A. Brian Deer
Alec Brian Deer (1945 – January 12, 2019), Tionerahtoken (Mohawk), known as Brian Deer, was a librarian from Kahnawake known for the development of a high-level, original library classification system that expresses Indigenous knowledge structures. He developed it while working in the late 1970s for the National Indian Brotherhood (now the Assembly of First Nations) in Canada. He also applied the principles to other small collections, while creating new classifications. After further development, the system was revised and has been adapted for wider use, known as the Brian Deer Classification System (BDCS).
A. Brian Deer | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alec Brian Deer January 10, 1945 Brooklyn, New York |
| Died | (aged 74) Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Nationality | Kahnawake, Canada |
| Education | John Grant High School (1962), Concordia University (BSci, Math, 1966) McGill (MLS, 1974) |
| Occupation(s) | Librarian Scholar Entrepreneur (Otiohkwa Video) |
| Known for | Brian Deer Classification System |
This classification system was extended and adapted for use by Deer and others for other libraries in Canada. In the early 1980s, a version was developed for use in British Columbia, known as BDC-BC. It has since been revised and used for the Xwi7xwa Library, established as an indigenous library at the Vancouver campus of the University of British Columbia.
Born with pneumonia and suffering from lung problems when young, Deer worked hard to build his physical strength. He long outlived doctors' expectations. He died at the age of 74 on January 12, 2019, at the Royal-Victoria hospital in Montreal.