CLASSIFICATIONS ARE BOUNDED SYSTEMS THAT marginalize some groups and topics by locating them in ghettoes, diasporized across the system. Other marginalized groups and topics are totally excluded from these systems, being outside of their territorial limits. Because classifications are locational systems, spatial analyses borrowed from various disciplines have potential to identify and address their problems. The philosophical basis for the analysis in this article is Lorraine Code’s (1995) conception of “rhetorical spaces” as sites where topics can be taken seriously as legitimate subjects for open discussion. In existing classifications, there is rhetorical space for most mainstream social and scholarly knowledge domains but not for marginalized knowledge domains. Geography offers concepts for building a theoretical framework to ameliorate the biases of classification. This article describes such a framework and how it is applied using techniques such as Gillian Rose’s (1993) “paradoxical spaces,” which are simultaneously or alternately in the center and at the margin, same and other, inside and outside to develop a more complex and meaningful classification for women and other marginalized groups. The project described here operationalizes these theoretical openings by applying them to the Dewey Decimal Classification as both critique and and as techniques for change.

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/8210/librarytrendsv47i2f_opt.pdf?sequence=1

Mapping Beyond Dewey's Boundaries: Constructing Classificatory Space for Marginalized Knowledge Domains.

Critiques of subject access standards in LIS literature have addressed biases of gender, sexuality, race, age, ability, ethnicity, language and religion as limits to the representation of diversity and to effective library service for diverse populations. The current study identifies and analyzes this literature as a basis for ameliorating systemic bias and to gather the existing literature for wider accessibility. The study analyzes five quantitative variables: standards discussed, categories of problems, marginalized groups and topics discussed, date, and basis of conclusions (research or experience). Textual analysis reveals that basic tenets of subject access-user-focused cataloguing, objectivity, and standardization-are problematized in the literature and may be the best starting point for future research. In practice, librarians can work to counteract systemic problems in the careful and equitable application of standards and their adaptation to local contexts.

Standardization, Objectivity, and User Focus: A Meta-Analysis of Subject Access Critiques

We study library classifications criticisms from a poststructuralist and pragmatist point of view that rejects the idea of universality in knowledge organization systems. From this perspective, we analize the seminal texts on library classifications criticisms and conclude that the seek of neutrality in some of these texts is not only an impossible goal but also a contradiction in the representation of different cultures. Therefore, we suggest the commitment with the goals and the recognition of bias in library classifications as an important device for achieving a transcultural ethics in knowledge organization and representation.

https://www.ibersid.eu/ojs/index.php/scire/article/download/4081/3730

Library classifications criticisms: universality, postestructuralism and ethics

In this paper we introduce the characteristics and methodological possibilities of applying the Critical Race Theory to knowledge organization and representation, and more specifically to the bibliographic classifications that are used in Brazil. We identify these classifications as institutions and outline the main points of a project of replacement of any instances of racism by anti-racist alternatives.

Application of Critical Race Theory to knowledge organization and representation

/pdf/aplicacion-de-la-teoria-critica-de-raza-en-la-organizacion-y-4mgthlefyg.pdf

Aplicación de la Teoría Crítica de Raza en la organización y representación del conocimiento Application of Critical Race Theory to knowledge organization and representation

African independent churches have in the last four decades grown in number and in membership. They have become Africans' own way of spreading the Word of God. However, despite several years of their existence and the publication of some books on them, the major classification schemes which are widely used in libraries, namely the Dewey Decimal Classification, the Library of Congress Classification, and the Universal Decimal Classification, have no provision for classifying books on them. The paper describes the nature of these churches and observes that they meet the criteria of a Christian church. It suggests how the three classification schemes could be revised to make provision for classifying books on the subject

Spiritual matters : provision for independent African churches in general classification schemes

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Spiritual matters : provision for independent African churches in general classification schemes