Bibliographic Classification: From Mimetic Representation to Isomorphic Documentality

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Joacim Hansson

Bibliographic Classification

From Mimetic Representation to Isomorphic Documentality

Joacim Hansson

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English

MIT Press
16 December 2025

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A novel analysis that understands bibliographic classification systems as autonomous documents and not just as information retrieval tools.

A novel analysis that understands bibliographic classification systems as autonomous documents and not just as information retrieval tools.

Bibliographical classification systems are developed as tools for the retrieval of documents and information in libraries or bibliographical catalogs. Traditionally, they have also served as organizing principles for library shelving. As with most kinds of classification, bibliographic classification systems are products of their time, encoding the beliefs and values of the cultures in which they are created. In Bibliographic Classification, Joacim Hansson addresses the connection between classification and society in a new way by analyzing bibliographic classification systems not just as information retrieval tools, but as autonomous documents, using a theoretical foundation from Document Studies, Information Science, and Organizational Theory.

The book advances its argument in three case studies- the Universal Decimal Classification, read as part of progressive social movements in early twentieth-century Belgium; the Swedish SAB-system, developed in the late 1910s, read as a formulation of cultural integrity and nationalist reformulation; and Jewish bibliographic classification practice with specific focus on how to address historical Jewish identity and the Holocaust in Judaica collections.

By: Joacim Hansson
Imprint: MIT Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
Weight: 369g
ISBN: 9780262553490
ISBN 10: 026255349X
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 16 December 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Joacim Hansson is Professor of Library and Information Science at Linnaeus University, V xj , Sweden. He has published nine books, both in Sweden and internationally, including Libraries and Identity and Educating Librarians in the Contemporary University.