Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Date of this Version
Summer 10-24-2017
Abstract
The paper introduces bibliotaxonomy as a generic name for those aspects of Library and Information Science (LIS) scholarship that deal with the processing and organization of books, documents and other information materials. It traces the origin of, and inspiration for bibliotaxonomy to different taxonomic practices in various communities, societies, as well as earlier philosophical and botanical classifications. A sketch of the contours of the field of bibliotaxonomy was presented which shows that this phenomenon cuts across specific library technical services of cataloguing, classification, indexing and accessioning. In addition, successful application of taxonomic principles from other disciplines in the organization of knowledge was highlighted and clarified. Some of the implications of the adoption of bibliotaxonomy would be increased interdisciplinary collaborations, deepened librarianship-inspired taxonomic researches, emergence of recognizable areas of specialization in LIS, more visibility for document taxonomists, and societal appreciation of the role and influence of taxonomic principles in the practice of librarianship. The paper concludes that bibliotaxonomy is a preferable academic nomenclature considering that the underlying philosophy has been tried and perfected in other disciplines with amazing results. The recommendations of the paper include: regular use of the term "bibliotaxonomy" in LIS researches, acceptance of bibliotaxonomy as an area of academic specialization for LIS scholars, increased funding of bibliotaxonomic researches and regular academic collaborations amongst taxonomists in various disciplines.