Heron
The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 64 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera Botaurus and Ixobrychus are referred to as bitterns, together with the zigzag heron, or zigzag bittern, in the monotypic genus Zebrilus, form a monophyletic group within the Ardeidae. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from the herons, tend to be named differently because they are white or have decorative plumes in breeding plumage. Herons, by evolutionary adaptation, have long beaks; the classification of the individual heron/egret species is fraught with difficulty, no clear consensus exists about the correct placement of many species into either of the two major genera and Egretta. The relationships of the genera in the family are not resolved. However, one species considered to constitute a separate monotypic family, the Cochlearidae or the boat-billed heron, is now regarded as a member of the Ardeidae.
Although herons resemble birds in some other families, such as the storks, ibises and cranes, they differ from these in flying with their necks retracted, not outstretched. They are one of the bird groups that have powder down; some members of this group nest colonially in trees, while others, notably the bitterns, use reed beds. The herons are medium - to large-sized birds with long necks, they exhibit little sexual dimorphism in size. The smallest species is considered the little bittern, which can measure under 30 cm in length, although all the species in the genus Ixobrychus are small and many broadly overlap in size; the largest species of heron is the goliath heron. The necks are able to kink in an S-shape, due to the modified shape of the cervical vertebrae, of which they have 20–21; the neck is able to retract and extend, is retracted during flight, unlike most other long-necked birds. The neck is longer in the day herons than the night bitterns; the legs are long and strong and in every species are unfeathered from the lower part of the tibia.
In flight, the legs and feet are held backward. The feet of herons have thin toes, with three forward-pointing ones and one pointing backward; the bill is long and harpoon-like. It can vary from fine, as in the agami heron, to thick as in the grey heron; the most atypical bill is owned by the boat-billed heron, which has a thick bill. The bill, as well as other bare parts of the body, is yellow, black, or brown in colour, although this can vary during the breeding season; the wings are broad and long, exhibiting 10 or 11 primary feathers, 15–20 secondaries. and 12 rectrices. The feathers of the herons are soft and the plumage is blue, brown, grey, or white, can be strikingly complex. Amongst the day herons, little sexual dimorphism in plumage is seen. Many species have different colour morphs. In the Pacific reef heron, both dark and light colour morphs exist, the percentage of each morph varies geographically. White morphs only occur in areas with coral beaches; the herons are a widespread family with a cosmopolitan distribution.
They exist on all continents except Antarctica, are present in most habitats except the coldest extremes of the Arctic high mountains, the driest deserts. All species are associated with water, they are predominantly found in lowland areas, although some species live in alpine areas, the majority of species occurs in the tropics. The herons are a mobile family, with most species being at least migratory; some species are migratory, for example the grey heron, sedentary in Britain, but migratory in Scandinavia. Birds are inclined to disperse after breeding, but before the annual migration, where the species is colonial, searching out new feeding areas and reducing the pressures on feeding grounds near the colony; the migration occurs at night as individuals or in small groups. The herons and bitterns are carnivorous; the members of this family are associated with wetlands and water, feed on a variety of live aquatic prey. Their diet includes a wide variety of aquatic animals, including fish, amphibians, crustaceans and aquatic insects.
Individual species may be generalists or specialise in certain prey types, such as the yellow-crowned night heron, which specialises in crustaceans crabs. Many species opportunistically take larger prey, including birds and bird eggs and more carrion. More herons eating acorns and grains have been reported, but most vegetable matter consumed is accidental; the most common hunting technique is for the bird to sit motionless on the edge of or standing in shallow water and to wait until prey comes within range. Birds may either do this from an upright posture, giving them a wider field of view for seeing prey, or from a crouched position, more cryptic and means the bill is closer to the prey when it is located. Having seen prey, the head is moved from side to side, so that the heron can calculate the position of the prey in the water and compensate for refraction, the bill is used to spear the prey. In addition to sitting and waiting, herons may feed more actively, they may walk around or l
Tor Books
Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, a publishing company based in New York City. It publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, publishes the online science fiction magazine Tor.com. Tor was founded by Tom Doherty in 1980. Tor is a word from Old English meaning the peak of a rocky hill or mountain, as depicted in Tor's logo. Tor Books was sold to St. Martin's Press in 1987. Along with St. Martin's Press. Tor is the primary imprint of Tom Doherty Associates. There is the Forge imprint that publishes an array of fictional titles, including historical novels and thrillers. Tor Books publishes two imprints for young readers: Starscape and Tor Teen. Tor Books has the Tor.com imprint that focuses on short works such as novellas, shorter novels and serializations. A United Kingdom sister imprint, Tor UK exists and specializes in science fiction and horror, while publishing young-adult crossover fiction based on computer-game franchises. Tor UK maintained an open submission policy, which ended in January 2013.
