7 Work in the idea plane: principles of helpful sequence

Dr M P Satija

Structure:

1. Classification is order

1.1 Levels of orders

2. Principles of Helpful Sequence

2.1 Chronological Sequence

2.2 Evolutionary order

2.3 Principle of Spatial Contiguity

2.4 Principle of Quantitative Measure

2.5 Principle of Increasing Complexity

2.6 Literary Warrant Principle

2.7 Canonical Sequence

2.8 Alphabetical Sequence

2.9 Exceptions to the Helpful Order

2.9.1 Reader’s Interest Classification

3. Facet sequence

3.0 What is facet sequence?

3.1 Wall-Picture principle

3.2 Whole-Organ principle

3.4 Cow-Calf principle

3.5 Actand-Action-Actor-Tool principle

3.6 Other views

3.7 Absolute Syntax

4. APUPA pattern: The ultimate order

4.1 Book Numbers

5. Glossary

6. Further Readings

7. Test questions

1. Classification is order:

Classification means an orderly arrangement. Act of classification is to put objects in some order—order that is logical or of some aid to its users. Classification, whatever be its purpose is always utilitarian. It is a means to some end. Classification is for library users, so it must be useful to them. The order which a classification imposes, or discovers should be useful to the library users in using the library and its documents. Mostly order is logical and predictable. In library classification, there are orders at many levels. The ultimate visible order is of documents on the shelves. Ranganathan has ingeniously invented APUPA pattern of documents on the shelves. Most of other schemes such as the DDC, UDC or Library of Congress achieve helpful order on the shelves by ordering disciplines and main classes according to some criteria. For example, the DDC chose the inverted Baconian order. Cutter’s main classes in his Expansive Classification are in an evolutionary order: this order has also been adapted by the Library of Congress Classification. H.E. Bliss for his BC, after long search and deliberations, formulated an order based on scientific and educational consensus. Forfurther order every main class is divided into major branches of the class and further into hierarchical sub-divisions. This order is mostly hierarchical and scientific.

1.1 Levels of orders:

For Ranganathan Classification is an objective art based on logic and science. He has achieved helpful order at many levels in designing his classification to have an ultimate order which is logical on the shelves and for information retrieval. Apart from order of main classes, the order of facets and isolates within each category is systematic. This he achieved by formulating the principles of helpful sequence in an array. It is to arrange entities of an array in an order which is up to the expectations and of maximum use to majority of the library users. For this Ranganathan has formulated eight principles to arrange entities in some useful and logical order. Any of the principles could be applied– only one at a time—to arrange them depending upon the nature of entities and needs of the majority users. These are:

2. Principles of Helpful Sequence:

As already said, an array is essentially a systematically ranked and arranged group of equal entities. There are many ways the members of a group can be arranged. Librarians have to choose their sequence which is helpful to the majority of the users and also logical.

Ranganathan (Prolegomena,FA2) has formulated the following eight principles for arranging entities of an array in a helpful way:

1. Principle of Later-in-Time

2. Principle of Later-in-Evolution

3. Principle of Spatial Contiguity

4. Principles for Quantitative Measure

5. Principle of Increasing Complexity

6. Principle of Canonical Sequence

7. Principle of Literary Warrant

8. Principle of Alphabetical Sequence

Further of the third principle of Spatial Contiguity he has given 13 sub principles to suit a given situation.

1. Principles for Entities along a Vertical Line

1.1 Principle of Bottom Upwards

1.2 Principle of Top Down

2. Principles for Entities along a Horizontal Line

2.1 Principle of Left to Right

2.2 Principle of Right to Left

3. Principles for Entities along a Circular Line

3.1 Principle of Clockwise Direction

3.2 Principle of Counter-Clockwise Direction

4. Principles for Entities along a Radial Line

4.1 Principle of Periphery to Centre

4.2 Principle of Centre to Periphery

5. Principle of Away-from-Position

2.1 Chronological Sequence:

Entities in an array may be arranged in a chronological or historical sequence. A group of boys and girls may be arranged by age; Kings of a country may be arranged according to their period of rule. Indian Prime ministers may be arranged in the order: Nehru, Shashtri, Indra Gandhi, Morarji Desai… Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh. The DDC arranges Moughal Kings in the order of their ascending the throne: Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb and the rest. Extending this analogy a bit, a queue waiting for a bus or before a booking window is also according to this order. It is an order which may be called “First come-first-served”.

