Classification Systems for Jewish Libraries and Bibliographies – Philosophy, Warrants and Relation to non-Jewish Bibliographic Practice

Abstract

This article analyzes bibliographic classification systems for Jewish libraries and Judaica from a cultural perspective, partly detached from their function as document retrieval tools. Theoretically and methodologically, the study refers to the significance of warrants as formulated in Library and Information Science. With specific interest in the relation between Jewish and non-Jewish classification and bibliography, examples are given of systems from Europe and the USA, primarily from the twentieth century. Results indicate that bibliographic classification systems not only represent documents but reproduce cultural and ideological preferences of both designers and historical situations. In their effort to document religion in a bibliographic context, the example systems help to formulate various aspects of Judaism through both hierarchical structuring and subject definition.