Orb Books publishes science-fiction classics such as A. E. Van Vogt's Slan. Tor Teen publishes young-adult novels such as Cory Doctorow's Little Brother and repackages novels such as Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game for younger readers. Tor Labs produces podcasts. A German sister imprint, Fischer Tor, was founded in August 2016 as an imprint of S. Fischer Verlag, it publishes international titles translated into German, as well as original German works. Fischer Tor publishes the German online magazine Tor Online, based on the same concept as the English Tor.com online magazine, but has its own independent content. Authors published by Tor and Forge include Kevin J. Anderson, Steven Brust, Orson Scott Card, Jonathan Carroll, Charles de Lint, Philip K. Dick, Cory Doctorow, Steven Erikson, Terry Goodkind, Steven Gould, Brian Herbert, Glen Hirshberg, Robert Jordan, Andre Norton, Harold Robbins, Brandon Sanderson, John Scalzi, V. E. Schwab, Skyler White, Gene Wolfe. Tor UK has published authors such as Douglas Adams, Rjurik Davidson, Amanda Hocking, China Miéville, Adam Nevill, Adrian Tchaikovsky.
Tor publishes a range of its works as e-books and, in 2012, Doherty announced that his imprints would sell only DRM-free e-books by July of that year. One year Tor stated that the removal of DRM had not harmed its e-book business, so they would continue selling them DRM-free. In July 2018, Macmillan Publishers and Tor announced that Tor's e-books would no longer be made available for libraries to purchase and lend to borrowers, via digital distribution services such as OverDrive, until four months after their initial publication date; the company cited the "direct and adverse impact" of electronic lending on retail eBook sales, but suggested that the change was part of a "test program" and could be reevaluated. Tor won the Locus Magazine poll for best science fiction publisher in 29 consecutive years from 1988 to 2016 inclusive. In March 2014, Worlds Without End listed Tor as the second-most awarded and nominated publisher of science fiction and horror books, after Gollancz. At that time, Tor had received 316 nominations and 54 wins for 723 published novels, written by 197 authors.
In the following year, Tor surpassed Gollancz to become the top publisher on the list. By March 2018, Tor's record had increased to 579 nominations and 111 wins, across 16 tracked awards given in the covered genres, with a total of 2,353 published novels written by 576 authors. Official website Official website Official website Tor.com community site Tor Online community site Tor Books profile at Reason, December 2008
The Eye of the World
The Eye of the World is a fantasy novel by American writer Robert Jordan, the first book of The Wheel of Time series. It was published by Tor Books and released on January 16, 1990; the unabridged audiobook is read by Kate Reading. Upon first publication, The Eye of the World consisted of one prologue and 53 chapters, with an additional prologue authored upon re-release. On January 2, 2002, The Eye of the World was re-released as two separate books aimed at a young adult literature market, with larger text and a handful of illustrations; these were To the Blight. The former included an additional prologue entitled "Ravens"; the American Library Association put The Eye of the World on its 2003 list of Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults. The Eye of the World revolves around protagonists Rand al'Thor, Matrim Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, after their residence of "Emond's Field" is unexpectedly attacked by Trollocs and a Myrddraal intent on capturing Rand and Perrin. To save their village from further attacks, Mat and Egwene flee the village, accompanied by the Aes Sedai Moiraine Damodred, her Warder Al'Lan Mandragoran, gleeman Thom Merrilin, joined by Wisdom Nynaeve al'Meara.
