Ka Pō, Ka Ao, Ka Awatea: The Interface between Epistemology and Māori Subject Headings

Abstract

Cataloging and classification provide intellectual access for organizing resources in libraries. In New Zealand, bibliographic control is largely through the application of Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). LCSH provide a sense of context and order. In Indigenous frameworks this sense of order can be found in the link between epistemology and knowledge structure. This article argues that the development and application of Māori subject headings is directly related to the natural order that is pivotal to a Māori worldview. The impact of this worldview and its associated values are explored in the context of the construction of Ngā Ūpoko Tukutuku.