Scriptum
Exported from Holy-Writings.com on 2026-06-18 - 1 clipping

Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: William P. Collins, Scriptum, bahai-library.com.
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Scriptum 1

SCRIPTUM:

Newsletter for Bahá'í Librarians &
Information Professionals
No. 1 (April 1995 = Jalál 152)

Call for Association among Bahá'í Information Professionals
During the past decade there have been several attempts to bring Bahá'í librarians, archivists and
other information professionals together in an association. In the latter half of the 1980s, the Bahá'í
World Centre Library built a loose network of interested individuals. This network created a mailing
list, initiated some correspondence relating to needs of the World Centre Library, and brought some
professional librarians in the Faith into contact with one another. As it was difficult to maintain
active coordination from the World Centre, a number of Bahá'í librarians in the United States began
to hold meetings during conferences of the American Library Association and other professional
organizations. Ralph Wagner was one of the coordinators of that short effort. Although a draft
constitution was submitted to the Bahá'í National Center for approval, the effort did not reach
fruition. Recently, I was asked to assist the Bosch Bahá'í School Library to train its library staff. The
trainees echoed a refrain that has been repeated many times: "How can the World Centre Library's
database, subject headings and library expertise be shared with the rest of the Bahá'í libraries?" As
former director of the World Centre Library, I knew that such assistance is currently constrained by
the workload of the World Centre, and by its limited staff resources. The Universal House of Justice
has communicated to me, through its secretariat, the following (letter dated 31 January 1995):

"Prior to the establishment of closer links between the World Centre Library and those
outside the World Centre, a pool of professional Bahá'í Librarians needs to be
identified and organized into some sort of association in order that the necessary
human resources are in place to support such a development. The House of
Justice...feels that you are well placed to initiate such an association...."

This is clear guidance that networking and resource-sharing by the Bahá'í World Centre Library
(and by other World Centre information agencies such as the Archives) depend upon the creation
and strengthening of ties among Bahá'í librarians, archivists and other information workers. The
Universal House of Justice's suggestion implies that coordination of such an effort could best be
undertaken by someone in a position to foster the association's development, free of the
constraints of the World Centre's workload.

I have volunteered to make a beginning at establishing this network and association of librarians,
Page 1
Scriptum 1

I have volunteered to make a beginning at establishing this network and association of librarians,
archivists and related professionals. At the moment, there is no formal constitution or structure. The
present newsletter, entitled Scriptum, will (God willing) appear every three months during a pilot
period of one year. The pages of Scriptum are intended for news, articles on information science
topics, descriptions of Bahá'í classifications, case studies, sample cataloging for new publications
received at the Bahá'í World Centre Library, and any other features that may prove useful. Please
send me:

1. Your comments on the content of this newsletter, and contributions for consideration for
publication;

2. Thoughts on what this organization should be called and how it should be organized.

3. Volunteers to assist in the future as the network develops.

Please contact the editor at the address, phone or E-mail listed at the end of the newsletter. Also
feel free to inform other librarians, archivists and information professionals in the Faith about this
effort.

For this project to continue beyond the one-year pilot, we will need to develop an association
structure and spread the workload. The legal office at the Bahá'í National Center has provided me
with some model constitutions. I will share these in the next newsletter. In the meantime,
expressions of support and offers of assistance will be appreciated and gladly accepted.

The Bahá'í Faith in the Dewey Classification
More than a century ago, Melvil Dewey - father of modern librarianship - developed a classification
intended to cover the universe of knowledge. The Dewey Decimal Classification has become,
during that century, the most widely used library classification system in the world. What originally
began as a fixed classification biased toward North America has become an ever more flexible and
responsive tool for detailing the world of knowledge, and is standard classification in many of the
world's public libraries.