Pursued by increasing numbers of Trollocs and Myrddraal, the travellers take refuge in the abandoned city of Shadar Logoth, where Mat is infected by the malevolent Mashadar. While escaping the city the travelers are separated. In Caemlyn, Rand befriends an Ogier named Loial. Trying to catch a glimpse of the captured False Dragon, Rand befriends Elayne Trakand, heir apparent to the throne of Andor, her brothers Gawyn Trakand and Galad Damodred. Rand is taken before Queen Morgase and her Aes Sedai advisor, Elaida. Egwene and Perrin are guided separately to Caemlyn by Elyas Machera, a man who can communicate telepathically with wolves and who claims that Perrin can do the same; the three run afoul of the Children of the Light, where Perrin kills two for the death of a wolf at their hands, is sentenced to death. Moiraine and Nynaeve rescue Egwene and Perrin, all are reunited with Rand and Mat. Thereafter Moiraine determines that Mat must travel to Tar Valon, the Aes Sedai's center of power, to overcome the influence of Shadar Logoth.
Loial warns Moiraine of a threat to the Eye of the World, a pool of Saidin untouched by the Dark One's influence, confirmed by vivid and disturbing dreams Mat and Perrin have had. The Eye of the World is protected by Someshta and contains one of the seven seals on the Dark One's prison, the Dragon banner of Lews Therin Telamon, the Horn of Valere. At the civilized world's border, the group enters the Blight to protect the Eye. After a pursuit they meet the Green Man and he reveals the Eye; the group is confronted by the Forsaken Aginor and Balthamel. As battle ensues and the Green Man slay each other. Soon after, Rand uses the Eye to decimate the Trolloc army and defeat Ba'alzamon; as a result, Moiraine concludes that Rand is the Dragon Reborn, but her opinion and all other details of the final battle are kept from all the male members of the group except Lan. Robert Jordan has stated that he consciously intended the early chapters of The Eye of the World to evoke the Shire of Middle-Earth in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
Despite their similarities, these two works differ in themes. For instance, both Jordan and Tolkien created narratives. However, the Eye of the World discussed how it can be deployed whereas The Lord of the Rings was more focused on its renunciation. Rand needed to wield his power so he could fight an emerging war with the Dark One; this theme is inimical to Frodo's quest to destroy the ring of Sauron, a source of immense power that corrupted its wearer. The Eye of the World touched on the theme of messianic deliverance, as the narrative involved the beginning of Rand struggles so he could fulfill his destiny as the Dragon Reborn; the novel established a dominant feminist theme with the characterization of strong women such as Moiraine and the Two Rivers' Women's Circle, an all-female committee, headed by a Wisdom. This was illustrated in the introduction of a world ruled by the White Tower, which represented an female group of powerful political players, the Aes Sedai; these women did not only wield the One Power but they were manipulators of the world leaders, directing the course of history, the lives of ordinary people.
1990, hardcover. Saint Martin's United States. ISBN 0-312-85009-3 1990, paperback. Tor Books, United States. ISBN 0-8125-0048-2 1990, hardcover. Little, United Kingdom. ISBN 0-356-19068-4 1990, hardcover. Orbit, United Kingdom. ISBN 1-85723-353-0 1992, paperback. Orbit, United Kingdom. ISBN 1-85723-076-0 1993, paperback. Tom Doherty Associates, United States. ISBN 0-812-51181-6 1995, audio book. Gallant / Publishing Mills, United States. ISBN 1-879371-52-9 1999, hardcover with library binding. Sagebrush, United States. ISBN 0-613-17634-0 2000, paperback. Tor Books, United States. ISBN 0-8125-7995-X In January 2002, Starscape Books released The Eye of the World into two halves, part one being titled From the Two Rivers and part two titled To the Blight (ISBN 0-7653-4221
Library of Congress Classification
The Library of Congress Classification is a system of library classification developed by the Library of Congress. It is used by most research and academic libraries in the U. S. and several other countries. LCC should not be confused with LCCN, the system of Library of Congress Control Numbers assigned to all books, which defines URLs of their online catalog entries, such as "82006074" and "http://lccn.loc.gov/82006074". The Classification is distinct from Library of Congress Subject Headings, the system of labels such as "Boarding schools" and "Boarding schools—Fiction" that describe contents systematically; the classifications may be distinguished from the call numbers assigned to particular copies of books in the collection, such as "PZ7. J684 Wj 1982 FT MEADE Copy 1" where the classification is "PZ7. J684 Wj 1982"; the classification was invented by Herbert Putnam in 1897, just before he assumed the librarianship of Congress. With advice from Charles Ammi Cutter, it was influenced by his Cutter Expansive Classification, the Dewey Decimal System, the Putnam Classification System.
