Otlet, Paul (1868-1944)
Belgian lawyer, the
founding father of documentation.
He created the
Universal
Decimal Classification
(UDC) and introduced in Europe of the
standard American 3x5 inch index card (cf.,
catalog
card) used in most library catalogs around the world until the introduction of OPACs
in the 1980s.
Otlet wrote numerous
essays on how to collect and organize the world’s knowledge,
culminating in two books, the Traité de documentation (1934)
and Monde: Essai d'universalisme (1935). He and Henri
La Fontaine founded Institut International de Bibliographie
in 1895 which later became the International Federation for
Documentation and Information (FID).
"To seek to classify the world, to seek to
transcribe on 12.5 × 7.5 centimenter cards all the books that have appeared in
all languages and in all countries, to seek to introduce the Universal Decimal
Classification to codify ideas and facts, as a result to complete as the years
go by 12 million cards, to seek subsequently to build a World City dedicated to
Knowledge, Fraternity and Peace, the plans for which are confided to Le
Corbusier—such are the great activities of this utopian pacifist." (Rayward,
2004, p. 406).
Rayward (1994) finds that many later problems in
information science were anticipated by Paul Otlet, "the Jules Verne of
Information Science". Rayward also finds that Otlet's main work,
"Traité." (1934) is the first textbook of information science.
According to Rayward (1994) are most
of Otlet's thoughts based on an obsolete 19th. century
positivism,
why they have to be deconstructed. This interpretation is modified by
Ducheyne (2005) who demonstrate that some of Otlet's view was in opposition to
positivism (e.g. Otlet believed in the concept of causes, which positivists do
not).
Ducheyne further shows how Otlet's thoughts are related to seventeenth-century
encyclopedists. He assumed that a universal classification of all human
knowledge could be given:
"(Otlet indeed was 'the man who wanted to
classify the world') (a), that objects can be analyzed in terms of their
essences, i.e. their specific characters (b), and that the numbers and the
relations between them can represent 'the order of things' (c-d). Otlet's strong
belief in the ability of human beings to enumerate all objective features of a
book is reflected in his monographic principle, according to which each
intellectual element contained in a book corresponds to a distinct material
element (Otlet, 1934, 385). (I admit that Otlet weakens this point somewhat when
he writes, at least at one occasion, that thoughts and the external world
correspond 'more or less adequately' (Otlet, 1989, 107)." (Ducheyne, 2005, p.
115)
Literature:
Baugniet; J.
(1970). Two pioneers in the sphere of international
co-operation and world peace: Henri La Fontaine and Paul Otlet. IN: Union of
International Associations, 1910-1970: past, present, future; sixtieth
anniversary. Brussels: Union of International Associations. (Union
of International Associations; Documents. no. 17; UAI publication. no. 214).
Buckland, M. K.
(1991). Information as thing. Journal of the American Society for
Information Science, 42(5), 351-360.
Ducheyne, S. (2005). Paul Otlet's theory of knowledge and linguistic
objectivism. Knowledge Organization, 32(3), 110-116.
Freytag,
J. (1978). Typology of information-Sources and Means. International Forum on
Information and Documentation, 3(1), 3-7.
Levie, F.
(2006). L'homme qui voulait classer le monde: Paul Otlet et le Mondaneum.
(Title translated: The man who wanted to systematize the world: Paul Otlet and
the Mondaneum). Bruxelles: Les impressions nouvelles.
Otlet, P.
(1900). Le Repertoire bibliographique universel et la cooperation internationale dans
les travaux bibliographiques. Bruxelles, Au siege de l'institut. 13 p.
Otlet, P.
(1901). Comment classer les pieces et documents des societes industrielles. Brussels:
Unit e stenographique de Belgique. Bruxelles, Auxiliaire bibliographique; impr.
de l'Institut international de bibliographie. 39 p. (About
Classification-Books).
Otlet, P.
(1903). Les sciences bibliographiques et la documentation. Bruxelles, Institut
international de bibliographie. 27 p.
Otlet, P.
L'etat actuel de l'organisation bibliographique internationale. Bruxelles: Au
siege de l'Institut, 1906. 33 p.
Otlet, P.
L'avenir du livre et de la bibliographie. Bruxelles: Etablissements generaux
d'imprimerie, 1911
Otlet, P.
L'organisation de la documentation administrative. International congress of
local authorities.; 1st, Ghent, 1913. [Bruxelles], 1914 8 p. (About Archives).
Otlet, P.
Constitution mondiale de la societe des nations. Geneve: Edition Atar s. a.,
1917. 253p. (About Peace; International organization; European war, 1914-1918).
Otlet, P.
Classification comparee. Bruxelles, 1919 p. 93-104.
Otlet, P.
L'organisation de la documentation internationale et le role des associations de
chimie. Paris, Societe de chimie industrielle 1919. 7,[1] p.
Otlet, P.
Sur la creation d'une universite internationale. [Bruxelles, Impr. O. Lamberty,
1920 39 p. 26 cm.
Otlet, P.
L'organisation internationale de la bibliographie et de la documentation.
Bruxeles, Palais mondial, 1920 44 p.
Otlet, P.
Manuel de la documentation administrative. I. Principes generaux: rapport
presente au IIe Congres international des sciences administratives (Bruxelles
1923). Bruxelles: International congress on the administrative sciences, 2d,
Brussels, 1923, 1923. 95p. (About Office management and Archives)
Otlet, P.
L'organisation internationale du livre de la bibliographie et de la
documentation. Paris: Jouve & cie, 1925. 13 p.
