Most call numbers in the Expansive Classification follow conventions offering clues to the book's subject. This section needs expansion with: citations and corrections. How Expansive Classification call numbers are constructed

The first option is less logical, but results in shorter marks for most English language libraries. For example, books on the English language may be put in X, and books on language in general in a subclass of X, or this can be reversed. These schedules were not meant to be fixed, but were to be adapted to meet the needs of each library.

V Recreative arts, Sports, Games, Festivals.

S Constructive arts ( Engineering and Building).

J Civics, Government, Political Science.

īy the fifth classification all the letters of the alphabet are in use for top level classes. Many subclasses arranged systematically, with common divisions, such as those by geography and language, following a consistent system throughout.

A Works of reference and general works which include several of the following sections, and so could not go in any one.įurther expansions add more top level classes and subdivisions.

The first classification has only seven top level classes, and only eight classes in all. The first classification is meant for only the very small libraries. Summary of the Expansive Classification schedules First classification After the first, each schedule was an expansion of the previous one, and Cutter provided instructions for how a library might change from one expansion to another as it grows. The Expansive Classification uses seven separate schedules, each designed to be used by libraries of different sizes. Structure of the Expansive Classification It did not catch on as did Dewey's system because Cutter died before it was completely finished, making no provision for the kind of development necessary as the bounds of knowledge expanded and scholarly emphases changed throughout the twentieth century. Its top level divisions served as a basis for the Library of Congress classification, which also took over some of its features. Lesley, its other key features – notation, specificity, and versatility – make it deserving of the praise it has received. While his system was less 'scientific' than that of J. LaMontagne writes:Ĭutter produced the best classification of the nineteenth century. The Cutter Expansive Classification, although adopted by comparatively few libraries, has been called one of the most logical and scholarly of American classifications. Cutter completed and published an introduction and schedules for the first six classifications of his new system ( Expansive Classification: Part I: The First Six Classifications), but his work on the seventh was interrupted by his death in 1903. He devised the Expansive Classification in response, to meet the needs of growing libraries, and to address some of the complaints of his critics. Many libraries found this system too detailed and complex for their needs, and Cutter received many requests from librarians at small libraries who wanted the classification adapted for their collections. The same classification would later be used, but with a different notation, also devised by Cutter, at the Cary Library in Lexington, Massachusetts. He began work on it around the year 1880, publishing an overview of the new system in 1882. History of the Expansive Classification Ĭharles Ammi Cutter (1837–1903), inspired by the decimal classification of his contemporary Melvil Dewey, and with Dewey's initial encouragement, developed his own classification scheme for the Winchester Town Library and then the Boston Athenaeum, at which he served as librarian for twenty-four years.

4 How Expansive Classification call numbers are constructed.

3 Summary of the Expansive Classification schedules.

2 Structure of the Expansive Classification.

1 History of the Expansive Classification.

Dewey cutter table