Death to the Dewey Decimal System

Hey team, despite my inflammatory title here I want to say that I haven't made up my mind about the use of the Dewey Decimal System. In any case, I absolutely applaud Maricopa County Library for taking a risk and trying to see what happens without the Dewey Decimal System. I spoke with a couple of folks from this library at a conference in 2008 and they said it was a fantastic decision. So... they're two years into this and I have family living in Maricopa County and I'm hoping I can take a trip down there and see how the patrons are liking it. After all, that's who its all for. But if you are the last librarian on the planet to hear about this, here is a great interview from NPR to fill you in - It's audio of course since text is dead as a medium on the internet anyway. - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11131877

Patrick Sweeney
www.pcsweeney.com

PLUGGING IN
Twitter.com/pcsweeney
myspace.com/pcsweeney
youtube.com/pcsweeneydotcom
Facebook.com/pcsweeney

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Dewey Decimal System
• Library
• librarian
• Libraries
• Maricopa county

[varialecto]

I am not a librarian but I intend to become one in the future. I also work at a library (part-time). Personally, I don't like the idea because decimal system makes it so much easier to find a book. It makes our (part-timers) life a lot easier too. I wish bookstores would also use decimal system. Everytime I walk into a bookstore I have to ask the sales people to help me locate a book.

[pcsweeneydotcom]

Yeah and I think it probably does (but I'm a librarian so my views are probably skewed). My point here was mostly that I applaud libraries for taking "risks" when in reality there won't be such a significant consequence. If it doesn't work, they'll just put the books back. :) Or if it does work better then we'll have learned a way to serve our patrons better.

[lAeFeek]

I don't think it's a plausible concept to just 'get rid of' the DDC immediately as Dewey works great when intergrated with other classification schemes. After our chinks in our metadata systems get ironed out, new ways of thinking will emerge, but until then, we should stay hybrid.

Regarding Arizona Library, it is an interesting move and good on them for trialling a new way of doing things! I think libraries are best waiting for the results of these experiments before trialling their own.

[squid262]

@TheScarlit

Punctuation.

[TheScarlit]

what the hell is the dewey decimal system patrick wow is it funner there than lincoln you look bord!! lol

[JillyShoes]

On the other side of that, there's no harm in moving your books around so patrons can find them easier. No one says all non-fiction has to be grouped together in one lump sum just cause they have the Dewey number on the spine. But, just cause you want to reorganize your collection doesn't mean you have to rid yourself of a system that has more than one practical application.

(Part 2)

[JillyShoes]

I think it's a lot more detailed than just a patron not finding a book or having to replace a sticker. The Dewey system creates specific categories for catalogers. Catalogs are used for more than just patrons searching. It's used to identify records in your ILS, it's used to find a specific subject tag, and it's used as a means of grouping like items to an exact topic. Those things are sacrificed if you do away with a specific system of categorizing.

(Part 1)