The GWL Classification Scheme
Many women’s libraries and documentation centres around the world have chosen to create their own classification schemes rather than use traditional schemes such as Dewey Decimal Classification.
Books waiting to be classified
This is partly because traditional schemes such as Dewey are problematic due to their gender insensitivity and Eurocentric bias, and as such are often considered unsuitable for the classification of women’s information. Traditional schemes can also be complex to use and require training in library and information science.
This can be problematic for women’s libraries since they often rely on the hard work and dedication of volunteers, who may not be trained librarians.
Defining the GWL collection
Following months of careful consideration and research, we decided to follow the example of other women’s libraries and develop our own scheme. Choosing to use an alternative scheme was a big decision to make, but we took heart from the fact that many other women’s libraries, including the Feminist Library in London and the International Information Centre and Archives for the Women’s Movement (IIAV) in Amsterdam, are doing this successfully.
The Glasgow Women’s Library classification scheme aims to reflect the library’s feminist ethos and to be as user-friendly as possible for both staff and library users. Although it has been developed to suit the needs of our library stock and users, it draws particularly on two feminist schemes that are currently used in women’s libraries and documentation centres – the Akshara classification scheme from India and the Stichwort classification scheme from Austria.
The Main Classes
The GWL scheme has 19 main classes for the classification of non-fiction materials. Where possible, the letters correspond to the main classes to act as a memory aid e.g. E for Education, F for Feminism, H for History and so on. Below is a list of the 19 main classes:
- A: General Reference Works
- B: Biographical Material
- C: Health
- D: The Arts and Language
- E: Education
- F: Feminism
- H: History
- J: Law and Rights
- L: Lesbians and Lesbians’ Movement
- M: Media and Communications
- P: Politics and Movements
- R: Religion, Spirituality and Philosophy
- S: Sexuality
- T: Technology, Science and the Environment
- V: Violence and Crime
- W: Work
- X: Society, Lifestyles and Relationships
- Y: Economic and Social Issues
- Z: Women in an International Context
We hope that the scheme will be interesting and easy to use for staff, volunteers and users!
Cataloguing the collection
Now that the majority of the books in our library collection have been classified according to the Library’s very own classification scheme, the next stage is for us to catalogue the collection.
If you have any questions about the scheme or the classification of women’s information in general, please contact Wendy Kirk, the GWL Librarian.