2.2 Evolutionary order:

Related principle is of Later in Evolution. Some entities can be arranged as they have evolved: animals can be arranged from amoeba to mammals; plants are arranged from Thallophyta to Dicotyledons. Societies can be arranged: Hunting society, Agriculture Society, Industrial Society, and Information society. Evolution can be biological, social, or technological. In fact the Evolutionary order subsumes chronological order. For example, generations of computers exhibit both the orders; so do the types of governments in W Political science.

Anarchy W1

Primitive W2

Feudal W3

Monarchy W4

Oligarchy W5

Democracy W6

2.3 PrincipleofSpatialContiguity:

Another Principle is of geographical proximity or Spatial Contiguity. If the entities exist in space their arrangement should be near to one another as they configure naturally in space or on earth. We can arrange Indian states in the order: J & K, Punjab Himachal, Haryana, Delhi, UP, and so on. Planets in space may be arranged like: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Pluto. Body organs are arranged top downwards order; while parts of a building can be arranged bottom upwards. This method provides many techniques to arrange many different types of entities in different spatial orders.

2.4 Principle of QuantitativeMeasure:

It recommends that if entities are associated with some quantity, then these may be arranged in the order of their increasing quantity. For example, Indian currency notes may be arranged in the order: one rupee two rupee, five rupee, Twenty rupee, fifty rupee hundred rupee, Five hundred rupee and one thousand rupee. Public libraries may be arranged in the order: National Library, Regional Library, State Library, District Library, Municipal Library & lastly Village Library. In Town Planning we can arrange like: Village Planning, Town Planning, City Planning, and Metropolitan Planning.

2.5 Principle of Increasing Complexity:

It lays down that the entities may be arranged in the order of their increasing complexity, e.g., Linguistic elements can be arranged as: syllable, word, phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph, chapter, book and so on. Algebraic equations can be arranged as 1st order, 2nd order, 3rd order equations, etc. Quantity and complexity are concomitant to one another. If the national library is large it is also hugely complex compared to a village library.

2.6 Literary Warrant Principle:

Further, entities can be arranged according to their popularity of use, e.g., we can arrange food seeds in the order: Rice, Wheat, Rye.

2.7 CanonicalSequence:

Further if there is any traditional sequence of entities then it may be followed as we traditionally say Radhe-Shaam, Sita-Ram, Algebra-Geometry, not the other way, and so on. We never say Ram-Sita. It is known as Principle of Canonical sequence. Canonical means traditional, and tradition wherever it exists is respected in civilized society, and is upheld by law. This principle implies that if any traditional sequence is prevalent (irrespective of its logic) then the library classification designer must resort to that.Ranganathan has used the principle in arranging branches of B Math and C Physics.

2.8 Alphabetical Sequence:

Lastly if no other principle applies then the entities may be arranged in alphabetical order. All the UN member states are arranged in alphabetical order. Long list of names of persons is better arranged in alphabetical order.Library of Congress uses it as the most frequently applied principle. In Psychology the human emotions have been arranged alphabetically:

BF575.A5 Anger

BF575.A9 Awe

BF575.F2 Fear

BF575.H3 Hate

BF575.L8 Love

Words in a dictionary are arranged in alphabetical order – also called dictionary order. Alphabetically arranged entities can be easily located. Alphabetical arrangement comes handy in resolving conflict of claiming precedence by a nation, person or cultural group. So such entities are better arranged alphabetically to avoid conflict or grievances. In official documents the states of India are listed alphabetically. On the currency notes issued by the RBI, their denomination in scheduled languages of India are mentioned alphabetically beginning with Assamese going down to Urdu. This way no state or language group can complain that their language is discriminated. Similarly, in Olympics, inaugural parade teams are queued alphabetically by name of the country they represent. Thus, alphabetical arrangement is used as an instrument to resolve political conflicts and to keep chauvinists at bay. Ranganathan advices to use this as a least preferred method. He even thought it as opposite of classification.But many systems prefer it for ease of its use, and later for easy operation.NotwithstandingRanganathan’s least preference for it, it has advantage of infinite hospitality and easy location. At best it is a tool of retrieval than systematic organization.

