The Normative Principles of Classification refer to the organized set of rules, standards, canons, postulates, and basic laws that guide the design, evaluation, interpretation, and practical application of library classification schemes. These principles provide the scientific foundation for the field, especially through the work of S.R. Ranganathan.
Ranganathan's integrated theory organizes these principles into a hierarchy of decreasing abstraction, applicable across three distinct planes of work: Idea, Verbal, and Notational.
I. Hierarchy of Normative Principles
Ranganathan’s normative framework provides the philosophical and practical guidance for classification theory and practice.
A. Fundamental Laws of Library Science
These five laws serve as the highest level of normative principles, providing the philosophical base for the entire discipline of library science. They are invoked when other canons or principles lead to conflicting decisions.
- Books are for Use.
- Every Reader His Book (or Her Book).
- Every Book Its Reader.
- Save the Time of the Reader.
- A Library is a Growing Organism.
B. Basic Laws
These six laws govern the general process of thinking and are invoked when two or more Laws of Library Science or Canons lead to equally valid or conflicting decisions.
- Law of Interpretation: Requires that the canons, principles, postulates, and rules of classification be interpreted like a legal text.
- Law of Impartiality: Requires that preference between alternatives (e.g., sequence of facets or needs of different user categories) must be made only on sufficient, non-arbitrary grounds.
- Law of Symmetry: If two entities are symmetrical counterparts, and one is given weight, the other should receive a corresponding weight.
- Law of Parsimony: The alternative leading to the overall economy of manpower, material, money, and time is to be preferred.
- Law of Local Variation: Directs that the technique should provide flexibility for users to secure alternative results for strictly local use compared to general use.
- Law of Osmosis: Prescribes the procedure for introducing a new code or scheme gradually (e.g., recataloguing only frequently used or newly acquired materials) to satisfy the canons of context and the law of parsimony.
II. Canons and Their Application (Three Planes of Work)
Ranganathan formulated 43 canons grouped into three planes of work, which are invoked in the design of a scheme of library classification.
A. Idea Plane (Thinking/Policy)
This plane deals with the intellectual analysis of the universe of knowledge, defining its structure, characteristics, and relationships.
| Canon Group | Focus and Application | Key Principles |
|---|---|---|
| Canons for Characteristics (4) | Govern the choice of qualities used to divide a subject. | Characteristics must be differentiating (able to divide a group), relevant (to the purpose of classification), ascertainable (definite and objective), and permanent (intrinsically stable). |
| Canons for Succession of Characteristics (3) | Determine the order in which characteristics should be applied sequentially to refine classification. | Canon of Concomitance (successive characteristics should not result in the same grouping). Canon of Relevant Succession (order should align with the objectives of classification, such as general to specific or user needs). Canon of Consistent Succession (maintaining uniformity in the sequence of characteristics). |
| Canons for Array (4) | Govern the arrangement of coordinate classes. | Exhaustiveness (all classes must be included), Exclusiveness (no cross-classification), Helpful Sequence (arrangement must be useful to users), and Consistency. |
| Canons for Chain (2) | Govern the development of subordinate classes. | Ensure the process proceeds from general to specific and is properly regulated (Canon of Modulation—no link should be missed). |
B. Verbal Plane (Terminology/Language)
This plane addresses the language used to represent the findings of the Idea Plane, ensuring terms are clear, current, and unambiguous.
| Canon | Focus and Application |
|---|---|
| Canon of Context | The meaning of a term must be determined by the context in which it is used. |
| Canon of Currency | Terms used should be those currently in usage among experts/users. |
| Canon of Enumeration | The arrangement of each term in classification systems should be determined by enumeration. |
| Canon of Reticence | The terms used in the scheme should not be critical (non-critical, neutral, or non-opinionated). |
C. Notational Plane (Symbols/Mechanism)
This plane deals with the use of ordinal symbols (notation) to represent classes and mechanize the physical and bibliographic arrangement of documents.
| Canon Group | Focus and Application |
|---|---|
| Basic Canons (12) | Deal with the need for notations to reflect hierarchy, avoid homonyms (one class number for more than one subject), and avoid synonyms (more than one class number for the same subject). They also discuss the relative capacity of pure vs. mixed notation and faceted vs. non-faceted notation. |
| Canons for Growing Universe (Hospitality) (4) | Govern the notation’s ability to accommodate newly emerging classes. This capacity is known as Hospitality in Array (interpolation/extrapolation in an array) and Hospitality in Chain. |
| Canons for Mnemonics (5) | Deal with the need for different types of mnemonic devices (alphabetical, scheduled, systematic, seminal) to aid memory. |
| Canons for Book Classification (3) | Deal with the provision for constructing Book Numbers and Collection Numbers. |
III. Application of Postulates and Principles
Below the level of canons, Ranganathan formulated postulates and principles that guide the practical work of classifying complex subjects, particularly within faceted classification schemes like the Colon Classification (CC).
A. Postulates for Fundamental Categories (FCs)
The theory postulates that there are five and only five Fundamental Categories (FCs), denoted as PMEST (Personality, Matter, Energy, Space, Time). These categories manifest in every subject and are arranged in the order of decreasing concreteness (P, M, E, S, T) when synthesizing a class number.
B. Principles of Facet Sequence
These principles are invoked when the Postulates alone are insufficient (e.g., dealing with two isolates of the same category). They guide the sequence of facets in a compound subject.
- Wall-Picture Principle: If Facet B is dependent on Facet A (B cannot be operative unless A is conceded), then A should precede B.
- Whole-Organ Principle: If Facet B is an organ (part) of Facet A (the whole), then A should precede B.
- Cow-Calf Principle: If two related facets (A and B) must not be separated, they should be kept together in the same Round.
- Actand Action-Actor-Tool Principle: Used for sequencing elements related to an action.
C. Principles of Helpful Sequence
These principles guide the internal arrangement (sequence) of isolates or classes within an array to implement the Canon of Helpful Sequence.
Examples of these principles and their application include:
- Principles for Chronology and Evolution: Principle of Later-in-Time (used for Time isolates) and Principle of Later-in-Evolution (used for species of the plant kingdom in Botany).
- Principles for Spatial Contiguity: Arrangement based on adjacency (used for Geographical isolates).
- Principles for Entities along a Vertical Line: Principle of Bottom-Upwards (e.g., parts of a plant, from root to fruit) or Principle of Top-Downward (e.g., parts of the human body, starting from the head).
- Principle of Canonical Sequence: Arrangement of traditional divisions (e.g., basic divisions of mathematics).
- Principle of Literary Warrant: Arrangement based on the quantity of documents published (e.g., arranging crops in Agriculture).
- Principle of Alphabetical Sequence: Used where logical arrangement is difficult (e.g., car brands).
The application of these normative principles, postulates, and canons ensures that classification schemes like Colon Classification (CC) can handle the complexities of the constantly growing and turbulent Universe of Subjects, resulting in a unique, co-extensive, and helpful arrangement of documents.