Potential of bibliographic tools to organize knowledge on the Internet: The use of dewey Decimal Classification scheme for organizing web-based information resources

Abstract

Possibilities are being explored to use traditional bibliographic tools, like Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), Library of Congress Classification (LCC), Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), and Universal Decimal Classification (UDC), to improve the organization of information resources on the Internet. The most recent edition of DDC, with its enhanced features, has greater potential than other traditional approaches. A review of selected Web sites that use DDC to organize Web resources indicates, however, that the full potential of the DDC scheme for this purpose has not been realized. While the review found that the DDC classification structure was more effective when compared with other knowledge organization systems, we conclude that DDC needs to be further enhanced to make it more suitable for this application. As widely reported in the professional literature, OCLC has conducted research on the potential of DDC for organizing Web resources. Such research, however, is experimental and should be supplemented by empirical studies with user participation.