In nutshell, for arrangement of members in an array use any systematic and predictable method that you think will be helpful to majority of the library users.

2.9 Exceptions to the Helpful Order:

Every principle of helpful sequence is subject to the exception “When any other overwhelming consideration rules it out”. Ranganathan has not given any example of such an exception in any of the principles. The two exceptions that seem to the logical and helpful order are:

a) Principle of Local Variation

b) Reader’s Interest Classification

Local variations allows an entity to be taken out of its logical order to be placed at some favourableposition . Ranganathan has allowed the placement of local subjects, such as philosophy, language or even history to be given the first place in the array. This is also in accordance with the favouredcategory principle. This has also prompted many libraries using DDC to place main classes 400 Languages & 800 Literatures together instead to be separated by the intervening 500-700 main classes. The Bliss’s BC and the DDC also make provisions for alternative places for some of the subjects.

2.9.1 Reader’s Interest Classification:

Since Cutter’s time, users’ convenience has been uppermost in the minds of classificationists and indexers. Indeed in the present climate, user is the king and at the center stage of all considerations for library services. Yet all the big and general classification systems were not designed on the basis of any users’ survey of their classification needs or subject approaches to the library material. In recent editions, the DDC did make a survey of users’ preferences to guide them in revising the DDC. In the recent years, we have seen a movement for designing special classifications keeping in view the needs of local users. Many arrangements (though not strictly logical) have been tried and experimented for the convenience of users. These local arrangements have even been preferred by the library users, no matter if these violate the logical order of classes. Classifications are not exhibition grounds of logic, but to serve the users to their convenience.

3. Facet sequence:

“In …classification, one of the vital steps is the determination of the helpful sequence of facets of a subject. This means the syntax of facets… The syntax of facets based on postulates and principles automatically yields a sequence of subjects giving satisfaction to the majority of readers” (Prolegomena,XJ1).

3.0 What is a facet sequence?

Nextcomes the order of facets in compound or complex subjects to make a narrow subject spread out logically with all its ramifications. Suppose our subject in the array is Academic Libraries. Then all the documents dealing with its various aspects such as patrons, technical services, public services, administration, relations with other libraries,be arranged in some helpful order. For this Ranganathan has given what he calls principles of facet sequence. This is called citation order in case of indexing. It depicts syntactic relations among facets of a subject. Both mean the same thing. The facet sequence falls within the overarching and grand sequence of categories in the PMEST order. This order being general, that is non-specific, is in concrete to abstract order. This PMEST order has proved to be logical and orderly in all subjects and in every sort of classification. It achieves arrangement of books from general to specific order on the shelves or in post-coordinate indexing for searching databases or in bibliographies for micro subjects. These principles of facet sequence are also useful in keeping the facets in logical order in case of rounds and levels of categories. These principle mostly apply to faceted classification system or in designing subject heading lists or for laying down principles for indexing systems like Precis, Popsi or even chain indexing. The citation order exists in every classification and indexing. “However Ranganathan was the first classification theorist to develop an explicit and comprehensive theory for citation order” says Eric Hunter. Principles of faceted sequence given by Ranganathan are:

Wall-Picture principle Whole-Organ principle Cow-Calf principle Actand-Action-Actor-Tool principle

3.1 Wall-Picture principle

It states that of the two or more facets, if one depends on the other for its operation or existence then the dependent must follow the independent. A picture in a mural cannot exist without a wall. Hence name of the principle. Of the two facets disease and treatment there cannot be any treatment without the disease. Hence the disease—treatment sequence. This is to order entities as they flow in the life cycle. Similarly in economics, the order should be: Production—Distribution—Consumption. In the citation order Literature—English—Shakespeare—Works we can see the use of repeated Wall—Picture principle. This principle also implies later in time sequence.

