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The Man Who Wanted to Classify the World
From the Index Card to the Internet
| Length: | 60 min |
| Released: | 2004 |
| Ages: |
College Adult |
Buy Online Streaming
In 1934, a Belgian visionary named Paul Otlet conceived of a library with no physical books whose contents could be viewed on a screen. His obsession was to classify, encode and unify books and documents published all over the world. Over the years, he and his staff would fill in 12 million index cards. His classification system is regarded today as similar to hypertext, which enables us to navigate the internet.
A pacifist and an internationalist, Otlet was one of the driving forcesbehind the League of Nations. He persuaded the architect Le Corbusier to design a World City dedicated to Peace, Knowledge and Fraternity. This beautiful film interweaves a vast fund of recently discovered documents from his archive with autobiographical material to create a fascinating piece of intellectual history.
A pacifist and an internationalist, Otlet was one of the driving forcesbehind the League of Nations. He persuaded the architect Le Corbusier to design a World City dedicated to Peace, Knowledge and Fraternity. This beautiful film interweaves a vast fund of recently discovered documents from his archive with autobiographical material to create a fascinating piece of intellectual history.
"Levie's fascinating documentary also provides a biographical portrait of a unique man with a passion for knowledge. Recommended for academic libraries, especially those that support a library science program." Library Journal
"This documentary is recommended for individuals with a keen focus in area such as education, science, computer science, library science and history." David Margolis, Social Science Librarian, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania for EMRO
"This documentary is recommended for individuals with a keen focus in area such as education, science, computer science, library science and history." David Margolis, Social Science Librarian, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania for EMRO
