Presentation, WIKICITE 2020 Virtual Conference - Open citations & linked bibliographic data | 26-28 October 2020 - https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WikiCite/2020_Virtual_conference

1. dans.knaw.nl
DANS is an institute of KNAW and NWO
Floating classifications - Knowledge Organization
Systems in past, present and future
WIKICITE 2020 Virtual Conference - Open citations & linked bibliographic data | 26-28
October 2020 - https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WikiCite/2020_Virtual_conference
Andrea Scharnhorst, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences
@DANSKNAW, @ScharnhorstA
October 27, 2020

2. Map of this presentation
Knowledge
Organisation -
KO
• What
• Who
• Why
KO in the
bibliographic
domain
• Dewey & Otlet
• UDC
Knowledge
Space Lab
• Wikipedia
categories
• Extraction and
evolution
• Design vs
Emergence
KOSystems as
object of study
• Ontogeny
• KO Observatory
Summary

3. Organising knowledge – knowledge organisation
Human activity
Ability to order/classify is a
stage in human ontogeny
(Piaget)
Organising knowledge
Means, tools, instruments
Authority files
Classification schemes
Thesauri
Topic maps
Ontologies
Knowledge Organisation
Systems
Knowledge organisation
International Society of
Knowledge Organisation
Knowledge Organisation as
a scientific field

4. Personal motivation and context
Klavans, Boyack, Science Map
Börner, Katy: Atlas of Science
Structures – dynamics – evolutionary principles – statistical physics – systemic view
The universe/space of our knowledge – maps, dimensions, dynamical processes

5. Ordering knowledge – ordering the world
Ordering our individual
knowledge/understanding/insights
Communicate to further develop
and share/spread/diffuse knowledge
Documentation as a means for
communication
“Information = shared knowledge by
having been communicated”
(S. Davies)
Knowledge/Information as well as
Knowledge Organisation Systems are
socially constructed representations
of objective reality.
There is always a purpose < towards universal, global attempts > so-called bibliographic domain

6. Knowledge explosions – industrialization - libraries
http://www.mundaneum.org

7. 7Paul Otlet
Otlet’s visions

8. ORIGIN OF BIBLIOGRAPHIC CLASSIFICATION – Slide from Aida Slavic, Editor
in Chief of UDC
1914 - Paul Otlet “The International Centre organises collections of world-
wide importance. These collections are the International Museum, the
International Library, the International Bibliographic Catalogue and the
Universal Documentary Archives. These collections are conceived as parts
of universal body of documentation as an encyclopedic survey of
human knowledge, as an enormous intellectual warehouse of
books, documents, catalogues and scientific objects.”
8

9. Universal Decimal Classification – analytico-synthetic
and faceted classification
http://www.udcsummary.info/php/index.php?lang=en

10. UniversalDecimalClassification – a complex system
394.4 :[92(100+437) :329(437).15(091)+327.32(100)]
Social Science
Cultural Antropology
Public life
Ceremonial
Class, subclasses
Main table
Subgrouping
Sign
Simple relation
History of a place
All countries+
Czech Republic
Sign
Compound subject
History of the communist
party of Czechoslowakia
Manuscripts
International movements
all countries
About May 1, May 8
celebrations in the
Czechoslovakian
Republic

11. UDC in Action or ‘in the Wild’
Analyzed as complex system Ensemble of UDC numbers give a fingerprint
of a library collection

12. Instantiations of the UDC – in design, in practice
SCIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE
PHILOSOPHY. PSYCHOLOGY
RELIGION. THEOLOGY
SOCIAL SCIENCES
MATHEMATICS. NATURAL SCIENCES
APPLIED SCIENCES. MEDICINE. TECHNOLOGY
THE ARTS
LANGUAGE. LINGUISTICS. LITERATURE
GEOGRAPHY. BIOGRAPHY. HISTORY
1905
2008

13. Summary
KO
KO in the
bibliographic
domain
Knowledge
Space Lab
KOS as
object of
study
KOS - legacy
- semantic
web
Summary
Quest for
ways to
organise our
knowledge
Classification
schemes as
used in
libraries
Less stable
than naively
thought
Rather
complex in
design and in
practice
Maybe give
up?

