Library of Congress Classification: Difference between revisions

The central core of the modern Library of Congress was formed from books sold to the government by Thomas Jefferson after the original collection was razed by the British in the [[War of 1812]]. As a result, the original classification system used by the library was of his own invention. However, by the end of the nineteenth century, the collection had grown to over a million volumes and his system was deemed too unwieldy.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Library of Congress Classification |url=https://www.librarianshipstudies.com/2017/11/library-of-congress-classification.html |date=June 23, 2020 |website=Librarianship Studies & Information Technology |access-date=2022-10-03}}</ref>

[[John Russell Young]], the seventh Librarian of Congress, hired James Hanson and Charles Martel in 1897,<ref>{{Cite web |title=John Russell Young (1840-1899) |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/n83202815/john-russell-young-1840-1899/ |access-date=2022-10-04 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}</ref> who began the development of a new classification system that would more accurately describe the collections the library held. Young's tenure as Librarian ended with his death in 1899, and his successor, [[Herbert Putnam]], continued to implement the updates to the catalog through his long stay in the office.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Herbert Putnam (1861-1955) |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/n85185518/herbert-putnam-1861-1955/ |access-date=2022-10-04 |website=Library of Congress, Washington,|url-status=dead D|archive-url=https://web.Carchive.org/web/20221004005650/https://www.loc.gov/item/n85185518/herbert-putnam-1861-1955/ 20540|archive-date= 2022-10-04 USA}}</ref> By the time he departed from his post in 1939, all the classes except K (Law) were well developed.<ref name=":3" />

In creating their classification system, Hanson and Martel evaluated several systems already in existence, including the [[Dewey Decimal System]], [[Charles Ammi Cutter]]'s [[Cutter Expansive Classification]], the [[Index Medicus]],<ref>Martel, C (1916). "[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC234678/ Remarks on Cataloguing and Classification]". ''Bulletin of the Medical Library Association''. '''5''' (4): 43–5. [[{{PMC (identifier)|PMC]] 234678}}. [[{{PMID (identifier)|PMID]] 16015800}}.</ref> and the [[Putnam Classification System]] (developed while Putnam was head librarian at the [[Minneapolis Public Library]]).<ref>Andy Sturdevant. [https://www.minnpost.com/stroll/2014/02/cracking-spine-hennepin-county-librarys-many-hidden-charms "Cracking the spine on Hennepin County Library's many hidden charms".] ''[[MinnPost]]'', 02/05/14.</ref> The one closest to their needs was Cutter's; however, he died before the completion of his system.<ref name=":4">LaMontagne, Leo E. ''American Library Classification: With Special Reference to the Library of Congress''. Hamden, CT, Shoe String Press. 1961, p. 210.</ref> Hanson and Martel thus decided to develop their own unique system, strongly based on his ideas. They published their first outline of the classification scheme in 1904.<ref name=":3" /> Development of the classes continued throughout the twentieth century. The last class to be developed was K (Law): the first K schedule was published in 1969 and not completed until the 2004 publication of KB.<ref name=":3" />