Dewey-free classification

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Dewey-free (also Dewey free, Dewey-less, or word-based) refers to library classification schemes developed as alternatives to Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC). Dewey-free systems are often based on the BISAC subject headings developed by the Book Industry Study Group, and are typically implemented in libraries with smaller collections. Instead of using numerical notation to indicate a document's shelving location, Dewey-free systems organize documents alphabetically by natural language words. Dewey-free systems have been implemented in both public and school libraries.

Contents

Motivations

A primary motivation for the development of Dewey-free systems is to eliminate DDC's numerical notation, which many library patrons find intimidating. Abandoning numerical notation in favor of natural language words may also facilitate browsing. [1]

Adoption of classification is often seen as part of a greater trend of using a "bookstore model" to deliver library services. This trend gained traction in 1998 with an article by Los Angeles librarian Steve Coffman. [2] While some librarians see this as a beneficial approach that will make patrons more comfortable and increase circulation statistics, others disagree with the approach, particularly as large bookstores such as Borders have met severe financial challenges.

Many Dewey-free proponents believe that Dewey is outdated and ill-suited for non-academic environments. [1] [3] DDC organizes documents not only by subject, but also by academic discipline. [4] This leads to materials on the same topic being filed in wildly disparate locations. For example, Dewey places books about railroad trains in both the 380s and the 620s. [5] The discipline-based orientation is also problematic for categorizing interdisciplinary works [6] and non-academic titles, which make up the bulk of most public libraries' non-fiction holdings.

DDC has also faced a number of critiques for its biases. Scholars and catalogers have specifically criticized its marginalization of developing countries and continents, [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] Christian-centrism, [7] racism, [13] [14] sexism, [15] homophobia, [16] and marginalization of intersex people. [17] Some proponents of Dewey-free systems suggest that abandoning DDC in favor of new schemes may address these problems, but the literature doesn't include any analysis of BISAC Subject Headings for these issues, nor have any Dewey-free libraries documented strategies for addressing these issues within the taxonomies they have devised.

Librarians who work with children point to additional benefits within their collections. They note that school library workers often have little support and few resources for teaching the DDC system to children. The numbers themselves are often opaque to younger students, who typically don't learn about decimals until late in elementary school. [3]

Adoption

In the 1970s and 1980s, public libraries in the United Kingdom and United States designed new "reader-interest classification" systems as alternatives to DDC. These systems organized materials in ways that are intuitive to non-academic users and employed modern terminology, resulting in collections that are more browsable. However, a lack of standardization led libraries to abandon these systems. Dewey-free classification schemes can be seen as new cases of reader-interest classification schemes. [18]

In 2007, the Maricopa County Library District in Arizona announced that its Perry Library would abandon DDC in favor of a BISAC-based system. [19] The library district reported the change as a success, with non-fiction circulation improving sixfold. [20]

In 2009, the Rangeview Library District in Adams County, Colorado became the first library district to fully convert to a BISAC-based scheme. Rangeview's classification system, which is branded as "WordThink", is based on BISAC headings. [21]

In 2011, the librarians at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School in New York City developed a Dewey-Free system called Metis. The school's novel approach incorporated focus groups of students from Kindergarten through the Fifth Grade in designing the system. [5]

The Darien Library in Connecticut employs a hybrid approach to classification. While books are still organized by DDC number, DDC categories are "clumped into eight broad categories," known as glades. [1] A glade groups together books from several Dewey classes that Darien librarians feel may be useful to similar groups. For example, the Places glade is intended for international travellers, and combines books from the 400s (Languages) and 910s (Travel and Geography). [22]

The Nyack Library in Nyack, New York, used a "marketplace" system similar to Darien's glades. [23] However, after complaints from community members, the library reverted to a traditional DDC collection in 2013.