14. Knowledge Space Lab – project 2009-2011
Almila Akdag Sahal, Cheng Gao, Krzysztof Suchecki, Andrea Scharnhorst
Folksonomies versus Traditional Classifications – Emergence versus Design

15. Main Topic Classifications in Wikipedia [EN]
Content of the subcategories
part of this page
is dynamically created (always
in the present)
The prerunner was
Category: Content which now
has a different function

16. Category pages started 2004
Wikimedia Dump 2008
Evolving classifications16

17. 17

18. 18

19. ??? Culture and Arts Sciences Society Technics/Technology Nature
Events Culture Science Religion Agriculture Earth
L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 categoryO L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11
categoryO O O O 1 1 O 1 O O O O categoryO O 1 1 O 1 3 O O O O O category1 1 O 2 2 4 O O O O O O categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O
category1 O O O O O O O O O O O category1 O O O 1 O O 1 O O O O category2 O O O 1 O 1 O O O O O category1 O O O O O O O O O O O category1 O O O O O O O O O O O category1 O O O O O O O O O O O
category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category3 O O O O 2 2 O O O O O category2 1 1 3 14 4 O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O
category3 O O O O 1 1 O O O O O category3 O O O 1 5 5 1 1 O O O category4 O 1 1 2 5 4 O O O O O category3 O O 1 O 2 3 1 O O O O category3 O O O O 2 3 1 1 O O O category3 O O O 1 1 1 1 O O O O
category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category5 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O
category5 O O O O O O O O O O O category5 O O O 1 O O O O O O O category6 O O O O O 1 1 O O O O category5 O O O O O O O O O O O category5 O O O O O O O O O O O category5 O 1 O 6 11 21 12 2 1 O O
category6 O O O O O O 1 1 O O O category6 O 1 3 5 13 8 2 1 O O O category7 O 1 O 2 2 1 1 O O O O category6 O O O O O O O O O O O category6 O 1 1 O 2 2 1 1 O O O category6 O O O 2 5 9 23 15 16 4 O
category7 O O O O 1 5 1 2 1 O O category7 O O O O 1 1 O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category7 O O O O O 1 O O O O O category7 O O O O O O O O O O O category7 O O O O O O 1 O O O O
category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O
category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O O O 3 2 O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O 1 O O O O O O O O O
Computing Architecture Psychology Business Applied sciences Nature
L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11
categoryO O O 1 O 1 O O O O O O categoryO O O O 1 2 3 4 4 O O O categoryO O O O O 2 O O O O O O categoryO O O O 1 O 2 O O O O O categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O categoryO O 1 O 1 2 O O O O O O
category1 O O O O O O O O O O O category1 O O O O O O O O O O O category1 1 O O 1 4 7 5 5 O O O category1 O O O O O O O O O O O category1 O O O O O O O O O O O category1 O O 3 5 4 1 O O O O O
category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O
category3 O O O O O O O O O O O category3 O O O O O 1 O O O O O category3 O O O 2 1 3 1 O O O O category3 O O O 3 9 14 7 1 2 O O category3 O O O O O O O O O O O category3 O O O 1 3 6 7 2 2 O O
category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O
category5 O O O O O 1 O O O O O category5 O O O O 1 O O O O O O category5 O O O O 1 1 O O O O O category5 O O O O O O O O O O O category5 O O O O O O O O O O O category5 O O 1 1 4 9 6 2 2 O O
category6 O O O O O O O 1 O O O category6 O O O O O 1 O O O O O category6 O O O O 1 1 O O O O O category6 O 1 1 1 1 9 6 1 1 O O category6 1 O O O O O O O O O O category6 O O O O 4 4 2 4 O O O
category7 O O O O O O O O O O O category7 O 1 3 4 O O O O O O O category7 O O O O O O O O O O O category7 O O O O 1 2 1 O O O O category7 O O O O O O O O O O O category7 O O O 2 2 1 1 O O O O
category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O
category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O 1 O O O O
Structure Arts Philosophy Law Technology Environment
L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11
categoryO O O O O 1 1 1 O O 3 O categoryO O O O O 1 2 1 1 O O O categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O categoryO O O 1 O O O O O 1 O O categoryO O O O 1 O 1 1 O O O O
category1 O O O O 1 O O O O O O category1 O O O O 1 O O O O O O category1 1 2 1 4 O 4 O O O O O category1 O O O O 2 1 O O O O O category1 O O O O 1 O O O O O O category1 O O O O O O 2 O O O O