It was designed for the purposes and collection of the Library of Congress to replace the fixed location system developed by Thomas Jefferson. By the time Putnam departed from his post in 1939, all the classes except K and parts of B were well developed. LCC has been criticized for lacking a sound theoretical basis. Although it divides subjects into broad categories, it is enumerative in nature; that is, it provides a guide to the books in one library's collections, not a classification of the world. In 2007 The Wall Street Journal reported that in the countries it surveyed most public libraries and small academic libraries used the older Dewey Decimal Classification system; the National Library of Medicine classification system uses the initial letters W and QS–QZ, which are not used by LCC. Some libraries use NLM in conjunction with LCC. Others include Medicine R. Subclass AC -- Collections. Series. Collected works Subclass AE – Encyclopedias Subclass AG – Dictionaries and other general reference works Subclass AI – Indexes Subclass AM – Museums.
Collectors and collecting Subclass AN – Newspapers Subclass AP – Periodicals Subclass AS – Academies and learned societies Subclass AY – Yearbooks. Almanacs. Directories Subclass AZ – History of scholarship and learning; the humanities Subclass B – Philosophy Subclass BC – Logic Subclass BD – Speculative philosophy Subclass BF – Psychology Subclass BH – Aesthetics Subclass BJ – Ethics Subclass BL – Religions. Mythology. Rationalism Subclass BM – Judaism Subclass BP – Islam. Bahaism. Theosophy, etc. Subclass BQ – Buddhism Subclass BR – Christianity Subclass BS – The Bible Subclass BT – Doctrinal theology Subclass BV – Practical Theology Subclass BX – Christian Denominations Subclass C – Auxiliary Sciences of History Subclass CB – History of Civilization Subclass CC – Archaeology Subclass CD – Diplomatics. Archives. Seals Subclass CE – Technical Chronology. Calendar Subclass CJ – Numismatics Subclass CN – Inscriptions. Epigraphy Subclass CR – Heraldry Subclass CS – Genealogy Subclass CT – Biography Subclass D – History Subclass DA – Great Britain Subclass DAW – Central Europe Subclass DB – Austria – Liechtenstein – Hungary – Czechoslovakia Subclass DC – France – Andorra – Monaco Subclass DD – Germany Subclass DE – Greco-Roman World Subclass DF – Greece Subclass DG – Italy – Malta Subclass DH – Low Countries – Benelux Countries Subclass DJ – Netherlands Subclass DJK – Eastern Europe Subclass DK – Russia.
Soviet Union. Former Soviet Republics – Poland Subclass DL – Northern Europe. Scandinavia Subclass DP – Spain – Portugal Subclass DQ – Switzerland Subclass DR – Balkan Peninsula Subclass DS – Asia Subclass DT – Africa Subclass DU – Oceania Subclass DX – Romanies Class E does not have any subclasses. Class F does not have any subclasses, however Canadian Universities and the Canadian National Library use FC for Canadian History, a subclass that the LC has not adopted, but which it has agreed not to use for anything else Subclass G – Geography. Atlases. Maps Subclass GA – Mathematical geography. Cartography Subclass GB – Physical geography Subclass GC – Oceanography Subclass GE – Environmental Sciences Subclass GF – Human ecology. Anthropogeography Subclass GN – Anthropology Subclass GR – Folklore Subclass GT – Manners and customs Subclass GV – Recreation. Leisure Subclass H – Social sciences Subclass HA – Statistics Subclass HB – Economic theory. Demography Subclass HC – Economic history and conditions Subclass HD – Industries.