The King County Library System in Washington announced in 2014 that all 48 of its branches will convert their fiction picture book collections to a Dewey-free subject classification system. [24]

Evaluation

There has been very little formal evaluation of Dewey-free systems, even by libraries that have implemented them. [21]

Many libraries point to an increase in circulation statistics—either for a particular topic or for the non-fiction collection as a whole—as a measure of the success of their Dewey-free systems. [3] [5] However, the correlation between circulation statistics and library classification scheme is not easy to demonstrate. [25] [26] Dewey-free reclassification projects are often undertaken in conjunction with other projects that aim to better merchandise a library's holdings, so it can be very unclear how much of a circulation increase can be attributed to a new classification scheme. [27] Furthermore, library scholars typically warn against using circulation statistics as the sole metric of any project's success, because such statistics fail to account for materials used within the library, materials that were circulated but never read, or materials that were circulated but failed to provide users with the information they needed. [28]

Call numbers are generally not indexed by Integrated Library Systems, so the adoption of word-based classification systems has had little impact on information retrieval quality within library catalogs to date. [29]

Criticisms

Critics of the new systems argue that BISAC's broad categories actually impede browsing, as many different subtopics are interspersed with one another. They prefer DDC's arrangement of materials by specific subject. They also argue that many of the issues addressed by Dewey-free systems could be resolved much more easily with improved signage and book labels. [30]

Even proponents of Dewey-free systems note that BISAC-based classification systems would be unsuitable for libraries with large or specialized collections. [31] Critics have also questioned the pedagogical value of Dewey-free classifications, questioning whether library patrons used to a Dewey-free system will have the skills necessary to navigate collections classified according to DDC or Library of Congress Classification. [5]

Critics have also noted that using English words instead of numbers for all classification sends a message that libraries are only interested in serving English speakers. [1]

Related Research Articles

The Bliss bibliographic classification (BC) is a library classification system that was created by Henry E. Bliss (1870–1955) and published in four volumes between 1940 and 1953. Although originally devised in the United States, it was more commonly adopted by British libraries. A second edition of the system (BC2) has been in ongoing development in Britain since 1977.

The Cutter Expansive Classification system is a library classification system devised by Charles Ammi Cutter. The system was the basis for the top categories of the Library of Congress Classification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dewey Decimal Classification</span> Library classification system

The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), colloquially known as the Dewey Decimal System, is a proprietary library classification system which allows new books to be added to a library in their appropriate location based on subject. It was first published in the United States by Melvil Dewey in 1876. Originally described in a 44-page pamphlet, it has been expanded to multiple volumes and revised through 23 major editions, the latest printed in 2011. It is also available in an abridged version suitable for smaller libraries. OCLC, a non-profit cooperative that serves libraries, currently maintains the system and licenses online access to WebDewey, a continuously updated version for catalogers.

The Library of Congress Classification (LCC) is a system of library classification developed by the Library of Congress in the United States, which can be used for shelving books in a library. LCC is mainly used by large research and academic libraries, while most public libraries and small academic libraries use the Dewey Decimal Classification system. The classification was developed by James Hanson, with assistance from Charles Martel, in 1897, while they were working at the Library of Congress. It was designed specifically for the purposes and collection of the Library of Congress to replace the fixed location system developed by Thomas Jefferson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Library classification</span> Systems of coding and organizing documents or library materials

A library classification is a system used within a library to organize materials, including books, sound and video recordings, electronic materials, etc., both on shelves and in catalogs and indexes. Each item is typically assigned a call number, which identifies the location of the item within the system. Materials can be arrange by many different factors, typically in either a hierarchical tree structure based on the subject or using a faceted classification system, which allows the assignment of multiple classifications to an object, enabling the classifications to be ordered in many ways.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melvil Dewey</span> Inventor of the Dewey Decimal system

Melville Louis Kossuth "Melvil" Dewey was an influential American librarian and educator, inventor of the Dewey Decimal system of library classification, a founder of the Lake Placid Club, and a chief librarian at Columbia University. He was also a founding member of the American Library Association. Although Dewey's contributions to the modern library are widely recognized, his legacy is marred by his sexual harassment of female colleagues, as well as his racism and antisemitism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glossary of library and information science</span>

This page is a glossary of library and information science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Ammi Cutter</span> American librarian (1837–1903)

Charles Ammi Cutter was an American librarian. In the 1850s and 1860s he assisted with the re-cataloging of the Harvard College library, producing America's first public card catalog. The card system proved more flexible for librarians and far more useful to patrons than the old method of entering titles in chronological order in large books. In 1868 he joined the Boston Athenaeum, making its card catalog an international model. Cutter promoted centralized cataloging of books, which became the standard practice at the Library of Congress. He was elected to leadership positions in numerous library organizations at the local and national level. Cutter is remembered for the Cutter Expansive Classification, his system of giving standardized classification numbers to each book, and arranging them on shelves by that number so that books on similar topics would be shelved together.

