Henry Evelyn Bliss

Bliss, who created his own classification for academic libraries, uses this extensive volume to argue against the various existing schemes. His evaluations deal largely with the ability of those schemes to deal with the academic world in a logical order, either hierarchically or on the shelf, and in the failure of their notations to convey the subject of materials in a brief and memorable fashion. The more practical opponents of the old schemes use similar arguments, but largely leave Bliss alone to his ramblings on the construction of a logical order of subjects. From his standpoint in the City University library, the isolation and ordering of academic disciplines and subjects within them was more necessary, suitable, and detailed than it is for the provision of public library service.… (meer)