As the Bahá'í Faith grew, the inadequacy of its treatment in library classifications became a cause
of concern to Bahá'ís and scholars who sought Bahá'í publications. Before the 15th edition of the
Dewey Decimal Classification (1952), there was no location for the Bahá'í Faith in the
classification. In 1952 the 15th edition showed the following:

297 MOHAMMEDANISM
.8 Bahaism

The inclusion of the Faith, while a step forward, essentially called it a sect of Islam. With edition 16
in 1958, other changes reflected adoption of proper names for Islam and the Bahá'í Faith, and
formatting conventions indicated that the Bahá'í Faith is separate from Islam, even though the
classification number appeared to include it as a sect:

297 Islam
.8 Sects

Page 2
Scriptum 1
.8 Sects
.89 Bahai faith

For Bahá'ís this still remained inadequate, essentially filing Bahá'í publications with those on
Sunni, Shi'ah, Ahmadiyya, Black Muslims, and the like. With editions 17 (1965) through 19 (1979)
there was obviously a greater understanding of the Bahá'í Faith as a "religion derived from Islam":

297 Islam and Religions Derived from It
.8 Islamic sects and other religions derived from Islam
297.87-297.89 Religions derived from Islam
.88 Babism
.89 Bahai faith

However, the Bábí and Bahá'í Faiths were still within a portion of the classification that associated
them with Islam and its sects. With edition 20 in 1989, a significant reassessment had been made,
in which the Bahá'í Faith was removed from immediate association with sects of Islam:

297 Islam and religions originating in it
.8 Islamic sects and reform movements
.9 Religions originating in Islam
.92 Babism
.93 Bahai faith

The only headings for "religions originating in Islam" under 297.9 were the Bábí and Bahá'í Faiths,
thus at least giving tacit recognition to their fundamentally different character from that of the
various Islamic sects. The 21st edition of the Dewey Decimal Classification will be released in
1996. While the numbers at 297.92 and 297.93 remain the same, there will be a change of
headings in the classification itself that tacitly recognizes the Faith's independent character, and its
equality as a revelation with that of Muhammad:

297 Islam, Babism, Bahai faith
.8 Islamic sects and reform movements
.9 Babism, Bahai faith
.92 Babism
.93 Bahai faith

In essence, the Faith is now assigned all numbers within 297.9, and is shown in the formatting as
equal to Islam. This is an extremely important achievement for the Faith for several reasons: (1) it
clearly separates the Faith from Islamic sects; (2) it shows the Faith's independence by assigning
an entire decimal to the Faith; (3) the heading for 297 now includes Bábí and Bahá'í revelations as
equal to Islam; (4) it opens the way for future growth of Bahá'í topics; (5) and it ultimately makes
possible the complete movement of the Bahá'í Faith to a separate number outside of 297, which
growth of the Faith is destined to make necessary.

Over a period of more than a decade, the Bahá'í World Centre Library has cultivated a working
relationship with the major library classification agencies. The work with the Dewey Decimal
Classification has been very cordial, particularly because the Bahá'í professionals who have
conducted the relationship understand the difficulty of fitting all knowledge into a numbering
system based upon divisions of ten (thus the "decimal" classification). The Universal House of
Justice has assigned to the Bahá'í World Centre Library the responsibility for dealing with library
classification agencies, and this remains one of its most important areas of endeavor.

Page 3
Scriptum 1

-- William Collins

Bosch Bahá'í School Library
The Bosch Bahá'í School in Santa Cruz, California, is located in a beautiful redwood grove in the
mountains above the Pacific. Four volunteers have been assisting the school in developing its
library.

For several years, the school has used a classification developed by a volunteer. Recently, the
school decided it wanted to investigate the possibility of using the Bahá'í World Centre Library's
classification for Bahá'í materials, which is based on the Library of Congress classification. In
December 1994, I had the distinct privilege of spending a long weekend training the volunteers in
the use of the World Centre's system.

The Bosch Library is undoubtedly going to develop into a rich resource for study. Already, the
school has received donations of the libraries of David Hofman (retired member of the Universal
House of Justice) and Marzieh Gail (translator and author).

The school's library is undergoing renovation to create a more secure environment for the
collections, and to facilitate the provision of reference service to the school's attendees.

Among other projects, the volunteers at the School are researching possible PC-based computer
systems for cataloging, with the intent of choosing an inexpensive but flexible program that can
serve the current needs of the school.

