UCL: School of Library, Archive and Information Studies: Events

Events

A two-day UDC workshop based on the new Pocket Edition of UDC

The Library Association, BSI and University College London jointly organized a two-day introductory course on UDC, held at SLAIS on 27-28 June 2000. It was well received and will probably become a regular event.

Watch this space for more events to be organized by SLAIS.

UDC Workshop details

The workshop is intended to provide an introduction to the use of the UDC for the organization of information on a subject basis. Although the principal focus is on the UDC, much of the content will be relevant to the use of other schemes of classification. The emphasis will be predominantly on the practical application of the system, and guided investigation and practical exercises will form an important element in the course.

The workshop will be principally of interest to those who wish to implement the UDC in the workplace, either as a documentary classification, or for the organization of other materials or information carriers according to subject content. It will also be useful to those who want to improve or update their general subject indexing skills or who need some basic subject cataloguing training.

No prior knowledge of classification or subject cataloguing is assumed, and the workshop is appropriate not only for librarians, but also for paraprofessional library staff and for those in related occupations who are concerned with the management of information.

A copy of PD 1000 (the Pocket Edition of UDC) is included in the course fee.

Programme
Day 1

10.00	Registration and coffee
10.30	Introduction to UDC. Overview and historical background, UDC publications and the Master Reference File Video presentation
11.30	The nature of the UDC. The theoretical structure of the scheme, main class order, purpose and applications, examples of use
1.00	Lunch
2.00	Beginning with the UDC. Subject analysis as a preliminary to documentary classification, assessing the intellectual content of a document and constructing accurate subject descriptions
3.00	Tea
3.30	Speaking the language. Translating subject summaries into UDC class marks, using the main tables, simple and compound subjects, use of the colon and other linking devices
4.30	Close

Day 2

10.00	Improving expression. Compiling more detailed subject descriptions and use of the systematic and special auxiliaries
11.00	Coffee
11.30	The intricacies of subject arrangement. Handling complex subjects, citation order, variations in citation order and alternative treatments
1.00	Lunch
2.00	Beyond the book. Using classification for knowledge and information management, file and record management, non-book media, personal organization
3.00	Tea
3.30	A virtual classification. On-line applications of UDC, UDC on the World Wide Web and exploiting the classification as a search and retrieval device
4.30	Close

Workshop leaders:

Professor I. C. McIlwaine is Professor of Library and Information Studies, and Director of the School of Library, Archive and Information Studies at University College London. She is Editor-in-Chief of the UDC, and the author of the Guide to the UDC.

Vanda Broughton is Lecturer in Library and Information Studies at University College London, specializing in classification. She has been employed as Research Assistant on the revision of the UDC, and is a member of the UDC revision committee.

Aida Slavic is Lecturer in Library Science at Zagreb University, currently studying for a research degree at University College. She lectures on classification at City University, is a member of the UDC revision committee, and is involved in the maintenance of the Master Reference File of the UDC.

Last updated on 7 August 2000