Land use. Labor Subclass HE – Transportation and communications Subclass HF – Commerce Subclass HG – Finance Subclass HJ – Public finance Subclass HM – Sociology Subclass HN – Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform Subclass HQ – The family. Marriage and Sexuality Subclass HS – Societies: secret, etc. Subclass HT – Communities. Classes. Races Subclass HV – Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology Subclass HX – Socialism. Communism. Anarchism Subclass J – General legislative and executive papers Subclass JA – Political science Subclass JC – Political theory Subclass JF – Political institutions and public administration Subclass JJ – Political institutions and public administration Subclass JK – Political institutions and public administration Subclass JL – Political instit
Paperback
A paperback known as a softcover or سعيد, is a type of book characterized by a thick paper or paperboard cover, held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover or hardback books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth; the pages on the inside are made of paper. Inexpensive books bound in paper have existed since at least the 19th century in such forms as pamphlets, dime novels, airport novels. Modern paperbacks can be differentiated by size. In the U. S. there are "mass-market paperbacks" and larger, more durable "trade paperbacks." In the U. K. there are A-format, B-format, the largest C-format sizes. Paperback editions of books are issued when a publisher decides to release a book in a low-cost format. Cheaper, lower quality paper. Paperbacks can be the preferred medium when a book is not expected to be a major seller or where the publisher wishes to release a book without putting forth a large investment. Examples include many novels, newer editions or reprintings of older books.
Since paperbacks tend to have a smaller profit margin, many publishers try to balance the profit to be made by selling fewer hardcovers against the potential profit to be made by selling more paperbacks with a smaller profit per unit. First editions of many modern books genre fiction, are issued in paperback. Best-selling books, on the other hand, may maintain sales in hardcover for an extended period to reap the greater profits that the hardcovers provide; the early 19th century saw numerous improvements in the printing and book-distribution processes, with the introduction of steam-powered printing presses, pulp mills, automatic type setting, a network of railways. These innovations enabled the likes of Simms and McIntyre of Belfast, Routledge & Sons and Ward & Lock to mass-produce cheap uniform yellowback or paperback editions of existing works, distribute and sell them across the British Isles, principally via the ubiquitous W H Smith & Sons newsagent found at most urban British railway stations.
These paper bound volumes were offered for sale at a fraction of the historic cost of a book, were of a smaller format, 110 mm × 178 mm, aimed at the railway traveller. The Routledge's Railway Library series of paperbacks remained in print until 1898, offered the traveling public 1,277 unique titles; the German-language market supported examples of cheap paper-bound books: Bernhard Tauchnitz started the Collection of British and American Authors in 1841. These inexpensive, paperbound editions, a direct precursor to mass-market paperbacks ran to over 5,000 volumes. Reclam published Shakespeare in this format from October 1857 and went on to pioneer the mass-market paper-bound Universal-Bibliothek series from 10 November 1867; the German publisher Albatross Books revised the 20th-century mass-market paperback format in 1931, but the approach of World War II cut the experiment short. It proved an immediate financial success in the United Kingdom in 1935 when Penguin Books adopted many of Albatross' innovations, including a conspicuous logo and color-coded covers for different genres.
British publisher Allen Lane invested his own financial capital to launch the Penguin Books imprint in 1935, initiating the paperback revolution in the English-language book-market by releasing ten reprint titles. The first released book on Penguin's 1935 list was André Maurois' Ariel. Lane intended to produce inexpensive books, he purchased paperback rights from publishers, ordered large print runs to keep unit prices low, looked to non-traditional book-selling retail locations. Booksellers were reluctant to buy his books, but when Woolworths placed a large order, the books sold well. After that initial success, booksellers showed more willingness to stock paperbacks, the name "Penguin" became associated with the word "paperback". In 1939, Robert de Graaf issued a similar line in the United States, partnering with Simon & Schuster to create the Pocket Books label; the term "pocket book" became synonymous with paperback in English-speaking North America. In French, the term livre de poche is still in use today.
De Graaf, like Lane, negotiated paperback rights from other publishers, produced many runs. His practices contrasted with those of Lane by his adoption of illustrated covers aimed at the North American market. To reach an broader market than Lane, he used distribution networks of newspapers and magazines, which had a lengthy history of being aimed at mass audiences; because of its number-one position in what became a long list of pocket editions, James Hilton's Lost Horizon is cited as the first American paperback book. However, the first mass-market, pocket-sized, paperback book printed in the US was an edition of Pearl Buck's The Good Earth, produced by Pocket Books as a proof-of-concept in late 1938, sold in New York City. In World War II, the U. S. military distributed some 122 million "Armed Services Editions" paperback novels to the troops, which helped popularize the format after the war. Through the circulation of the paperback in kiosks and bookstores and intellectual knowledge was able to reach the masses.
