Beyond the Language of Control.

October 09, 2024
Eloise Carpenter | Collection Services | London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Main schedules: 

Auxiliary schedules: 

11 Tables allowing further subdivision of subjects incl. general, geographical, pathological, therapeutic, surgical, anatomical, chemical.

The project

In 2019 an idea was mooted to review and update A Classification Scheme for Medical and Veterinary Libraries. The aim of this long overdue revision was to evaluate and revise the scheme to reflect the current research priorities and teaching interests of LSHTM and meet the collections-specific requirements of the Library. Steps to be taken were:

•    Assess content of Library collections and LSHTM research priorities and teaching interests 
•    Review operational effectiveness of scheme and identify areas requiring improvement
•    Plan changes, including potential impact on collections, Library staff, users and budgets
•    Update and revise classification scheme
•    Implement revised scheme, provide training for staff, communicate changes, establish policies and procedures
•    Publish and promote revised scheme

On paper, the project appeared relatively simple. In practice, an extensive range of work was required. The context of the scheme would need to be researched – Barnard, LSHTM, 1950s society, as well as the different classification schemes available. A methodical exploration of subject research areas was required.  

Classification and related user search behaviour needed careful thought, 
and an understanding of what it meant to decolonise a library was imperative.

Classification has always been a means to exert control over things, to impose a structure and logical order. As the project progressed, three threads quickly emerged, each linked to a power dynamic: language, society, colonialism. Unravelling the scheme’s power dynamics would be key to an effective revision. 

Power dynamic: Language

Controlled vocabularies used in classification schemes organise subjects and assist readers in finding information. The resulting knowledge structures and subject headings regularly lead to an unfamiliar language evident in library catalogues. Library systems and discovery tools facilitate access to resources, but also inherit search hierarchies, power dynamics and language bias of the controlled vocabularies.  

Action taken:
•    Subject headings and descriptions reviewed, removed, and updated, as necessary
•    New headings and topics added, carefully balancing the needs of readers, resources, and structural requirements of the scheme
•    Increased reliability of metadata: structure was kept logical, duplication avoided, and all cross-references checked

It is impossible to completely break the link between classification language and power. Classification represents an order of knowledge and reflects society at a specific point in time. However, by using accessible language and making informed choices about order – which subjects are ‘privileged’ or ‘subordinated’, classification can open up the knowledge contained in the scheme and increase findability of resources for users.

Power dynamic: Society

Barnard last revised his scheme in the 1950s. Britain was nearing the end of rationing and austerity, with many people beginning to feel more affluent. Consumerism was growing, especially with home and car ownership and leisure time. Manufacturing dominated employment and it was an economy built on industry – coal, steel, textiles, electronics and engineering, oil refining, chemical production.  

1950s society exercised social control by various means. The British Empire was mainly intact and there were high levels of militarism and state regulation. Britain’s population was overwhelmingly indigenous, socially conservative, with strong class divisions and dominated by traditional beliefs and values. There were limited opportunities for women. Barnard’s scheme inevitably expressed the society in which he lived.

Classification creates meanings by defining and categorizing groups of people, experiences and subjects in a cultural context. Perception is shaped by this reference, creating a power dynamic. Therefore, a change of reference can alter perception.  

Action taken:
•    Subjects, language, and arrangement of topics revised to reflect sociocultural changes, contemporary demographics, 
      political and economic developments
•    Equity, diversity and inclusion were promoted.  Conscious and unconscious biases challenged.  1950s norms and values addressed 
      incl. gender, race, disability, and sexual orientation.  Terms that could cause offence or grouped people together under a label or within a certain 
      category replaced

Power dynamic: Colonialism

Many classification schemes are rooted in a past that controlled, appropriated or ignored the ‘other’. They perpetuate a dominance of Western thought and maintain the assumed link between colonialism and intellectualism – an ‘intellectual colonialism’. The Linnaean taxonomy, firmly ingrained in biology, is also problematic. It is a taxonomy which replaced indigenous names with Latin, seeing science as a European endeavour. Linnaeus's system of taxonomy was the first to include humans. The division of the human species focused on skin colour, with later additions of cultural and behavioural traits. Linnaean human taxonomy reinforced colonial stereotypes and provided the foundations for scientific racism.

