FACETED CLASSIFICATION AND THE FINE ARTS

The Journal of Documentation does not normally publish papers on the classification, etc., of specific subjects. An exception has been made in this case, since most of the available examples of faceted classifications are in the field of science and technology and it is felt useful to publish an illustration of the use of this technique for a subject within the humanities. The techniques of faceted classification were applied to the fine arts in a scheme which was designed for use in a college library. Some problems of classifying the literature are discussed, together with the solutions adopted. An excerpt schedule with an alphabetical subject index and some classified examples are provided to illustrate the project.