This occurred at the same time that the masses were starting to attend university, leading to the student revolts of 1968 prompting open access to knowledge. The paperback book meant that more people were able to and access knowledge and this led to people wanting more and more of it; this accessibility posed a threat to the wealthy by imposing that
Prologue
A prologue or prolog from Greek πρόλογος prologos, from πρό pro, "before" and λόγος logos, "word" is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details some earlier story that ties into the main one, other miscellaneous information. The Ancient Greek prólogos included the modern meaning of prologue, but was of wider significance, more like the meaning of preface; the importance, therefore, of the prologue in Greek drama was great. It is believed that the prologue in this form was the invention of Euripides, with him, as has been said, it takes the place of an explanatory first act; this may help to modify the objection which criticism has brought against the Greek prologue, as an impertinence, a useless growth prefixed to the play, standing as a barrier between us and our enjoyment of it. The point is that, to an Athenian audience, it was useful and pertinent, as supplying just what they needed to make the succeeding scenes intelligible, but it is difficult to accept the view that Euripides invented the plan of producing a god out of a machine to justify the action of deity upon man, because it is plain that he himself disliked this interference of the supernatural and did not believe in it.
He seems, in such a typical prologue as that to the Hippolytus, to be accepting a conventional formula, employing it perversely, as a medium for his ironic rationalism. Many of the existing Greek prologues may be in date than the plays they illustrate, or may contain large interpolations. On the Latin stage the prologue was more elaborate than it was in Athens, in the careful composition of the poems which Plautus prefixes to his plays we see what importance he gave to this portion of the entertainment. Molière revived the Plautian prologue in the introduction to his Amphitryon. Racine introduced Piety as the speaker of a prologue; the tradition of the ancients vividly affected our own early dramatists. Not only were the mystery plays and miracles of the Middle Ages begun by a homily, but when the drama in its modern sense was inaugurated in the reign of Elizabeth, the prologue came with it, directly adapted from the practice of Euripides and Terence. Sackville, Lord Buckhurst, prepared a sort of prologue in dumb show for his Gorboduc of 1562.
Prologues of Renaissance drama served a specific function of transition and clarification for the audience. A direct address made by one actor, the prologue acted as an appeal to the audience's attention and sympathy, providing historical context, a guide to themes of the play, a disclaimer. In this mode, a prologue, like any scripted performance, would exist as the text, the actor who speaks that text, the presentation of the language as it is spoken. In ushering the audience from the reality into the world of the play, the prologue straddles boundaries between audience, characters, playwrights--basically, it creates a distinction between the imaginary space within the play and the outside world. Ben Jonson has been noted as using the prologue to remind the audience of the complexities between themselves and all aspects of the performance; the actor reciting the prologue would appear dressed in black, a stark contrast to the elaborate costumes used during the play. The prologue wore no makeup.
He may have carried a book, scroll, or a placard displaying the title of the play. He was introduced by three short trumpet calls, on the third of which he entered and took a position downstage, he made three bows in the current fashion of the court, addressed the audience. The Elizabethan prologue was unique in incorporating aspects of both classical and medieval traditions. In the classical tradition, the prologue conformed to one of four subgenres: the sustatikos, which recommends either the play or the poet. In the medieval tradition, expressions of morality and modesty are seen, as well as a meta-theatrical self-consciousness, an unabashed awareness of the financial contract engaged upon by paid actors and playwrights, a paying audience. Prologues have long been used in non-dramatic fiction, since at least the time of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, although Chaucer had prologues to many of the tales, rather than one at the front of the book. Epigraph Epilogue Foreword Introduction Preface Prolegomena Attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed..
