The Sixth International Study Conference on Classification Research

Information Outlook, Oct, 1997

The conference was held in England partly to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first Study Conference held in Dorking in May 1957. A number of people who had attended the earlier conference were able to return for and speak at this conference. All of the participants of the original Dorking conference were invited to join in the Celebration Dinner.

The conference chair was Ia McIlwaine, head of the School of Library, Archive and Information Studies at UCL, chair of FID/CR (International Federation for Information and Documentation/Committee on Classification Research for Knowledge Organization), and editor of the Universal Decimal Classification. Among others in attendance were Joan Mitchell, editor of the Dewey Decimal Classification; Jack Mills, editor of the second edition of the Bliss Classification; and M.A. Gopinath, editor of the latest edition of the Ranganathan Classification. Themes explored at the conference included:

* The role of classification in the management of information

* Classification research for retrieval of information published electronically

* Automatic methods of classification

* The researcher and the real world

* Tools for classification and classification as a tool

* Data modeling

The first day of the conference began with an opening speech by Jack Miles, who set the stage for the conference, discussing topics of interest in 1957 which are still of interest and concern today. Other speeches included, "Definitional Approaches to the Design of Classification and Thesauri and Their Implications for Retrieval and for Automatic Classification" and "Subject Searching of Large Scale Information Stores Embracing All Fields of Knowledge: Classification and Concept Matching." Several papers dealing with classification and the Internet were presented as well as a paper on "Data Structures and Indexing for Museum Collections Management." One of the papers on the Internet was given by Marcia Lei Zeng, an SLA member.

The second day - which included the highest attendance - was set up with simultaneous sessions, with one all day track focusing on "classification," a half-day track on "theory," and another half-day track on "thesaurus." The classification sessions were moderated by Elaine Svenonius in the morning and Philip Bryant in the afternoon; the theory session was moderated by Douglas Foskett; and the thesaurus session was moderated by Hanne Albrechtsen.

My paper, "Mathematics in Four Classification Schemes: A Discussion," was given at the morning classification session. Other papers presented included, "Language Barriers and Bridges - A Comparative Study on Three UDC Editions," "Challenges Facing Classification Systems: A Dewey Case Study," "The Role of Classification in the Creation of Author and Work Displays in Online Catalogs," "Classifications and Linear Orders: Problems of Organizing Zoology," and "Decomposition of Complex UDC Notations."

The third day included several final papers before the closing of the conference. Two of the papers were "Frame-Based Systems and Classification Systems," and "The Influence of Mathematics on Ranganathan's Classification Theory." A summing-up was done by Brian Vickery and a final talk was given by Michael Hill.

I have a copy of the complete program and abstracts of the papers presented. I would be happy to send the program and copies of specific abstracts to anyone interested. It is anticipated that proceedings will be published in the near future.

The conference was considered highly successful, not only because of the papers which were well-received, but because there was sufficient time for discussion and interaction. Each paper was followed by time for comments and questions from the audience. Time was also allowed for tea and coffee breaks and unhurried lunches. Two receptions and the Celebration Dinner provided further opportunities for interaction and individual conversations with other attendees and the organizers. Thanks go to Ia McIlwaine, Kerstin Michaels (departmental administrator), and all of the others who were involved in the arrangements for this excellent conference.

Dorothy McGarry. For more information on "International News," or to contribute to the column, please contact Barbara Hutchinson at: 1-520-621-8578; fax: 1-520-621-3816; e-mail: barbarah@ag.arizona.edu.