ClassificationAndRecommendation

We have two complementary jobs when it comes to presenting books:

• To classify the books into feeds, such that each book in a feed is related in some way.
• To show each patron the feeds most likely to interest them. Within each feed, to put more the best and most interesting books at the front of the feed.

The first is a job for a classification scheme. The second is a job for a recommendation engine.

Classification schemes

A lot of schemes have been devised to classify books.

• BISAC Sample: "POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / City Planning & Urban Development"

• BIC Sample: "FKC" (Classic horror and ghost stories), child of "FK" (Horror and ghost stories), child of "F" (Fiction).

• Dewey Decimal classification Sample: "188" (Stoic philosophy), child of "18" (Ancient, medieval & eastern philosophy), child of "1" (Philosophy & psychology)

• Library of Congress classification Sample: "QE521-545" (Volcanoes and earthquakes), child of "QE" (Geology), child of "Q" (Science)

• Library of Congress subject headings Sample: "Fundraising cookbooks"

• Bookstores like Amazon have their own proprietary classifications, e.g. "Books > Arts & Photography > Architecture > Urban & Land Use Planning". These also show up as GoodReads "genres".

• Amazon books also come with classifications from the publishers, although these aren't displayed very prominently. Major publishers tend to use LOC subject headings or BISAC classifications. Self-published books effectively use tags.

• A book's author and the series it belongs too groups it with other books in a very basic way.

• Folksonomic classifications like tags divide up the space of books into books that have a certain feature and books that don't. These show up as GoodReads "shelves".

• Lists of books similarly divide the space of books into books on the list and books not on the list.