This is a conversion chart showing how the Dewey Decimal and Library of Congress Classification systems organize resources by concept, in part for the purpose of assigning call numbers. These two systems account for over 95% of the classification in United States libraries, and are used widely around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of library and information science</span> Overview of and topical guide to library science

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to library and information science:

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Martel (librarian)</span> Swiss-American librarian (1860–1945)

Charles Martel was an American librarian responsible for the creation of the Library of Congress Classification; he is often considered to be one of the most influential librarians in American library history.

Lois Mai Chan was an American librarian, author, and professor at the University of Kentucky School of Library and Information Science until 2011. Her publications on cataloging, library classification, and subject indexing were recognized with various awards.

Metis is a Dewey-free library classification system developed and implemented in 2011 by Sue Giffard, Tali Balas Kaplan, Jennifer Still, and Andrea Dolloff, the librarians at the Ethical Culture School in New York City. The system places the thinking, interests, information needs and information-seeking behavior of children at its center. It was developed as an alternative to the Dewey Decimal Classification System and the practices which customarily accompany that system in school and public libraries in the United States: namely, the alphabetical arrangement of fiction by author, and the frequent arrangement of biographies in alphabetical order by biographee. The Metis system was designed to encourage productive independent browsing by children, as well as allowing for successful catalog searching by elementary school students.

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The Brian Deer Classification System (BDC) is a library classification system used to organize materials in libraries with specialized Indigenous collections. The system was created in the mid-1970s by Canadian librarian A. Brian Deer, a Kahnawake Mohawk. It has been adapted for use in a British Columbia version, and also by a small number of First Nations libraries in Canada.

Evelyn May Seymour was an American librarian who collaborated closely with Melvil Dewey on the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC). Seymour edited eight editions of the DDC.