category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O
category3 O O O 4 7 7 7 3 O O O category3 O O O O 2 9 2 O O O O category3 O O O O 3 O O O O O O category3 1 1 9 28 53 54 14 5 2 O O category3 O O O O 1 1 O 2 O O O category3 O O O 1 2 3 1 2 O O O
category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O
category5 O O O 6 16 37 34 14 15 2 O category5 O O O O 3 6 2 3 O O O category5 O O O O O 1 O O O O O category5 O O O O 6 8 3 2 O O O category5 O O O O O 1 O O O O O category5 O O 2 9 8 2 3 O O O O
category6 O O O O 10 19 14 13 7 1 O category6 O O 1 4 24 37 33 34 28 2 O category6 O O O O O O O O O O O category6 O O O O O 1 2 2 1 O O category6 1 3 2 12 10 7 O 2 O O O category6 O O O O O 1 2 3 O O O
category7 O O O O 1 O O 2 O O O category7 1 3 5 6 8 11 4 2 O O O category7 O O 1 3 2 O O O O O O category7 O O O O O O O 1 O O O category7 O O O O O O O O O O O category7 O O O O O O 1 O O O O
category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O
category9 O O O O O O 2 O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O
Information Visual arts Economics Politics Crafts
L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11
categoryO 1 O O 1 1 3 1 1 O O O categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O
category1 O O O O O O O O O O O category1 O O O O O O O O O O O category1 O O O O O O O O O O O category1 O O O O O O O O O O O category1 O O O O O O O O O O O
category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O
category3 O O O 1 5 11 1 3 O O O category3 O O O O O O O O O O O category3 1 1 3 5 6 5 8 2 3 O O category3 1 1 1 O O O O O O O O category3 O O O O O O O O O O O
category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O
category5 O O O O 2 9 1 O 1 O O category5 O O O O O O O O O O O category5 O O O O O O O O O O O category5 O O O O O O O O O O O category5 O O O O O O O O O O O
category6 O O 1 2 7 9 6 5 7 O O category6 O O O O O O O O O O O category6 O 1 1 2 2 1 O O O O O category6 O O O O O O O O O O O category6 O 2 2 O O O O O O O O
category7 O O O O O O O O O O O category7 O O O O O O O O O O O category7 O O O O O O O O O O O category7 O O O O O 1 O O O O O category7 O 1 1 1 O 1 O O O O O
category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O
category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O
Film Astronomy Military Radio
L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11
categoryO O O O O O 1 1 O O O O categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O
category1 O O O O O O O O O O O category1 O O O O O O O O O O O category1 O O O O O O O O O O O category1 O O O O O O O O O O O
category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O
category3 O O O O O O O O O O O category3 O O O O O O O O O O O category3 1 1 3 7 31 31 11 1 O O O category3 O O O O O 1 1 O O O O
category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O
category5 O O O O 1 O O 1 O O 1 category5 O 1 1 3 O O O O O O O category5 O O O O O O O O O O O category5 O O O O 2 1 3 2 O O O
category6 O O O O 1 1 3 2 6 1 2 category6 O O O O O O O O O O O category6 O O 1 2 5 3 4 1 O O O category6 O O O 1 1 6 11 13 10 1 O
category7 O O O 6 13 27 19 10 3 O O category7 O O O O O O O O O O O category7 O O O O 1 1 1 O O O O category7 O O O 1 O 1 O O O O O
category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O
category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O
Music Biology Society
L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11
categoryO O O O O O 1 O O O O O categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O
category1 O O O O O O O O O O O category1 O O O O O O O O O O O category1 O O 1 1 O O O O O O O
category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O 1 1 O O O O O O
category3 O O O O O 2 O 1 O O O category3 O O O O 1 O O O O O O category3 O O 1 2 1 4 3 2 1 O O
category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O
category5 O O O O O O O O O O O category5 O O 4 9 17 4 O O O O O category5 O O O 1 1 2 O O O O O
category6 O O O O 1 1 1 O 1 O O category6 O O 1 1 1 2 1 O O O O category6 O O O O O O O O O O O
category7 O 1 5 20 15 5 2 O O O O category7 O O O O O O O O O O O category7 O O O 1 O O O O O O O
category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O
category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O
