Brian Deer Classification System

Introduction

Our website examines issues surrounding classification systems that deal with First Nations materials. An example of such a classification has been the Brian Deer system, and the site begins with an overview and a brief history of the development of the Brian Deer system. We then explore some of the alternative choices that First Nations groups and librarians have faced and continue to face when it comes to questions dealing with classification. Each of these choices has different implications and the choice of an alternative depends in part on what practicing librarians deem to be most appropriate for their particular institutions and the needs of their users. The alternatives can be listed as follows:

1. Status quo - use the Dewey Decimal or Library of Congress classification systems as they are.
2. Create a new and different classification system with different notation (for example, the Brian Deer classification system).
3. Create a local system that "explodes" the body of knowledge out into all the rest of a traditional classification system.
4. Create a new Canadian national standard classification system for First Nations material. (A related initiative would be the development of Canadian national standard First Nations subject headings.)

We conduct case studies of two libraries who use or have used the Brian Deer classification system, and whose collections focus on First Nations topics. The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs Library and Resource Centre has used the Brian Deer classification system in the past, but has since switched to a modified LC classification system. The Xwi7Xwa Library at the University of British Columbia currently uses the Brian Deer classification system.

Finally, we compare the Library of Congress classification schedules to the Brian Deer schedule developed by Xwi7xwa Library. We specifically analyze the language and naming conventions (including the naming of native groups), collocation of subject areas, and level of specificity of each classification system, with regard to the treatment of First Nations topics and subject areas.

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