"Prologue". Encyclopædia Britannica. Cambridge University Press; the dictionary definition of prologue at Wiktionary
Dewey Decimal Classification
The Dewey Decimal Classification, colloquially the Dewey Decimal System, is a proprietary library classification system first published in the United States by Melvil Dewey in 1876. Described in a four-page pamphlet, it has been expanded to multiple volumes and revised through 23 major editions, the latest printed in 2011, it is available in an abridged version suitable for smaller libraries. OCLC, a non-profit cooperative that serves libraries maintains the system and licenses online access to WebDewey, a continuously updated version for catalogers; the Decimal Classification introduced the concepts of relative location and relative index which allow new books to be added to a library in their appropriate location based on subject. Libraries had given books permanent shelf locations that were related to the order of acquisition rather than topic; the classification's notation makes use of three-digit Arabic numerals for main classes, with fractional decimals allowing expansion for further detail.
Using Arabic numerals for symbols, it is flexible to the degree that numbers can be expanded in linear fashion to cover special aspects of general subjects. A library assigns a classification number that unambiguously locates a particular volume in a position relative to other books in the library, on the basis of its subject; the number makes it possible to find any book and to return it to its proper place on the library shelves. The classification system is used in 200,000 libraries in at least 135 countries. Melvil Dewey was self-declared reformer, he was a founding member of the American Library Association and can be credited with the promotion of card systems in libraries and business. He developed the ideas for his library classification system in 1873 while working at Amherst College library, he applied the classification to the books in that library, until in 1876 he had a first version of the classification. In 1876, he published the classification in pamphlet form with the title A Classification and Subject Index for Cataloguing and Arranging the Books and Pamphlets of a Library.
He used the pamphlet, published in more than one version during the year, to solicit comments from other librarians. It is not known who received copies or how many commented as only one copy with comments has survived, that of Ernest Cushing Richardson, his classification system was mentioned in an article in the first issue of the Library Journal and in an article by Dewey in the Department of Education publication "Public Libraries in America" in 1876. In March 1876, he applied for, received copyright on the first edition of the index; the edition was 44 pages in length, with 2,000 index entries, was printed in 200 copies. The second edition of the Dewey Decimal system, published in 1885 with the title Decimal Classification and Relativ Index for arranging and indexing public and private libraries and for pamflets, notes, scrap books, index rerums, etc. comprised 314 pages, with 10,000 index entries. Five hundred copies were produced. Editions 3–14, published between 1888 and 1942, used a variant of this same title.
Dewey modified and expanded his system for the second edition. In an introduction to that edition Dewey states that "nearly 100 persons hav contributed criticisms and suggestions". One of the innovations of the Dewey Decimal system was that of positioning books on the shelves in relation to other books on similar topics; when the system was first introduced, most libraries in the US used fixed positioning: each book was assigned a permanent shelf position based on the book's height and date of acquisition. Library stacks were closed to all but the most privileged patrons, so shelf browsing was not considered of importance; the use of the Dewey Decimal system increased during the early 20th century as librarians were convinced of the advantages of relative positioning and of open shelf access for patrons. New editions were readied as supplies of published editions were exhausted though some editions provided little change from the previous, as they were needed to fulfill demand. In the next decade, three editions followed on: the 3rd, 4th, 5th.
Editions 6 through 11 were published from 1899 to 1922. The 6th edition was published in a record 7,600 copies, although subsequent editions were much lower. During this time, the size of the volume grew, edition 12 swelled to 1243 pages, an increase of 25% over the previous edition. In response to the needs of smaller libraries which were finding the expanded classification schedules difficult to use, in 1894, the first abridged edition of the Dewey Decimal system was produced; the abridged edition parallels the full edition, has been developed for most full editions since that date. By popular request, in 1930, the Library of Congress began to print Dewey Classification numbers on nearly all of its cards, thus making the system available to all libraries making use of the Library of Congress card sets. Dewey's was not the only library classification available. Charles Ammi Cutter published the Expansive Classification in 1882, with initial encouragement from Melvil Dewey. Cutter's system was not adopted by many libraries, with one major exception: it was used as the basis for the Library of Congress Classification system.
In 1895, the International Institute of Bibliography, located in Belgium and led by Paul Otlet, contacted Dewey about the possibility of translating the classification into French, using the classification system for bibliographies. This would have