Entertainment Chemistry Health
L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11
categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O
category1 O O O O O O O O O O O category1 O O O O O O O O O O O category1 O O O O O O O O O 1 O
category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O
category3 O O O O 1 O 2 O O O O category3 O O O 1 1 O O O O O O category3 O O O O 5 12 6 O O O O
category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O
category5 O O O O O O O O O O O category5 O 1 6 9 24 16 9 O O O O category5 O O O O 1 O O O O O O
category6 O O O O O O 1 O O O O category6 O O O O 1 8 4 1 O O O category6 O O 4 8 17 12 2 1 O O O
category7 1 1 2 O O 3 O O O O O category7 O O O O O 1 O O O O O category7 O O O O O 3 O O O O O
category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O
category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O
Literature Mathematics People
L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11
categoryO O O O 2 O O O O O O O categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O categoryO O O O 2 O 1 O O O O O
category1 O O O 1 O O O O O O O category1 O O O O O O O O O O O category1 O O O O O O O O O O O
category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O
category3 O O O 1 O 3 O O O O O category3 O O O O O O O O O O O category3 O O 2 2 7 5 2 O O O O
category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O
category5 O O O O O O O O O O O category5 1 1 1 2 4 4 O O O O O category5 O O O O O O O O O O O
category6 O O O O O 1 O O O O O category6 O O O O O O O O O O O category6 O O O O 1 O 1 O O O O
category7 O O O O O O O O O O O category7 O O O O O O O O O O O category7 O O O O O 2 O O 1 O O
category8 1 2 1 O 10 19 45 36 11 1 O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O
category9 O O O O 1 O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O
Physics Humans
L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11
categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O
category1 O 2 1 1 O 1 1 O O O O category1 O O 1 O O 1 O O O O O
category2 O O O O O O O O O O O category2 O O O O O O O O O O O
category3 O O O O O O O O O O O category3 O O O 1 O O O O O O O
category4 O O O O O O O O O O O category4 O O O O O O O O O O O
category5 O 2 4 11 12 14 7 1 2 O O category5 O O O O 3 3 O O O O O
category6 O O O O 1 1 1 2 O O O category6 O O O 2 4 5 1 4 1 O O
category7 O O O O O 1 O O O O O category7 O O O O O O O O O O O
category8 O O O O O O O O O O O category8 O O O O O O O O O O O
category9 O O O O O O O O O O O category9 O O O O O O O O O O O
Medicine
L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11
categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O
category1 O O O O O O O O O O O
category2 O O O O O O O O O O O
category3 O O O 1 O O 1 O O O O
category4 O O O O O O O O O O O
category5 O O O O O O O O O O O
category6 1 O 1 O 3 2 1 O O O O
category7 O O O O O O O O O O O
category8 O O O O O O O O O O O
category9 O O O O O O O O O O O
Geography
L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11
categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O
category1 O O O O O O O O O O O
category2 O O O O O O O O O O O
category3 O O O O 1 1 O O O O O
category4 O O O O O O O O O O O
category5 O O 1 5 O 1 O O O O O
category6 O O O O O O O O O O O
category7 O O O O O O O O O O O
category8 O O O O O O O O O O O
category9 1 1 3 7 1 2 O O O O O
History
L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11
categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O
category1 O O O 1 O O O O O O O
category2 O O O O O O O O O O O
category3 O O O 2 3 4 O O O O O
category4 O O O O O O O O O O O
category5 O O O O O O O O O O O
category6 O O O O 1 O O O O O O
category7 O O O 1 O O O O O O O
category8 O O O O O O O O O O O
category9 1 1 2 2 1 O O O O O O
Archaeology
L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11
categoryO O O O O O O O O O O O
category1 O O O O O O O O O O O
category2 O O O O O O O O O O O
category3 O O O O O 1 O O O O O
category4 O O O O O O O O O O O
category5 O O O O O O O O O O O
category6 O O O O O O O O O O O
category7 O O O O O O O O O O O
category8 O O O O O O O O O O O
category9 O O 1 3 1 2 1 O O O O
Mapping of Wikipedia
category terms to UDC
MRF 2008
Can the UDC help us to understand
(and navigate through)
Wikipedia evolution?
19

