A Classification for Medical and Veterinary Libraries : Third edition

Abstract

The third edition of Classification for Medical and Veterinary Libraries is a long overdue revision of Cyril C. Barnard’s scheme, last updated in 1955. Barnard devised his scheme to meet the specialist focus of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, focusing on tropical medicine and public health. Unlike many schemes, Barnard’s is based on specific entry, with an almost entirely alphabetical notation system. Classes include the sciences, general medicine, history of medicine, epidemiology, diseases and causative agents, pathology, diagnosis, specialties of medicine, surgery, dentistry, veterinary science, agriculture, and the social sciences. Auxiliary schedules enable further subdivision under any topic. This new edition provides a classification scheme which meets health-focused library and information services’ collections requirements and reflects current research and teaching priorities in public and global health. Subjects and structures have been revised to support increased findability and accessibility of resources. Equity, diversity and inclusion are promoted, with conscious and unconscious biases challenged. Language and content have been decolonised, resisting colonial taxonomies, integrating different voices and acknowledging the global creation of knowledge. The scheme supports library collection management activities and is suitable for integration across research systems which use taxonomies, leading to benefits for both libraries and their wider organisations.

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