Lee, T. & Hendler, J. Publishing on the semantic web – the coming Internet revolution will
profoundly affect scientific information. Nature, 410 (6832): 1023-1024 APR 26 2001.
(right figure) http://www.w3.org/2002/Talks/04-sweb/slide12-0.html
Bibliography (Linnaeus)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Blunt, W. (2001). Linnaeus: the compleat naturalist. London: Princeton University
Press.
Bock, W. (2004). Species: the concept, category, and taxon. Journal of Zoological
Systematics & Evolutionary Research, 42(): 178-190.
Farber, P. (2000). Finding order in nature: the naturalist tradition from Linnaeus to
E.O. Wilson. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Larson, J. (1971). Reason and experience: the representation of natural order in
the work of Carl von Linné. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Linnaeus, Carolus (1964). Systema Naturae, 1735. Facsimile of the first edition,
with an introduction and a first English translation of the "Observationes" by M. S. J.
Engle-Ledeboer and H. Engel. Nieuwkoop: De Graaf.
Stearn, W. (2001). Appendix: Linnean Classification, Nomenclature, and Method. In
W. Blunt. Linnaeus: the compleat naturalist. London: Princeton University Press.
Tournefort, Joseph Pitton de. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved January 29, 2005,
from Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
<http://www.search.eb.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/eb/article?tocId=9073064
Withgott, J. Is it “So long, Linnaeus?” BioScience, 50(8): 646-651.
Bibliography (Mendeleev)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Bensaude-Vincent, B. (2001). Graphic representations of the periodic system of chemical
elements. In U. Klein (ed.). Tools and Modes of Representation in the Laboratory Sciences.
Dordrecht, Germany: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Gordin, M. (2004). A well-ordered thing: Dmitrii Mendeleev and the shadow of the periodic
table. New York: Basic Books.
Klein, U. (Ed.) (2001). Tools and Modes of Representation in the Laboratory Sciences.
Dordrecht, Germany: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Mazurs, E. G. (1957). Types of Graphic Representation of the Periodic System of Chemical
Elements. La Grange, Ill.: E. Mazurs.
Mazurs, E. G. (1974). Graphic Representations of the Periodic System During One Hundred
Years. Alabama: The University of Alabama Press.
Mendeleev, D. (1869). On the Relationship of the Properties of the Elements to their Atomic
Weights, Zhurnal Russkoe Fiziko-Khimicheskoe Obshchestvo 1, 60-77; abstracted in
Zeitschrift für Chemie 12, 405-406 (1869); abstract translated and annotated in
http://web.lemoyne.edu/~giunta/EA/MENDELEEVann.HTML
Mendeleev, D. (1879). The periodic law of the chemical elements. Chemical News, 40(): 243.
Mendeleev, D. (1891). Principles of Chemistry, Vol. 2. Trans. George Kamensky. London:
Longmans, Green.
Morris, R. (2003). The Last Sorcerers: the path from alchemy to the periodic table.
Washington, D.C: Joseph Henry Press.
Scerri, E. (2001). The Periodic Table: the ultimate paper tool in chemistry. In U. Klein (ed.).
Tools and Modes of Representation in the Laboratory Sciences. Dordrecht, Germany: Kluwer
Academic Publishers.
Van Spronsen, J. W. (1969). The Periodic System of Chemical Elements: A history of the first
hundred years. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier Publishing Co.
Bibliography (Dewey)
1.
Chan, L. (1994). Cataloging and Classification: An Introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill.
2.
Dewey, M. (1876). A classification and subject index for cataloguing and arranging
the books and pamphlets of a library. Facsimile reprinted by Forest Press Division, Lake
3.
4.
Placid Educational Foundation. Retrieved 2/12/05 from Project Gutenberg
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/2/5/1/12513/12513-h/12513-h.htm.
Mitchell, J. (2001) Relationships in the Dewey Decimal Classification System. In C. Bean & R.
Green (2001). Relationships in the Organization of Knowledge. Dordrecht, Germany: Kluwer
Academic Publishers.
Wiegand, W. (1996). The Irrepressible reformer: a biography of Melvil Dewey. Chicago: American
Library Association.
Bibliography (Ranganathan)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Garfield, E (1984). A Tribute to S. R. Ranganathan, the Father of Indican Library Science. Part 1.