20. 20

21. Summary
KO
KO in the
bibliographic
domain
Knowledge
Space Lab
KOS as object
of study
Summary
Quest for
ways to
organise our
knowledge
Classification
schemes as
used in
libraries
Less stable
than naively
thought
Rather
complex in
design and in
practice
Maybe give
up?
Also classifications
build as
folksonomies
change over time
and stabilise
Mapping out
classifications helps
us to gain an
overview about the
content
We deepen our
understanding by
mapping/comparing
classifications/KOS
This requires a lot of
effort, equally
complex
Why is this
important?

22. Ordering knowledge – ordering the world
Categories reflect
what we think of
important/relevant
in certain period in
time
Put into KNOS
those categories
they act as
reference system a
(world view)
Used to index
content, they act as
multiplier
And determine
what is findable,
and what remains
hidden
To change them
reflects changes in
the world view – to
keep them can also
be a mean of
power

23. 0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
DDC Assigned by Cataloguers Classes Possible in DDC Discontinued Classes in DDC See Alsos in DDC
N=891 unique decisions
Joe Tennis, pioneer in tracing evolution in KOS
Term eugenics
Dewey Decimal Classification
Dots=cataloger decisions to
index a book with eugenics as first
Subject heading
Source: ~14k records from 665 library catalogues
worldwideMARC 560 field

24. KOS Observatory – classifying classifications
Attribute Name Attribute description
Identifier A unique identifier given to each instantiation of a KOS.
Schema Name/Title The name of the KOS including any aliases
Creator(s)/Curator(s)
The name of the original creator and the names of subsequent curators responsible for its
maintenance.
Maintenance organization The name of the institution responsible for publishing/maintaining the KOS.
Place: Publisher, date. Where the KOS was published, the publisher and publication date.
Summary / Abstract A description of the purpose of the KOS.
Format(s) A list of the formats the KOS is published in.
Language A list of the languages the KOS is published in.
Physical Location Where a physical copy of the KOS can be found within the Netherlands i.e. a library address.
Online Location Where the KOS can be found online i.e. a URL.
Earlier versions (editions) … The previous version to this instance of the KOS.
History of versioning: The version number/edition of the KOS.
Version Notes:
What has been changed, deleted or added since the previous version. Is there something else
noteworthy about this version.
Last Updated: The date of the last update of the KOS.
Number of terms in system The number of terms the KOS includes.
Phenomena included The things the KOS aims to organize/manage.
Disciplines included The scientific disciplines covered by the KOS.
Direct domains included The research domains, fields or themes covered by the KOS.
Related to:
Does the KOS reference any other KOS? It is branched from, merged with or structured in the form of
another KOS.
BARTOC link
Does this KOS appear in the Basel Register of Thesauri, Ontologies and Classifications? If so, a URL is
provided.
International Coding
Classification (ICC) The relevant ICC code for the KOS.
NARCIS Classification The relevant NARCIS class for the KOS.
KOS Types Vocabulary The appropriate Dublin Core NKOS group ‘KOS Types Vocabulary’ label for the KOS.