The BISAC Subject Headings are a method to classify books that is geared towards bookstores. It is mainly used by the Northern American booktrade, and online sellers like Barnes & Noble, Amazon and Baker & Taylor. The Book Industry Study Group maintains the BISAC system.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Fister, Barbara I (2009). "The Dewey Dilemma". Library Journal. 134 (16): 22–25.
  2. ↑ Coffman, Steve (March 1998). "What if you ran your library like a bookstore?". American Libraries: 40–46.
  3. 1 2 3 Gibson, Marjorie (2011). "Innovative 21st Century Classification Schemes for Elementary School Libraries" (PDF). Feliciter. 57 (2): 48–61. Retrieved 13 June 2014.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. ↑ Hope, Olson (2001). "Sameness and difference: a cultural foundation of classification" (PDF). Library Resources and Technical Services. 45 (3): 117.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Kaplan, Tali Balas; Dolloff, Andrea K.; Giffard, Sue; Still-Schiff, Jennifer (28 September 2012). "Are Dewey's Days Numbered?: Libraries Nationwide Are Ditching the Old Classification System". School Library Journal.
  6. ↑ Searing, Susan E. (1992). "How Libraries Cope with Interdisciplinarity: The Case of Women's Studies". Issues in Integrative Studies. 10: 8.
  7. 1 2 Afolabi, M (1992). "Spiritual matters: Provision for independent African churches in general classification schemes". International Classification. 19 (4): 210–213.
  8. ↑ Iwuji, H.O.M. (1989). "Africana in LC and DD classification schemes: A need for an Africana scheme?". Journal of Librarianship and Information Science. 21 (1): 1–18. doi:10.1177/096100068902100101. S2CID   58001238.
  9. ↑ McConnell, Fraiser (13 August 1984). "Classification of Melanesia". Cataloging & Classification Quarterly. 5 (1): 53–60. doi:10.1300/J104v05n01_04.
  10. ↑ McConnell, Fraiser (10 May 1985). "Languages of Melanesia". Cataloging & Classification Quarterly. 5 (3): 57–66. doi:10.1300/J104v05n03_05.
  11. ↑ McConnell, Fraiser (2 October 1985). "Peoples of Melanesia". Cataloging & Classification Quarterly. 5 (4): 47–51. doi:10.1300/J104v05n04_04.
  12. ↑ Kua, Eunice (2004). "Non-Western Languages and Literatures in the Dewey Decimal Classification Scheme" (PDF). Libri. 54 (4): 256–265. doi:10.1515/libr.2004.256. S2CID   2049719.
  13. ↑ Beall, Julianne (2009). "Racially Mixed People, DDC Table 5 Ethnic and National Groups, and MARC 21 Bibliographic Format Field 083". Cataloging & Classification Quarterly. 47 (7): 657–670. doi:10.1080/01639370903112005. S2CID   53781753.
  14. ↑ Furner, Jonathan (2007). "Dewey Deracialized: A Critical Race-Theoretic Perspective". Knowledge Organization. 34 (3): 144–168. doi:10.5771/0943-7444-2007-3-144.
  15. ↑ Steinberg. "Classified women". Librarians for Social Change. 5.
  16. ↑ Wolf, S. "Sex and the single cataloger: New thoughts on some unthinkable subjects". In West, Celeste (ed.). Revolting librarians. San Francisco: Booklegger Press. pp. 39–44.
  17. ↑ Christensen, Ben (2011). "Interfiling Intersex: How Dewey Classifies Intersex in Theory and in Practice". In Greenblatt, Ellen (ed.). Serving LGBTIQ Library and Archives Users : Essays on Outreach, Service, Collections and Access. McFarland & Company. pp. 201–211. ISBN   978-0786448944.
  18. ↑ Martínez-Ávila, Daniel; San Segundo, Rosa; Olson, Hope A. (2014). "The Use of BISAC in Libraries as New Cases of Reader-Interest Classifications". Cataloging & Classification Quarterly. 52 (2): 137–155. doi:10.1080/01639374.2013.846284. S2CID   60876614.
  19. ↑ Lynch, Sarah N.; Mulero, Eugene (14 July 2007). "Dewey? At This Library With a Very Different Outlook, They Don't". New York Times.
  20. ↑ Lavallee, Andrew (20 July 2007). "Discord over Dewey". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  21. 1 2 Oder, Norman (15 November 2010). "In the Country of Anythink". Library Journal. 135 (19): 22.
  22. ↑ "Getting to Know the Glades". Darien Library. Archived from the original on 25 February 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  23. ↑ Gray, John; Mahoney, James (23 June 2012). "Nyack Library's Dewey Decimal Debate". Nyack News and Views. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  24. ↑ McGowan, Cecilia (5 August 2014). "When Finding Picture Books Really Can Be Child's Play [presentation]". First Tuesdays. Washington State Library. Retrieved 12 August 2014.[ permanent dead link ]
  25. ↑ Morson, Ian; Perry, Mike (1982). "Two-Tier and Total: Stock Arrangement in Brent". Alternative Arrangement: New Approaches to Public Libraries Stock. London: Association of Assistant Librarians.
  26. ↑ Miller, Andrew (1992). "Alternative Arrangement in Glasgow City Libraries". Public Library Journal. 7 (5): 131–133.
  27. ↑ Hill, Nanci Milone (July–August 2010). "Dewey or Don't We?". Public Libraries. 49 (4): 20.
  28. ↑ Spiller, David (2000). Providing Materials for Library Users. London: Library Association Publishing. p. 75.
  29. ↑ Martinez Ávila, Daniel (2012). Information Retrieval with BISAC in Bookstore, Library, and Other Catalogs. School of Information Studies, UW-Milwaukee. Archived from the original on 26 November 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  30. ↑ Stauffer, Suzanne M. (Summer 2008). "Dewey - or Don't We - Classify?". Children & Libraries. 6 (2): 49–51.
  31. ↑ Scott, Jeff. "Doing it without Dewey: A Perry Branch Library Tour". Gather No Dust. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
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