Henry E. Bliss

Henry Evelyn Bliss
BornJanuary 29, 1870
New York City
DiedAugust 9, 1955 (1955-08-10) (aged 85)
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Librarian, Author, Poet

Henry Evelyn Bliss (January 29, 1870 – August 9, 1955) was the author of a classification system he called Bibliographic Classification which is often abbreviated to BC and is sometimes called Bliss Classification.[1] He was named one of the 100 most important leaders in the field of library and Information science in the 20th century by American Libraries in December 1999, which praised his “subject approach to information” as “one of the most flexible ever conceived.”[1]: 40  Despite these praises, Bliss was “met with apathy and even derision in his efforts” during his lifetime.[2]: 15  His classification system was generally disregarded in favor of other more established classification systems such as the Dewey Decimal System created by Melvil Dewey and the Library of Congress Classification system, causing “more than one author” to label him as a, “prophet without honor.”[3]: 45–46  Although Bliss was an American, his system was more popular in British libraries than in American libraries. A second edition of the system has been developed in the United Kingdom in 1977. Several volumes have been published.

  1. ^ a b Kniffel, Leonard; Sullivan, Peggy; McCormick, Edith (1999). "100 of the Most Important Leaders We Had in the 20th Century". American Libraries. 30 (11): 38–47.
  2. ^ Maltby, Arthur; Gill, Lindy (1979). The Case for Bliss: Modern Classification Practice and Principles in the Context of the Bibliographic Classification. London: Clive Bingley.
  3. ^ Broughton, Vanda (2008). "Henry Evelyn Bliss - the Other Immorital, or a Prophet without Honour?". Journal of Librarianship and Information Science. 40 (1): 45–58. doi:10.1177/0961000607086620. S2CID 10759862.