25. Summary KO
KO in the
bibliographic
domain
Knowledge
Space Lab
KOS as object
of study
Summary
Quest for
ways to
organise our
knowledge
Classification
schemes as
used in
libraries
Less stable
than naively
thought
Rather
complex in
design and
in practice
Maybe give
up?
We always
classify!
Mapping out
classifications
helps us to gain
an overview
about the
content
We deepen our
understanding
by
mapping/comp
aring
classifications
This requires a
lot of effort
Why is this
important?
Concepts are expressed
with words, but not
identical to them;
Categories/classification
s reflect a (mind)set of
concepts
Hence: KOS are
everywhere!
They govern our live in
the information age.
Better make them
visible and understand
them, than being
guided blindly,
unknowingly, maybe
even unwillingly.
Best base on sciences
which already deal with
the reflection about
KOS: philosophy,
Knowledge Organisation

26. References I
- Introduction to Knowledge Organisation – an initiative of ISKO UK
https://www.iskouk.org/koed-iko (Autumn 2020-)
- International Society for Knowledge Organization https://www.isko.org (open encyclopedia)
- Katy Börner: Atlas of Science; Atlas of Knowledge MIT Press
- Scharnhorst, Andrea, Katy Börner, and Peter Besselaar (Eds.). (2012). Models of Science
Dynamics. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-23068-4.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melvil_Dewey#Dewey_Decimal_Classification
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Otlet
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Decimal_Classification
- Paul Otlet. Traite de documentation: le livre sur le livre, theorie et pratique. 1934
- Rayward, W. Boyd (Eds) Otlet, Paul. International Organization and Dissemination of
Knowledge: Selected Essays. (FID 684). Elsevier, Amsterdam 1990.
- Alex Wright: Cataloging the World. Paul Otlet and the Birth of the Information Age, Oxford
University Press 2014

27. References II
- http://www.udcc.org -> http://www.udcsummary.info/php/index.php
- Smiraglia, R. P., Scharnhorst, A., Akdag Salah, A., & Gao, C. (2013). UDC in Action. In A.
Slavic, A. Akdag Salah, & S. Davies (Eds.), Classification and visualization: interfaces to
knowledge (pp. 259–270). Würzburg: Ergon Verlag. Preprint available at
http://arxiv.org/abs/1306.3783
- Scharnhorst, A., Smiraglia, R. P., Gueret, C., & Salah, A. A. A. (2016). Knowledge Maps of the
UDC: Uses and Use Cases. Knowledge Organization, 43(8), 641–654 (Special issue on
Subject Ontogeny and Kno. Retrieved from http://www.isko.org/ko438toc.pdf
- Suchecki, Krzysztof, Almila Akdag Salah, Cheng Gao, and Andrea Scharnhorst. 2012.
“Evolution of Wikipedia’s Category Structure.” Advances in Complex Systems 15 (supp01):
1250068–1. doi:10.1142/S0219525912500683. (Preprint Physics and Society; Digital
Libraries. http://arxiv.org/abs/1203.0788.
- Scharnhorst, A.; Gao, C.; Akdag Salah, A.; Suchecki, K. (2012): Evolution of Wikipedia
Categories. DANS.https://doi.org/10.17026/dans-xjp-zfuw (Dataset with extracted
networks)

28. References III
- A. Akdag Salah, Cheng Gao, Andrea Scharnhorst, and Krzysztof Suchecki (2011). Design vs.
Emergence: Visualisation of Knowledge Orders. MAP. Courtesy of The Knowledge Space Lab,
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. In “7th Iteration (2011): Science Maps as
Visual Interfaces to Digital Libraries,” Places & Spaces: Mapping Science, edited by Katy
Börner and Michael J. Stamper. http://scimaps.org
- Tennis, J. T. (2012). "The Strange Case of Eugenics: A Subject’s Ontogeny in a Long-Lived
Classification Scheme and the Question of Collocative Integrity. “ In Journal of the American
Society for Information Science and Technology. 63(7): 1350-1359.
- Coen, G, Smiraglia, RP, Doorn, P & Scharnhorst, A 2019, 'Observing trajectories of KOSs
Across Space and Time: The DANS KOS Observatory (KOSo)' Proceedings from North
American Symposium on Knowledge Organization – NASKO, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 35-47.
- https://knoworg.org/the-dans-koso-observatory/