UDC Translations: a 2004 Survey Report and Bibliography

Abstract

One question that has often been asked is how many translations of the UDC exist? A lack of recent data is one obstacle to a full evaluation of the UDC's potential application in global information exchange. The question of translation has been raised by many stakeholders interested in the use of the classification. This paper reports on research undertaken in 2004 aimed at establishing the current number of UDC translations in different languages, their form/format and the date these were last reported. The research was completed in September 2004 and was based on relevant literature research, bibliographic surveys and e-mail interviews with cataloguing agencies and library schools world-wide. The objective of this report is to give an overview of translation activity over the past three decades providing additional background information where appropriate. A list of the last reported translations into 39 languages is given. The bibliography provided includes the most recent editions in many languages and a few references in languages for which there is only a single translation. This was included irrespective of the date for historical reasons. The survey was part of independent academic research at University College London. The hope is that this report will raise further discussion, resulting in more data that the UDC user community can share.