BLISS Classification

Anna DirksLeigh HanrihanKonstantin Starikov

Bliss Basics

• Bliss Classification is faceted. It describes the connections between things. Any class can be combined with any other class which follows it in the schedules.

• LCC is not a general system for categorizing knowledge; it is a guide to the books in your library. Bliss is a general system for organizing knowledge.

• Bliss 1 was published between 1940-1953. Bliss 2 (“BC2”) was begun in 1977 and not finished until 2003!

• Two philosophers from whom Bliss borrows extensively are Auguste Comte and Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan.

Origins: Comte (1798-1857)

• Comte was the first person to apply the Scientific Method to the social world. He is the father of Western sociology.

• Comte's Three Stages:

– Stage 1: Theological (Nature explained through myth.)

– Stage 2: Metaphysical (Nature explained through abstract forces.)

– Stage 3: Positive (Nature explained through the connections of sciences.)

Origins: Comte , continued

• More on Positivism: related to the philosophy of Reductionism, which explains that complex things can be explained in terms of simpler parts.

• Reductionism implies unity in science.

• This brings us to the Comptean principle of Gradation in Specialty.

• ...which formed the basis of Bliss v 1.0 (published in 4 volumes between 1940 and 1953)

Origins: Ranganathan (1892-1972)

• Ranganathan was a mathematician and librarian of Tamil origin who developed a system of faceted classification called Colon Classification.

• The five facets of Ranganathan's Colon Classification are:

– , [[personality]]

– ; [[matter]] or property

– : [[energy]]

– . [[space]]

– ' [[time]] • Bliss 2 extended this system to 13 Facets.

How Bliss Works: 13 Facets• The facets are: Thing – kind – part – property – material – process – operation – patient – product – by-product – agent – space – time.

•They are always used in this order.

• To classify an item, first you determine which facets the item has.

•Then you arrange them in order from most specific to most general. (This is the reverse order of the BC2 schedules.)

• Then, you use the class schedules to look up the notation for the facets which are present.

How Bliss Works, continued

• Let's look at an outline of the BC2 Schedules, http://www.slais.ubc.ca/courses/libr517/02-03-wt2/projects/faceted/blissoutline.htm

• We can also look at an outline of a specific class - “K” (Society). http://www.slais.ubc.ca/courses/libr517/02-03-wt2/projects/faceted/ClassK_outline.htm

• Notice that:

– The notation is alphanumeric*

– The notation is very terse

– Letters/numbers are grouped into sets of 3

• So how do we put facets together to describe an object?

Examples

• To combine facets, start with the least specific (most general), and concatenate classes from there, dropping the first letter if it is common between two facets. Questionnaires on changes in marriage patterns among Muslims in France: KVF QSP BKC E7N

K SocietyK7N Questionnaires KCE Social changeKPB K MuslimsKQS MarriageKVF France

Rules and Filing

• If two adjoining facets don't share a common first letter, then just concatenate them as they are.

• If two adjoining facets have more than just the first letter in common (the first two letters, for example) then drop those first two letters when combing the facets.

• You can use the Common Auxiliary schedules to specify place, date and language.

• Citations and filing: – You must always follow the order of the facets.– The filing order is always general than specific.

Pros and Cons• If your collection is limited to items whose facets are well described in

the Bliss schedules, then Bliss can be a great system for you. • It is simple to create subject indexes using Bliss, because your class

numbers are just compound subjects. • Unfortunately,

– The vocabulary is not up to date in all (or possibly any) fields– Figuring out what attributes correspond to which facets can be

a pain in the neck. – The schedules are not available online. – This system is not widely used.

Bliss Today• Perhaps the biggest problem with Bliss today is the lack of up to date

schedules for all possible topics. • Universities, particularly in Britain, are among the only users of the Bliss

system. • But what if we had Viral Bliss? What if creating new Bliss schedules was

an open process, done by subject experts and shared widely? (What if there were a wikipedia for Bliss?