Our flagship scheme, the Copley-Willoughby Classification, underwent revisions in May of 2002 to correct some minor flaws. The new scheme gives a better ordering of classes based upon Library of Congress (LCC) principles, namely the collocation of units by common characteristics. The renewed scheme uses such elements as color, and the heel of the shoe for the assignment of subclasses. Please read on to learn about the history behind Cybersteps.

About the Cybersteps Initiative

We created Cybersteps to fulfill a requirement for L582, Subject Access Systems, which we took with Dr. Elin Jacob at Indiana University's School of Library and Information Science (SLIS). We and our classmates were charged with applying a major library classification scheme to the universe of shoes. We decided that the Web format would be a good way to display and preserve our work, while creating a collaborative space for us to pursue the project. We derived the name for this website from Gerry McKiernan's Cyberstacks. Mr. McKiernan's work at Iowa State University uses LCC to categorize scholarly web resources.

Our previous work with LCC includes research on the system, writing annotated bibliographies on the topic, and presenting our work on the system in class. In addition, both of us have experience using the scheme in various ways in our work at the university. Other students have researched and presented Dewey Decimal, Universal Decimal, Colon, and Bliss Classification. The purpose of this assignment is to explore aspects of the various schemes and to apply them to this new universe of foot ware.

Cybersteps is a collection of three such schemes. They are presented by our alter egos, Jacob Copley and Enid Willoughby. We created these characters for fun, exploiting the stereotypes of academics and librarians, while revealing our true identities elsewhere on the site.

We have had a lot of fun putting this scheme and site together, and we hope that you will enjoy the results. Please forward any comments or questions on this project to us. We can be reached using the e-mail addresses at the bottom of every page.

Overview of the Cybersteps Schemes

The Copley scheme is a deductive system comprised of 32 pairs of shoes. The shoes are divided into four classes. These classes are quite lopsided and illustrate the dangers of developing schedules independently of one another.

The Willoughby scheme is an inductive system designed the represent the entire world of foot ware. All 21 original classes are used in a humorous way to highlight some of the problems with LCC.

The Copley-Willoughby scheme is a deductive system representing 45 pairs of shoes. The predominant feature of this scheme is literary warrant, therefore other shoes aren't represented in this effort. This combined effort retains many of the features of Copley effort, namely four main classes and heavy reliance on mnemonics. This scheme also gives a better representation of women's foot ware, rather than tacking on a separate class as an afterthought, as does the Copley scheme.

Recommended Resources for LCC

History and Development

We recommend reading John Cole's Brief History of the Library of Congress. This article covers the history of the national library from 1800 to 1992, and includes details about the collection and facilities that are often omitted in print accounts.

Properties of LCC

We recommend Lois Mai Chan's Guide to the Library of Congress Classification, 5th edition (1999). This guide is possibly the most comprehensive volume on LCC available. The author devotes over 500 pages to various aspects of the classification scheme including history, development, notation, and use of tables. There is also a chapter that details the individual classes.

Other Resources

Jason Cooper's Annotated Bibliography of Sources on LCC.

Erica Whichello's Annotated Bibliography of Sources on LCC.

Library of Congress Cataloging Policy and Support Office

This page contains a wealth of information about LCC, Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), and MARC formats. A link to the complete LCC outline in Adobe Acrobat format is provided, as well as weekly updates to classes and subclasses within the scheme. The latest news about schedule changes and the CPSO is added continuously

Catalogers' Reference Shelf

This effort by The Library Corporation brings together the many resources that are needed to perform original cataloging of materials. Available here are outlines of LCC, LC Rule Interpretations, LCSH structure and application, all five MARC formats, and more.