Happiness is taxonomy: four structures for Snoopy

Information Outlook, March, 2003 by Katherine Bertolucci

AS INFORMATION ACCESS BECOMES INCREASINGLY VIRTUAL, LIBRARIANS AND information managers are creating new gateways to knowledge. One of these gateways is taxonomy, a technique that organizes information into hierarchical categories. In my practice as an information management consultant, I have built taxonomies that are used for filing systems, libraries, intranets, and Snoopy dolls. This experience gives me insights into the art of category creation that may be useful to anyone attempting to build or understand taxonomy.

Linnaeus

Many of you first heard the word "taxonomy" in junior high science class when you studied Linnaeus and biologic nomenclature. The word originated with the Greek word taxis, meaning "to arrange," and is related to similar arrangement words like taxidermy. The other "tax" word comes from a Latin verb taxare, meaning "to collect money," and is linked to such collecting devices as taxicabs.

In the 18th century, Linnaeus arranged all known living things into a hierarchy. Figure 1 shows where dogs fit into the Animalia hierarchy, as identified in the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS, www.itis.usda.gov). It's a straight drill down from the Animal Kingdom to the species Canis familiaris. For domesticated animals, biology taxonomists rely on categories from animal breeding associations. So I added two facets from the American Kennel Club, "Hounds" and "Beagles," leading us directly to that most articulate and philosophical dog, Snoopy.

Linnaeus's straightforward structure continues to serve life scientists after two centuries of development. The whole Animalia taxonomy offers valuable information about the natural relationships of animals. It shows exactly where an organism sits in the vast complexity of life. Snoopy's extended family of coyotes and wolves lives one step above in the genus Canis. Foxes are added at the next step in the family Canidae.

Because the Linnaean taxonomy must be scientifically accurate, it must also be flexible. If a new scientific discovery changes our knowledge of life, that change is reflected by taxonomic revision. However, one important grouping remains the same: In 1758, Linnaeus placed humans and apes together in the Primate order, 73 years before Charles Darwin sailed to the Galapagos on the HMS Beagle.

Dewey and the Library of Congress

The late 19th and early 20th centuries were a hotbed of intellectual activity for library categorizers. First Melvil Dewey developed his decimal system. Then the Library of Congress (LC) adapted Charles Ammi Cutter's alphanumeric system for its collection. Dewey, the only librarian popularly known for librarianship, had a healthy ego and placed information science at the very beginning of his classifications. The librarians at LC followed Cutter and relegated their profession to the back of their own bus, in the Zs.

These two systems became the primary classifications accepted by the library community. I was once chastised at an SLA meeting for daring to design my own systems, and library schools that mainly train people for public and academic institutions reinforce this idea. In addition, LC provides cataloging and call numbers for almost every book commercially published in the United States and quite a few international publications. This is a seductive strategy for libraries that have little money and little time.

These two systems contain drawbacks for special libraries. Let's see how they treat Snoopy. I'll be using Dewey for this exercise. Dewey has an index, which facilitates classification analysis. In addition, LC is a larger system, and we have space considerations here. However, other than length, call number building, and self-esteem, there is not much difference in the two theories. Figure 2 shows selected Dewey classifications for Snoopy, beagles, dogs, and animals (Melvil Dewey. Dewey Decimal Classification and Relative Index. 21st ed. Edited by Joan S. Mitchell, et al. Albany, NY: OCLC Online Computer Library Center, 1996). The call numbers are removed to emphasize hierarchy rather than notation. There are 234 categories.

Both Dewey and LC are designed to describe the whole of human knowledge. For historic reasons, they do this from the perspective of an educated white male in 19th century America. This perspective presents some problems if your specialty is Snoopy. In "Generalities," newspaper cartoon strips are filed away under "Miscellaneous information, advice, amusement." However, a collection of Charles Schulz cartoons would be shelved way over in "The Arts [right arrow] Drawing and decorative arts," thereby separating two almost equal subjects by a very wide distance.

The generic vocabulary required to describe all of human knowledge is also problematic for specialists. In "The Arts [right arrow] Standard subdivisions of fine and decorative arts and iconography," there are five synonyms for miscellaneous before we get to a real subject. Then it's another six facets to get to the dogs.

In a specialized collection, this lack of precision can be unintentionally whimsical. For example, beagles are well known for their baying. Snoopy has been known to indulge in it on occasion. In "Natural Sciences and Mathematics [right arrow] Zoological Sciences [right arrow] Specific topics in natural history of animals [right arrow] Behavior [right arrow] Communication," Dewey terms this "Acoustical communication." Up in "Natural Sciences and Mathematics [right arrow] Life Sciences [right arrow] Specific physiological systems in animals, regional histology and physiology [right arrow] Musculoskeletal system," the animals are doing the locomotion.