The Power to Name: Locating the Limits of Subject Representation in LibrariesIn this preface I will include explanations of three factors: the intended audience of this book, the structure of the book, and the acknowledgement of many who contributed to its fruition. The Power to Name is intended for two audiences: those interested in knowledge organization and those interested in theoretical study of representation. These two groups come from the perspective of the structure and principles of organization and from the perspective of understanding the cultural ramifications of naming. The first may be those who develop subject representation schemes for a wide range of purposes and those who apply those schemes. They may be librarians, information scientists, web developers or knowledge managers. The second group are likely to be feminist, poststructural and postcolonial theorists who explore the construction of meaning. It is my hope that both of these audiences will find the case of subject representation in library catalogues illuminating in a much wider sense. I have tried to include a modicum of explanation for each audience while avoiding over-explanation for either. This approach will require some patience and some close reading from each? The intellectual structure of the book is introduced in the first chapter. However, in a book on organization of knowledge and information it is important to also explain its internal syndetic structure. I have used some somewhat unconventional approaches. The book contains a fair number of 'manual hyperlinks' - references to earlier discussions of a topic in the form of "see also page . . . " referrals. |
Contents
| 1 | |
ARMIES RAILROADS AND PROCRUSTEAN BEDS | 16 |
The Structure of DDC as a Universal Language | 18 |
The Canonicity of DDC | 26 |
for Achieving Universality | 32 |
CUTTERS RULES TO QUELL ANARCHY | 38 |
THE ITERABILITY OF THE PUBLIC AND EFFICIENCY | 63 |
The Problem of Diversity as Represented by Viewpoint | 131 |
Other editions - View all
The Power to Name: Locating the Limits of Subject Representation in Libraries Hope A. Olson No preview available - 2002 |
The Power to Name: Locating the Limits of Subject Representation in Libraries H.A. Olson No preview available - 2011 |
Common terms and phrases
African American application Arabic numerals authority bell hooks bibliographic browsing Canadian canon catalogue records Cherríe Moraga clas concept conformity confuzion constructed context controlled vocabulary create culture Cutter Cutter's Rules decimal defined definition Dewey Dewey Decimal Classification Dewey's dictionary catalog diversity division ethnic everyday/everynight example exclusion facets Feminism feminist gender Gillian Rose hierarchical relationships identity implies includes individual iterability LC cataloguer LCSH LCSH and DDC lesbians librarians library catalogues Library of Congress library users limit literature Luiseño mainstream marginalized meaning Melvil Dewey Minh-Ha Minority narrower terms object Online opposition person perspective philosophy practice presumption principle problem procrustean race reason references represented result Routledge Sanford Berman separate singular public skeme social specific entry standards subdivision subject access subject headings subject representation synonyms techniques things topics universal language usage variation vernacular realities viewpoint vocabulary word workers