Life and Works. In Essays of an Information Scientist 7 (1984): 37-44. [Also available at
http://www.garfield.library.upenn.edu/essays/v7p045y1984.pdf]
Kwasnik, B. (1992). The legacy of facet analysis. In R.N. Sharma (Ed). S.R. Ranganathan and
the West (pp. 98-111). New Delhi, India: Sterling.
La Barre, K. (2004). The art and science of classification: Phyllis Allen Richmond, 1921-1997.
Library Trends, 52(4): 765-791.
Mills, J. (2004). Faceted classification and logical division in information retrieval. Library Trends,
52(3): 541-570.
Prieto-Diaz, R. (1991). Implementing faceted classification for software re-use. Communications
of the ACM. 34(5): 88-97.
Ranganathan, S. R. (1967). Prolegomena to library classification. Bombay: Asia Pub. House.
Ranganathan, S. R. (1965). The Colon classification. New Bruswick, N.J., Graduate School of
Library Service, Rutgers, the State University.
Ranganathan, S.R. (1962). Elements of library classification. Bombay: Asia Publishing House.
Star, S. (1998). Grounded Classifications: Grounded Theory and Faceted Classifications. Library
Trends 47: 218-252.
Svenonius, E. (1992). Ranganathan and classification science. Libri. 42(3): 176-183.
Wilson, P. (1968). Two kinds of power: an essay on bibliographical control. Berkeley, CA:
University of California Press.
Bibliography (General)
Blair, A. (2003). Reading strategies for coping with information load ca
1550-1700. Journal of the History of Ideas. 64(1): 11-28.
Ogilvie, B. W. (2003). The many books of nature: Renaissance naturalists and
information overload. Journal of the History of Ideas. 64(1): 29-40.
Yeo, R. (2003). A solution to the multitude of books: Ephraim Chambers’
Cyclopaedia (1728) as “the best book in the universe.” Journal of the History
of Ideas. 64(1):61-72.
Trivia Section
Heels, Hair and other
trivia on the life of
Linnaeus, Mendeleev,
Dewey, and
Ranganathan.
Linnaeus on High Heels
“Nature had not given high heels to
man and Nature knew best, for the
wearers of these bushkins could run
as nimbly as if they went barefoot.”
-
Quoted in [Blunt, W. (2001). Linnaeus: the compleat naturalist. London: Princeton
University Press. p. 44, a comment on the Lapps’ half-boots called ‘kangor’ which were
cheap, comfortable, waterproof, and have no heels.]
Mendeleev’s Hair
(as told in Morris, R. (2003). The Last Sorcerers: the path from alchemy to the periodic table.
Washington, D.C: Joseph Henry Press. p. 157-158.)
In 1884 the Scottish chemist Sir William Ramsay went to London to attend a
dinner honoring William Perkin, the discoverer of mauve, the first synthetic
dye. Arriving early, he encountered “a peculiar foreigner, every hair of whose
head acted in independence of every other.” When the foreigner
approached, bowing, Ramsay said, “We are to have a good attendance, I
think?” Discovering that the man didn’t speak English, Ramsay asked him if
he spoke German. “Ja, ein wenig,” the foreigner replied. “Ich bin
Mendeleev.”
Ramsay related later that, “He is a nice sort of fellow, but his German is not
perfect. He said he was raised in East Siberia and knew no Russian until he
was seventeen years old. I suppose he is a Kalmuck or one of those
outlandish creatures.”
Dmitri Mendeleev wasn’t a Kalmuck (Budhisht Mongols), but he did have
something of an outlandish appearance. He dressed reasonably well, but
his unkempt white hair fell to his shoulders. He was in the habit of having his
hair and beard cut once a year, and to some he might have looked like a
Siberian shaman than a distinguished chemist.
[In the same book cited above, see also the story of how Mendeleev’s mother, Maria, determined to get the
best education for her son, took the then 15-yr old Dmitri on a 1,300-mile hitchhike to Moscow.]
Dewey DUI
Dewey was named Melville Louis
Kossuth Dewey.
He never used his middle names.
He shortened his first name to Melvil
and for a while spelled his last name
as “Dui.”
What Ranganathan did on his
wedding day.
“During his 20 years of service as
librarian of the University of Madras,
he took no leave. He worked even on
his wedding day, returning to the
library shortly after the ceremony.”
- Garfield, 1984.
* Ranganathan did establish the Sarada Ranganathan Endowment for
Library Science in honor of his wife.