Classifying art with Bliss

Abstract

The second edition of the Bliss Classification (BC2) is a faceted classification scheme which reworks the original Bliss Classification, devised a century ago. It compares favourably in terms of its wealth of detail, the fineness of its analysis, its flexibility and the conciseness of its notation with its main rivals, the Library of Congress Classification, the Dewey Decimal Classification and the Universal Decimal Classification. The Art class, W, is one of the most detailed and best organised of the BC2 schedules, with the caveat that the author did not find the giving of priority to place over period and the listing of individual artists separately from their periods and places to be the most helpful arrangement. However, room is left for alternative arrangements within the scheme.