Webcast sponsored by the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre and hosted by the School of Library, Archival, and Information Studies (SLAIS). Clare Beghtol uses the concept of “”warrant”” as a means for evaluating classification systems based on how well they fulfill their goals. For example, through the prism of cultural warrant it is possible to evaluate a classification system based on how well it represents the needs of a particular culture. Other warrants include literary warrant, educational or mission warrant, and scientific warrant. I’ll review the traditional criteria for evaluating classifications and add to these criteria some considerations of warrant. The goal is to provide you with a multi-faceted approach to evaluating classification schemes in the context of their potential uses and users.
Biography of the Speaker: Barbara Kwasnik currently serves as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. She also teaches in the areas of organization of information, theory of classification, and information science. She is especially interested in how classifications intersect with everyday human endeavor — for example, how they are translated from one culture or application to another. The purpose is to help support increasingly diverse contexts. Previous research (with Kevin Crowston) includes investigating whether genre information can help in searching, personal information management, and browsing.
Select Articles and Books Available at UBC Library
Kwasnik, B. (1999). The role of classification in knowledge representation and discovery. Library Trends, 48(1), 22-47. [Link]
Kwasnik, B. (2010). Semantic warrant: A pivotal concept for our field. Knowledge Organization, 37(2), 106-110. [Link]
Kwasnik, B. H., & Crowston, K. (2005). Introduction to the special issue: Genres of digital documents. Information Technology & People, 18(2), 76-88. doi:10.1108/09593840510601487. [Link]
Walker, K., & Kwaśnik, B. (2002). Providing access to collected works. Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, 33(3), 211-224. doi:10.1300/J104v33n03_11. [Link]
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