shelf locations of certain materials. This can be described as “For certain topics… two or more places would be provided and the individual library would select the one most appropriate to its needs.” One critic described this as, “a handsome concession to rival school of thought.” Reception The reception of Bliss's classification system was mixed at best. Bliss said that he received “more discouragement than encouragement from the first.” Many readers of Bliss's work disliked his ideas simply because of the writing style. This was because Bliss's writing was usually very complex and wordy. One critic said that Bliss's writing was “much too long. Its exposition is frequently tedious and it has an overplus of trivial observations.” The reviews weren't all bad, though. Susan Grey Akers, in 1936, wrote that Bliss's system “has possibilities which are interesting and thought-provoking.” Grace O. Kelley, writing in 1934 said, “a field of investigation is here presented which… would go far toward lifting librarianship to a plane of scholarship easily ranking with other disciplines which glory in the possession of subject matter which they can call their own” Legacy and lasting importance Bliss is often overlooked in the history of Library Science in favor of such giants as Melvil Dewey and S.R. Ranganathan. However, it is important to remember that “his work represents a major step along the way to the modern classification scheme.” Maltby and Gill in their book The Case for Bliss, writes,“It would be easy to pronounce [Bliss’s work] as a failure. Nevertheless… no individual in the history of bibliographical classification has equaled the time spent by Bliss in ascertaining and weighing the needs of learning, in the penetrating analysis of other systems and the slow evolution of his own.” He was compared to Melvil Dewey by Eugene Garfield: “His goals and aspirations were different from those of Melvil Dewey, whom he certainty surpassed in intellectual ability, but by whom he was dwarfed in organizational ability and drive. Dewey was a businessman, but he was in no sense as profound in his accomplishments.” Publications 1929 The Organization of Knowledge and the System of the Sciences 1933 The Organization of Knowledge in Libraries References External links Dekker Encyclopedias A Memorable day with Henry E. Bliss Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Famous Interments Bliss Classification: Introduction and outline American librarians 1870 births 1955 deaths Burials at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery City College of New York faculty