What Is the Library and Information Science Definition of Taxonomy?
What is the library and information science definition of taxonomy? Library and information science is simply the field of study that relates to how libraries and information are organized. Taxonomy, on the other hand, is the science of classification. In taxonomy, items are classified according to their common relationships with one another.
Library and Information Science Definition of Taxonomy
To better understand how taxonomy would be defined within the library and information science system, let's look at what taxonomy is and how it is performed:
- The word taxonomy is derived from two Greek words. The first is the word taxis, which means order or arrangement. The second is the Greek word nomos, which means law or science.
- Taxonomy is normally shown or illustrated in a taxonomy tree. This tree breaks down classifications and sub-classifications about a particular subject in a tree diagram.
- The field of taxonomy largely began with "alpha taxonomy," which is used to classify species and subspecies of plants and animals (i.e. when you hear of an animal or plants Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species, this is an example of taxonomy).
- Taxonomy has expanded over the years to include the classification of both animate and inanimate objects. For example, libraries use the concept of taxonomy to classify books by genre and sub-genre and in order to organize books, magazines, articles, and periodicals by subject matter.
- In recent years, the concept of taxonomy has been used for the organization of subject matter in the information science field in a number of novel ways as well: on the World Wide Web, for instance, taxonomy or classification is used to classify and organize available resources on the Internet.
Understanding the Library's Use of Taxonomy
So, now that you have a better idea of what taxonomy is, the next step is to see how taxonomy is used in libraries and information sciences.- An example of how the library uses taxonomy or classification is the Dewey Decimal system.
- The Dewey Decimal system is a form of taxonomy used in libraries across the United States. It was invented in 1876.
- This classification system is used to categorize or classify nonfiction book titles into ten main divisions.
- These ten divisions are then classified into ten subdivisions.
- A book is then issued a Dewey number in the number system based on the book’s subject matter.
- The number assigned combined with the first three letters of the authors last name becomes the call number for the book so that it can be easily located in the library.
- The books are then placed on the shelves in the library in number order from 001 to 999 according to this classification system.
Taxonomy on the World Wide Web
- For example, if you visit a website for layouts, you will find these layouts first grouped by classification for the social networking site you are looking for a layout for (such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and so on.)
- When you click on one of these, you will see sub-classification systems according to the graphics that are a part of the layout. For instance, you may have a choice between animals, weather, holidays, and so on.
- Upon making the decision based on these sub-classifications, you will be lead to additional sub sub-classifications. For instance, in the animal category you may have to choose dogs, cats, reptiles, and so on. In the holiday category, you may have to make a choice between Christmas, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, or any other holiday that is celebrated in the United States and throughout the world.
Web citation:
"What Is the Library and Information Science Definition of Taxonomy?." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow, n.d. Web. 9 October 2012.
