ABSTRACT
This is not a ‘general’ before ‘special’ order. A work on civil engineering construction should file before a work on the construction of a specific structure. What happens if the same citation order is retained but this is made the reverse of the schedule order? In order to do this the notation must be changed so that the first letter in the alphabetical sequence introduces the first facet to be set down in the schedules, that is:
Operation Type of construction Al Construction B1 Bridge
The classification numbers now become Al for ‘Construction’ and B1A1 for ‘Bridge construction’. These would file as:
Al Construction B1A1 Bridge construction
and a ‘general’ before ‘special’ order has been achieved. This reflects the ‘principle of inversion’, which states that filing order should be the reverse of citation order. Remember, however, that it is not essential for citation order and schedule order to differ. When various types of symbol introduce different facets a filing order for symbols can be laid down so that a ‘general’ before ‘special’ sequence will be obtained. For example, if in a classification scheme for ‘Literature’, B is ‘English literature’, 2 is ‘Drama’ and e is ‘Essays’, and if facets are combined in this order, then sample class numbers would be:
B2 English drama B2e Essays on English drama Be Essays on English literature
‘Essays on English literature’ is more ‘general’ than ‘Essays on English drama’ and should come first in a filing arrangement. It may be stipulated therefore that lower case letters file before numbers, giving this order:
Be Essays on English literature B2 English drama B2e Essays on English drama
which is the ‘general’ before ‘special’ order that is required. Facet formulae On page 37 reference was made to Ranganathan's PMEST formula. Difficulty can be experienced in the understanding of this formula. What precisely is ‘Personality’, for example? It is ‘remarkably elusive when succinct unambiguous definition is demanded’ (Maltby, 1975).