Barnard was working within an organisation which had directly benefitted from colonialism, and whose values were influenced by its colonial past. His scheme was inevitably bound with the practices, language and publication of science under Western control. A major aim of the revision was to create a scheme that resisted colonial taxonomies, integrated different voices, and acknowledged the global creation of knowledge.

Action taken:
•    Term ‘tropical’ often used interchangeably for ‘colonial’: addressed where ‘tropical’ homogenised different regions, 
      was indented or treated as inferior in the structure and/or language
•    Auxiliary table containing countries amended to show transition to independent states, especially the decolonisation of Africa, the Americas, 
      Asia and Oceania. Indentations removed where they signified power structures. Less weighting given to USA and UK locations
•    Assumption of Linnaean taxonomy and Latin knowledge removed (esp. for classes J, K, L)
•    Addition of decolonisation-related subjects to reflect importance of colonial research at LSHTM and in wider society

A scheme for C21st collection management

The 3rd edition of the Barnard scheme provides accurate, up-to-date subject classifications designed with the needs of library users at the forefront, improving resource findability and accessibility for users. It provides medical and veterinary libraries with a scheme uniquely created for their specialist collections, supporting various library collection management activities. At LSHTM, a major reclassification of books and pamphlets has been completed, with work currently underway in the Library’s Historical Collection. The content of collections and reading lists has been analysed from a decolonising global health (DGH) perspective and shared to support curriculum initiatives in this area.

Collaboration and knowledge-sharing

Across LSHTM several systems were using ad hoc taxonomies and logic, with dated terminologies, duplications and spelling variations.  Could Barnard be beneficial here? The scheme was ready, aligned with LSHTM’s research interests and DGH initiatives. Fortuitously, LSHTM’s staff profiles system, Gateway, was due to be replaced by the Elements research information system (where staff also deposit their accepted manuscripts to LSHTM’s OA repository). In 2022, communications began between LAORS and various stakeholders across LSHTM, including Research Information, Strategic Research, Operational Delivery, and Web and Digital Services. Innovative internal collaboration could be complicated and delicate, balancing systems, taxonomy, and research disciplines. Nonetheless, profile interests were effectively mapped to Barnard.  In October 2023, Elements replaced Gateway.  

There are clear benefits for both LAORS and LSHTM.  Specificity of definitions encourages quality metrics and analytics, data is more credible, identifying key variables and understanding how one element relates to another is simpler, and knowledge transfer and management is greatly improved.  For collection management, accurately evaluating how Library resources are supporting LSHTM research and academic interests enables informed decisions about resource allocation, acquisitions and deselection to create a dynamic user-centred collection.

The success of this project, with all the positives that collaboration, task- and knowledge-sharing brought, is leading to more exciting ventures. Keywords used in LSHTM’s Data Compass (digital repository of research data) are currently being mapped to Barnard, as are keywords in the Research Costing & Pricing (RCP) tool used by LSHTM. Collections metadata is becoming integrated across LSHTM’s research systems, resulting in improved interoperability for changing needs and new directions, bringing benefits to both LAORS and the wider organisation.

A sustainable future

The 1936 edition sold out in 5 years and was in use in 34 libraries across 5 continents. At the time of Barnard’s death in 1959, 45 libraries were using his scheme including libraries in the UK, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Fiji, Australia and the USA. The scheme is still in use by LSHTM, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Defra, and the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp. The Royal Veterinary College has shown interest in adopting the scheme for part of their collection.  

Barnard believed no library could be self-sufficient and strongly advocated for the sharing of knowledge and resources. Throughout his career, Barnard supported national and international collaboration between libraries and librarians. In our modern global society, libraries and open access publishing are recognised as key players for achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals by providing improved access to information and knowledge. The Barnard classification contributes towards these objectives. 

The forthcoming (December 2024) open access publication with the LSHTM Press will enable the scheme to be freely available to as many libraries and organisations as possible, including those in the Global South, and ultimately promote a more sustainable future.

Article references available on request.

_{The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and contributors and do not  necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Prenax.}