Otlet, P.
Les recentes transformations du livre et ses formes futures. [Mainz, 1925. 28 p.
L'education et les instituts au Palais Mondial (Mundaneum) I. Centre-Musee
international de l'enseignement. II Education et synthese universaliste. [n.p.]
1926. 1 v.
Otlet, P.
Institut international de bibliographie. 1928. Bruxelles: International
federation for documentation, 1928 36 p.
Otlet, P.
(1929). Cite mondiale (Mundaneum; World civic center). [Bruxelles: Union des
associations internationales]. 35p. (About Geneva; incl. map, plan).
Otlet, P.
L'annee bibliographique. Paris: Chimie et industrie, 1929.
Otlet, P.
Sur les possibilites pour les entites administratives d'avoir a tout moment leur
situation presentee documentairement. [Bruxelles], 1930. 29 p.
Otlet, P.
Bibliographia universalis. [Bruxelles: International federation for
documentation. Etablissements typolitho D. Van Keerberghen & fils, 1931 24 p.
Otlet, P.
Classification decimale universelle, etudes et projets. Bruxelles, 1932. 91p.
Otlet, P.
(1932).
La banque mondiale et le plein economique mondial.
Otlet, P.
(1934). Traité de documentation: le livre sur le livre, theorie et pratique.
Bruxelles, Editiones Mundaneum. (Otlet's main work).
Otlet, P.
(1990). International organisation and dissemination of knowledge;
selected essays of Paul Otlet. Translated and edited with an introduction by W.
Boyd Rayward. Amsterdam: Elsevier. (FID
publication 684).
Otlet, P. & Goldschmidt, R. B.
(1906). Sur une forme nouvelle du livre (Le
livre microphotographique). Bruxelles.
Otlet, P. & Goldschmidt, R. B.
(1925). La conservation et la diffusion
internationale de la pensee. [Bruxelles]: Impr. de l'Office de publicite. (About Microphotography).
Otlet, P. & La Fontaine, H.
(1894). Sommaire methodique des traites,
monographies et revues de droit publie sous la direction de MM. P. Otlet et H.
Lafontaine. Bruxelles: Institut international de bibliographie.
(About Law-Bibliography)
Otlet, P. & La Fontaine, H.
(1894): Sommaire methodique des traites,
monographies et revues de sociologie. Bruxelles: Institut international de
bibliographie. (About Social science-Bibliography; Political
science-Bibliography; Economics-Bibliography).
Otlet, P. & La Fontaine, H.
(1895). Creation d'un Repertoire
bibliographique universal. Conference bibliographique internationale.
International federation for documentation; Conference. 1st, Brussels, 1895.
Bruxelles: Impr. veuve F. Larcier, 1895. (About Decimal Classification &
Universal Bibliography).
Otlet, P. & La Fontaine, H.
(1908). L'etat actuel des questions
bibliographiques et l'organisation internationale de la documentation.
Bruxelles.
Otlet, P. & Vandeveld, E.
(1906). La reforme des bibliographies nationales
et leur utilisation pour la Bibliographie universelle. Bruxelles, Administration
de la "Bibliographie de Belgique" Institut international de bibliographie.
Otlet, P. & Wouters, L.
(1930). Manuel de la bibliotheque publique. 3. ed. [Bruxelles: Typo-litho. D. Van Keerberghen & fils.
Rayward, W. B. (1973). Paul Otlet, internationalist and bibliographer.
(Ph.D. Thesis, University of Chicago, Ill., [microform]).
Rayward, W. B.
(1975). The universe of information ; the work of Paul Otlet for
documentation and international organization. Moscow : Published for
International Federation for Documentation (FID) by All-Union Institute for
Scientific and Technical Information (VINITI). (FID
publication; 520).
Individual biography (Otlet, Paul - 1868-1944). Includes
index. "Bibliography of the writings of Paul Otlet": p. 364-373.
Rayward, W. B.
(1983). The International Exposition and the
World-Documentation-Congress, Paris 1937. Library Quarterly, 53(3),
254-268.
Rayward, W. B.
(1991). The Case of Otlet, Paul Pioneer of Information-Science,
Internationalist, Visionary - Reflections on Biography. Journal of Librarianship
and Information Science, 23 (3), 135-145.
Rayward, W. B.
(1994). Some Schemes for Restructuring and Mobilizing Information in
Documents - a Historical-Perspective. Information Processing & Management,
30(2), 163-175.
Rayward, W. B.
(1994). Visions of Xanadu - Otlet, Paul (1868-1944) and Hypertext.
Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 45(4), 235-250.
Rayward, W. B. (2004). L’Homme qui voulait classer le monde. A Film by Françoise
Levie. IN: The History and Heritage of
Scientific and Technological Information Systems. Proceedings of the 2002
Conference. Ed. by W. Boyd Rayward & Mary Ellen Bowden. Medford, New
Jersey: Information Today. (Pp. 406-407).
http://www.chemheritage.org/events/asist2002/33-levie-film.pdf
Rodriguez, R. D.
(1981). Classification and Subject Indication: Highlights of the
Anglo-American Debate, 1850-1950. Libri, 31(4), 323-340.
Woledge, G.
(1983). Bibliography and Documentation - Words and Ideas. Journal of
Documentation, 39(4), 266-279.
http://www.lesimpressionsnouvelles.com/OTLET.pdf
Generic group:
Information science, biography
Birger Hjørland
Last edited:
28-10-2006
Home