3.2 Whole-Organ principle:

If a facet is a part or organ of another whole entity then the obvious and logical sequence is Whole-Organ. For example, Parliament-LokSabha-Committees or University-Faculty-School-Class-Section. Its corollary is Whole-Part principle. Resulting order is hierarchical, which is considered natural and scientific.

3.4 Cow-Calf principle:

It may also be stated as Mother-Infant principle. As a young breast fed child cannot survive separated from the mother, so such entities, though independent in themselves, should be kept together without any intervening facet. Analogy is from India where a milch cow and its newly born calf are traditionally not separated when the cow is sold to someone else. Similarly, President and his/her functions cannot and should not be separated. The sequence would be: India-President-Powers.

3.5 Actand-Action-Actor-Tool principle:

This compounded principle is geared into services when many facets are to be arranged. Here actand isthe object on which the action takes place, actor is the doer while tool is the instrument used for performing the action. Example given in the Prolegomena(RN3) is, Girls (actor) spinning (action) cotton (actand) on charkha (instrument). Here the order of facets will be Cotton-Spinning-Girls-Charkha. This is in perfect sync with Wall-Picture principle. In fact all the principles enunciated by Ranganathan are corollaries of the seminal facet sequence of Wall-Picture or in other words the dependency principle.

3.6 Other views:

The work of facet sequence or citation order has got constant attention of the indexers and the classification theorists. The latest and ultimate research has come out from the Classification Research Group (CRG, London). Its formula is Thing-Kind-Part- Property-Material-Process-Operation-Patient-Product-By product-Agent-Place-Time. It is simply a elucidation of the Wall-Picture principle, or PMEST order. Ranganathan wouldeasily reduce all these facets to his five fundamental categories in rounds and levels.

3.7 Absolute Syntax:

In addition to that, Ranganathan aspired for an absolute sequence of facets of a compound subject in the minds of majority of intellectuals (Prolegomena, XJ). That search for absolute syntax seems futile as there cannot be any absolute sequence of things in the nature. No classification is natural except that it serves your purpose. Order is mostly imposed, not discovered. Language too is social, not natural or neural.Hence no further light seems on the issue since Ranganathan mooted the idea of absolute syntax in 1958 though he imagines that his PMEST order is near to the absolute syntax. Nevertheless, there is absolutely no absolute order anywhere.

4. APUPA pattern: The ultimate order:

However the ultimate and visible order in library classification is of the books on the shelves. Ranganathan with all his ingenuity has managed to put documents in an order which is called by an acronym APUPA. Here U means umbral, P is penumbral, and A stands for alien subjects. The core or pithy subjects, or the subject matter with highest density is placed in the U zone while on its left and right are penumbral zoneswhich have less subject density. On the left this zone is made of approach documents such as dictionaries, glossaries or bibliographies of a subject, while on the right P zone comprises of advances such as research, critical studies or professional associations of the core subject. The Aon both the sides refers to a previous or the next neighboring subject. In this way, the user approaches shelves in a way learner initiates, graduates and then makes further deep advances in the subject. This order is of gradual learning or a self learning order. Such an arrangement makes classification itself an education. Such an order is most friendly and useful for its users and practitioners. It is only Ranganathan who has contrived an APUPA pattern on the shelves. No other scheme does it.

4.1 Book Numbers:

Apart from the APUPA pattern, books having the same specific subjects have to be arranged in some logical or helpful order. Without such sub arrangement there will be small pockets of chaos on the shelves. This order is achieved by book numbers. Ranganathan has proposed chronological order on the shelves with in the same specific subject and has defended it to be helpful in self learning and collection management. Other schemes like the DDC and the Congress Classification prefer alphabetical arrangement by author for easy location for the convenience of the users. Both these types of sub arrangements have their advocates and adherents.