-- William Collins

Library-of-Congress Based Bahá'í Classification
The Library of Congress Classification system was inadequate for the Bahá'í World Centre to use
in its current form. Its classification numbers were as follows:

BP300     PERIODICALS

BP310     SOCIETIES

COLLECTIONS. COLLECTED WORKS

BP320     Several authors

BP325     Individual authors

BP327     DICTIONARIES. ENCYCLOPEDIAS

HISTORY

BP330     General works
Page 4
Scriptum 1
BP330      General works

BP340      Babism

HISTORY By region or country

BP350      United States

BP352      By state, A-W

BP355      Other regions or countries, A-Z

BP360      WRITINGS OF THE BAB, BAHA'U'LLAH AND 'ABDU'L-BAHA

BP365      GENERAL WORKS

BP370      GENERAL SPECIAL

BP375      ADDRESSES, ESSAYS, LECTURES

BP377      MISCELLANEOUS

BP380      DEVOTIONS. DIRECTIONS, etc.

BIOGRAPHY

BP390      Collective

Individual

BP391      The Báb

BP392      Bahá'u'lláh

BP393      'Abdu'l-Bahá

BP395      Other individual, A-Z

Because of the inadequacy of the Library of Congress's existing classification,the World Centre
undertook a revision of the Bahá'í section to make it more palatable in a Bahá'í library.

Following is a summary of the main classification numbers of the World Centre's classification,
based upon the Library of Congress Classification. Users of the classification should obtain the full
schedule.

BP300      PERIODICALS

BP302      STATISTICS

BP303      PROGRAMS
Collections of Bahá'í programs to be used in Bahá'í feasts, holy
days, commemorations, etc.

BP304      CONGRESSES, CONVENTIONS, REGIONAL MEETINGS

BP305      DIRECTORIES
Page 5
Scriptum 1
BP305    DIRECTORIES

BP306    EXHIBITIONS

BP309    BIBLIOGRAPHY

BP310    SOCIETIES, CLUBS, ASSOCIATIONS, ETC.

BP320    COLLECTIONS: Several authors

BP325    COLLECTIONS: Individual authors

BP327    DICTIONARIES, ENCYCLOPEDIAS, YEARBOOKS, THESAURI

BP329    CHRONOLOGIES, READY REFERENCES, REFERENCE COMPILATIONS

BP330    HISTORY

BP356    TRAVELOGUES

BP358    PILGRIMS' NOTES

BP360     HOLY TEXTS AND INTERPRETATION
Compilations from works by Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb, 'Abdu'l-Bahá,
Shoghi Effendi; class compilations on specific topics with those
topics.

BP361    Writings of the Báb

BP362    Writings of Bahá'u'lláh

BP363    Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá

BP364    Letters and works by Shoghi Effendi

BP365    GENERAL WORKS

BP366    DOCTRINES, THEOLOGY

BP367    BAHA'I LAW

BP368    Laws of personal status

BP369    Devotional practices; worship

BP370    SPECIAL SUBJECTS

BP371    BAHA'I EDUCATION

BP372    BAHA'I FAITH AND OTHER RELIGIONS

BP373    TEACHING-PROPAGATING THE BAHA'I FAITH

BP374    SOCIAL TEACHINGS

BP375    ADDRESSES, ESSAYS, LECTURES

Page 6
Scriptum 1

BP376   SPECIFIC CLASSES OF PEOPLE

BP377   JUVENILE (CHILDREN'S) LITERATURE

BP378   FOLKLORE, LEGENDS, MYTHOLOGY, ORAL TRADITION

BP380   ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER; GOVERNMENT OF THE BAHA'I FAITH

BP381   Guardianship

BP382   Rulers

BP383   Learned

BP384   Other institutions

BP385   MEDITATIONS

BP386   INSPIRATIONAL WORKS

BP387   MUSIC

BP388   ART AND ARTISTS (VISUAL ARTS)

BP389   ARCHITECTURE

BP390   BIOGRAPHY

BP391   The Báb

BP392   Bahá'u'lláh

BP393   'Abdu'l-Bahá

BP394   Shoghi Effendi

BP395   Other individuals

BP397   MISCELLANEA

BP398   OPPOSITION, DEFENSE

BP399   COVENANT-BREAKER WORKS

Sample Catalog Records from the Bahá'í World Centre
It is my hope to include, on a regular basis, sample cataloging prepared by the World Centre
Library for recent publications.

