Match the following theories of classification with their respective propounder.

LIST - I (Theory)		LIST - II (Propounder)
A.	Descriptive Theory	I.	J. D. Brown
B.	One Place Theory	II.	E. C. Richardson
C.	Criteria of Classification	III.	E. W. Hume
D.	Literary Warrant	IV.	Henry Bliss

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

The Correct answer is A - IV, B - I, C - II, D - III.

Key Points

• Descriptive Theory of Library Classification:
  • ​Initially, library classification was based solely on practice, with no formal theory.
  • This practice led to the emergence of the descriptive theory, which was the first stage in the evolution of library classification.
  • The descriptive theory met the needs of the subject universe as understood at the time and was shaped by the practices and classification schemes in use.
  • Key figures like Brown, Richardson, Hulme, Sayers, Bliss, and Ranganathan are credited with the development of this theory between 1898 and 1937.
  • H.E. Bliss dedicated his life to the study of classification and its principles.
  • His key works, Organisation of Knowledge and the System of Science (1929) and Organisation of Knowledge in Libraries and the Subject Approach to Books (1933, 2nd ed. 1939), laid the philosophical, logical, and scientific foundations for bibliographic classification.
  • His System of Bibliographic Classification (BC), first outlined in 1935, was built on core principles that include:
    • Consensus
    • Subordination
    • Collocation
    • Alternative Locations
    • Notation
• One Place Theory:
  • One Place Theory was proposed by J. D. Brown which states that each subject should have only one placement in the classification scheme, regardless of its multiple aspects and manifestations.
  • For example, the subject of "rose" could be viewed from various perspectives—botany, horticulture, history, geography, decoration, bibliography, etc.
  • According to Brown, the rose is a concrete subject, while these viewpoints represent its different aspects.
  • He believed that scholars maintained a constant interest in the subject, unlike bibliographers, whose interest was more situational.
  • Therefore, Brown preferred to place the rose under a single, specific heading.
  • Unlike systems like Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) or the Library of Congress (LC), which organize by discipline, his system was topic-based.
  • This experimental approach, however, ultimately failed.
• Criteria of Classification:
  • ​E.C. Richardson, the first librarian at Hartford Theological Seminary and later at Princeton University Library, is considered one of the pioneers in the systematic development of library classification theory.
  • In 1910, he published Classification, Theoretical and Practical, the first textbook on classification, which significantly influenced later scholars, including W.C.B. Sayers.
  • In the introduction to his work, Richardson outlined Criteria of Classification as guiding principles for designing a classification scheme:
    • ​Classification should follow the natural order of things, with classes arranged in historical sequence.
    • The division of classes should be detailed.
    • Things should be arranged based on likeness and unlikeness.
    • Classification should be based on the use of books, as they are collected and administered for use.
    • A classification system should include a notation that allows for indefinite subdivisions, ideally using a mixed symbol with a decimal base and mnemonic features.
•  Literary Warrant:
  • ​E. Wyndham Hulme (1859-1954) introduced the idea of "literary warrant" as the foundation for book classification and the delineation of subject classes.
    Instead of relying on a predetermined philosophical order of sciences, which was the prevailing approach during Hulme's era, he proposed deriving classes and their names from existing literature.
    This method of establishing classes through literary warrant is explained, and its connection to what Hulme referred to as a "statistical bibliography" is examined.