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Jan 21, 2009 17:54

Interesting trivia about the Library of Congress classification system (Reference Section Edition!)
  • The system was created around 1902.
  • All classification schemes are culturally charged; you can see that legacy in several places, including the prominent place given to religion.
  • When running through the order of the countries, it starts with the big imperial powers of the day: England, France, and Germany. Italy and Greece also feature at the top. The US is second to last on the list, while Canada feels somewhat awkwardly tacked on at the end.
  • Canada used to have free reign of the "F" section, but in recent history much of that space was reclaimed. "FC" was assigned to Canada, but to save a lot of busy work, the books already held in collections were left where they were. Those wishing to research Canada must search "F" and "FC".
  • Though the letters were doubtlessly neutral at the time, the Bible is somewhat awkwardly classified under "BS".

grad school

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