Bahá'u'lláh, 1817-1892.
[Kitáb-i-aqdas. English]
The Kitáb-i-aqdas = The Most Holy Book / Bahá'u'lláh. -- Haifa : Baha'i World Centre, c1992 (Ann
Page 7
Scriptum 1
The Kitáb-i-aqdas = The Most Holy Book / Bahá'u'lláh. -- Haifa : Baha'i World Centre, c1992 (Ann
Arbor, Mich. : Edward Brothers).
viii, 296 p. ; 23 cm.
I. Title. II. Title: The Most Holy Book. III. Title: A Synopsis and codification of the laws and
ordinances of the Kitáb-i-aqdas. V. Bahá'u'lláh, 1817-1892. / [Su'ál va javáb. English]
BP 362 .K6 A2 ENG 1992

Nelson, Lee, 1955-.
A Concordance to the Kitáb-i-aqdas / compiled by Lee Nelson. -- Golden, Colo. : Diversity Press,
c1993.
[6], 250 p. ; 28 cm.
1. BAHA'U'LLAH, 1817-1892. / KITAB-I-AQDAS -- CONCORDANCES 2. BAHAI FAITH --
SCRIPTURES -- CONCORDANCES. I. Title.
BP 362 .K64 N55 1993

Hatcher, John S.
The Arc of ascent : the purpose of physical reality II / by John S. Hatcher. -- Oxford : George
Ronald, c1994.
xiii, [1] 385 p. ; 22 cm.
1. THEODICY. 2. BAHAI FAITH -- DOCTRINE -- JUSTICE. 3. BAHAI FAITH -- DOCTRINE --
CREATION. 4. BAHAI FAITH -- DOCTRINE -- NATURE. 5. COSMOLOGY. 6. BAHAI FAITH --
DOCTRINE -- LIFE AFTER DEATH. 7. BAHAI FAITH -- DOCTRINE -- GOOD AND EVIL. I. Title. II.
Title: The Purpose of physical reality II.
BP 366.4 .H381 1994

Publications of interest
1. The Bahá'í World Centre Library. -- Haifa: Bahá'í World Centre Library, 1989.

Introductory brochure explaining collections and policies of the library, available from
the World Centre.

2. A Classification for the Bahá'í Faith. -- Haifa: Bahá'í World Centre Library, 1988.

Early version of the World Centre Library's Bahá'í classification based upon the
Library of Congress system; copies of the most recent version are available from the
editor.

3. "The Bahá'í World Centre Library," Journal of Religious and Theological Information, v.1 no.2
(1993), pp. 77-89.

Introduction to the World Centre's library, intended for an audience of theological
librarians.

4. "Classification for Materials on the Bahá'í Religion: A B200' Schedule Based on the Dewey
Decimal Classification - Part 1," Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, v.16 no.4 (1993), pp. 103-
121; "Classification for Materials on the Bahá'í Religion: A B200' Schedule Based on the Dewey
Decimal Classification - Part 2," Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, v.18 no.2 (1993), pp. 71-86.
Page 8
Scriptum 1
Decimal Classification - Part 2," Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, v.18 no.2 (1993), pp. 71-86.

Sample classification for the Faith based upon Dewey Decimal Classification.

5. "Effects of Computerization Requirements on the Bahá'í Classification Scheme in Use at the
Bahá'í World Centre," Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, v.11 no.2 (1990), pp. 69-83.

Study of the relationship between automation and subject classification.

6. Guidelines for Bahá'í Archives. -- Wilmette, Ill.: National Bahá'í Archives, Bahá'í National Center,
1983.

Excellent introduction to the management of archival collections, especially geared to
non-professionals in local communities.

Editorial Contact
William Collins
6819 Stoneybrooke Lane
Alexandria, VA 22306 USA

The editor has been a Bahá'í for 26 years. He has an M.S.L.S. from Syracuse University, and an
M.S.Sc. from Syracuse University. He has worked at the Middlebury College Library (1973-1976),
the State Historical Society of Wisconsin (1976-1977), the Bahá'í World Centre Library (1977-
1990), and the Library of Congress (1991-present). He is the author of a bibliography of works on
the Faith covering 1844-1985.

Telephone:
1-703-765-9115 (home)
1-202-707-8044 (work)

Email:
wpc09@hotmail.com

©William P. Collins, 1995

Permission is granted to reprint or excerpt, provided that proper credit is given.

HTML Version Created 30 June 1996

Page 9
-- Scriptum (Used by permission of the curator)