User talk:Komalprasadphuyal

A New Library Classification System from Nepal
Almost all the libraries in Nepal use Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) for documentation. As the first classification scheme, Melvin Dewey had brought this system in application in 1876. In fact, Dewey's contribution to humanity is not of less importance. Yet, Manoj Kumar Sah, a promising youth working in this field, has encountered with many contradictory issues within DDC. Furthermore, he realized a need to develop a new classification scheme that is immune from those problems. When he was a master-degree student of Library and Information Science, some seeds unknown to himself were germinating. When he began his research for dissertation, he discerned the seeds were those of octadecimal classification. Infact, he has come up with a true library classification scheme for the soil of our motherland. To begin with some of the problems, DDC as a system has narrow base, as the result of which depth classification becomes impractically lengthy. That is, the digits are too many for library staff to remember. Beside, he has found geographical, political, and religious biasness in DDC. It takes whole Indian subcontinent as a political entity but for Pakistan. Moreover, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Maldives are treated as if they were the state of India. Indian library scholars do not bother about it; but, how can library researcher like Sah remain silent against such issues? Our country has been employing a library classification system that denies her her own sovereign political existence. Undoubtedly, the aforementioned states are independent. Still, we are ignorant about it,at least within our libraries. To eschew attacks from Islamic world, Pakistan that came into existence only in 1947 has been recognized as a sovereign nation. Then what is detaining DDC to do the same in case of other countries? DDC is not uninformed but it is showing its bully nature. Wars are fought for national sovereignty. But our scholars in the field are always defending the shortcomings. What has been done here is that Sah is always discouraged. While doing research, one of his teachers rendered a kind advice to him. "Manoj, you are very good in mathematics. Why don't you go for another degree in it?" The intellectually destitute might have said many things. Still, Sah kept on resisting them, raising his finger at the weaknesses of DDC. He says, "The religions and languages of the west are privileged over these of the non-west". Is it not geographical and religious favouritism of the west? DDC has not glanced at these drawbacks not because it does not know about the but because it wants to continue its conservative mindset.

What was true in 1876 may not be true now. The need of the time changes every second. What education brings is awareness. It is the second greatest stupidity not to take any initiation even after being aware that we are in the dark. The first stupidity is to lag far behind the demand of time.

Buddha was born in Nepal and got enlightenment in India. In this regard, Nepal and India are closely related to Buddhism. But Buddhism was not accepted in these areas; rather, it spread as far as Japan even at that time. So was the fate of Christ. People need a long time to accept a novel idea, thought, and system. As this is the century of information technology, Sah's system will undoubtedly be greeted with applaude soon.

Accepting or rejecting does not make any difference to what one does. Manoj Kumar Sah is a vision-led youth with deeper insight and expertise into different classification systems like DDC, Universal classification system (UDC), Colon classification (CC), Library of Congress classification (LC), and Bibliographic classification (BC). Hence, this patriotic citizen of Nepal has full right to say, "Such and such classification system is not fit for Nepal. Nepal is not part of India. It is an independent country with its own sovereignty." He has enough reason to say, "DDC is biased; and hence wrong". The full fledged library system developed by this patriotic citizen, therefore, must be acknowledged by the stakeholders in the field. - Komal Prasad Phuyal