5. GlossaryAPUPA Pattern:

A=Alien, P=Penumbral, U=Umbral. Arrangement of documents on the shelves in the order in which core documents represented by umbral region,having 100% subject matter density, are preceded by alien and penumbral regions and followed by penumbral and alien regions. P on the left of U refers to the approach subjects to the core documents such as bibliographies or glossaries of the subjects, while penumbral on the right of umbral region represents advanced subjects such as research, research centers or professional associations. A represents the related subjects in the discipline. For example, if physics is an umbral region, then A on the left is mathematics and on the right is astronomy. Ranganathan has been able to achieve this self learning pattern by assigning different ordinal values to the common isolates (CIs) dividing into two groups of ACIs and PCIs.

Array: A group of equally ranked entities in a line arranged in some logical and predictable order.

Book Number: A devise to sub arrange books having the same class number. Sub arrangement is either alphabetical by author or chronological by the year of the publication.

Citation order: Order of the facets in a compound subject or subject heading showing their syntactical realtions. PMEST is one order; concrete/abstract order given by J. Kaiser (1911) is another. All the principles for the facet sequence proposed by Ranganathan are also for citation order. Comprehensive citation order formulated by the CRG, London is:

Thing-Kind-Part-Property-Material-Process-Operation-Patient-Product-Byproduct- Agent-Place-Time

Dependency order: A citation order of arranging facets/entities in an order in which an entity depends for its existence on its immediately previous entity. Wall-Picture principle is exemplified by Production—Distribution—Consumption order in economics is dependency order.

Facet formula: Another name for citation order especially in reference to a faceted classification.

Helpful sequence: Systematic arrangement of entities of an array in a way which is helpful to majority of users. There is no one order which is helpful to all users. Ranganathan has formulated eight principles for helpful order to be applied suitably depending upon the nature of entities. At the same time, Ranganathan has stipulated that exception for helpful order may be made “When any other overwhelming consideration rules it out”.

Inversion principle: Arrangement of the books on the shelves is in reverse order of the citation of facets. In the facet formula, The CC and UDC follow this principle. In CC the books on the shelves are arranged in the order of TSEMP. In other words, the facets in the PMEST move from concrete to abstract, or specific to general whereas the books on the shelves are arranged in general to specific/abstract-concrete order.

6. Further Readings

Buchannan, Brian.1979.Theory of Library Classification. London: Bingley, pp.33-34.
Gopinath, M A.1986. Construction of Depth Version of Colon Classification. New Delhi: Wiley Eastern,pp.80-99
Hunter, Eric J.2009.Classifcation Made Simple,3rd ed. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing,15,24
Krishan Kumar. 2004. The Theory of Classification. New Delhi: Vikas, pp.135-138.
Parkhi, R.S. 1972. Library Classification: Evolution of a Dynamic Theory, Delhi: Vikas, pp 52-101.
Ranganathan, S.R. 1967 Prolegomena to Library Classification, 3rd ed. Mumbai: Asia, pp. 143-216.
Satija, M.P. 2004. A Dictionary of Knowledge Organization, Amritsar: Guru Nanak Dev University, 248p.
Satija, M.P. 2009. “Users interest classification: Guest editorial”. SRELS Jl. of Inf. Mgmt. 46 (4): 353-354.

Learn More:

Module LIS/KOP – C/5(3): Work in the Idea Plane: Helpful Sequence

1. Do you know

Classification is synonymous with order.
Library classification implies manifold orders at different levels.

2. Points to remember

No ultimate order of documents on the schedules serves all users.
The order is for majority of the users.
Other approaches to collection are served by the catalogue.
There are many choices for arrangement of entitled in an array.
But for arrangement of entities in a chain the only order is hierarchical.
Principles of helpful sequence is for entities in arrays.
Order of facets in a facet formula (citation order) is governed by the Principles of Facet Sequence.
Wall-Picture principle provides the key order. Rest orders can be derived from it.

The order of facets formulated by CRG/BC-2 is the most comprehensive one so far.