025.431: The Dewey blog

Hoodoo is not Vodou, and Vice-Versa

In October 2012 the LCSH "Voodooism" gave way to "Vodou," the spelling most commonly used by Haitians for the traditional religion of their country.   The DDC has likewise adopted this spelling.  At the same time, we are making clearer the split between vodou, the Haitian traditional religion, and hoodoo, an occult practice found primarily in the southern United States.  Vodou belongs in 299.675 Vodou; hoodoo belongs in 133.4 Demonology and witchcraft.

Example 1. Sticks, stones, roots & bones: hoodoo, mojo & conjuring with herbs, to which the Library of Congress subject headings, "African American magic" and "Hoodoo (Cult)" have been assigned, is about hoodoo and should be classed in 133.4.

Example 2. Haitian vodou: an introduction to Haiti's indigenous spiritual traditions, to which the Library of Congress subject headings, "Vodou—Haiti," "Haiti--Religious life and customs," and “Haiti--Religion” have been assigned, is about Vodou and should be classed in 299.675097294 Vodou in Haiti (built from 299.675 Vodou, plus T1—09, plus T2—7294 Haiti, following the instructions at T1—093-099 Specific continents, countries, localities; extraterrestrial worlds).

Unfortunately, our "clear split" isn't always clear in the literature, as many people have used the term "voodoo" when they are referring to hoodoo.  This is why we have added an example to the Manual note at 130 vs. 200, part of which now reads, "Use 130 for parapsychological and occult phenomena if they are not presented as religious, or if there is doubt as to whether they have been so presented, e.g., works on hoodoo in 133.4 even if the term "voodoo" has been applied (not 299.675 Vodou)."

An example of this type of literature is Voodoo sorcery grimoire.  Although it uses "voodoo" in the title, the work is about hoodoo and should be classed in 133.4.  (It doesn’t help the classifier that both the old "Voodooism" and "Hoodoo (Cult)" were assigned as LCSHs to the work.) 

How can the classifier make the correct choice?  Often there will be clues in the bibliographic record.  On the one hand, the presence of "Haiti" and "religion" should move the classifier toward 299.675, as should "Bondye" and "loa," deities in Vodou.  On the other hand, presence of the following terms should move the classifier toward 133.4:  "conjure," "grimoire," "magic," "mojo," "rootwork," "sorcery," "spells," and  "witchcraft."

Recipes from Restaurants

Since DDC 18 (1971), the entry for 641.509 History, geographic treatment, biography [of Cooking] has included the class-elsewhere note: “Class cookery characteristic of specific geographical environments in 641.59” (or the equivalent do-not-use note: “Do not use for cooking characteristic of specific geographical environments; class in 641.59”);  since DDC 19 (1979), this first note has been joined by a second, a class-here note: “Class here collections of recipes from specific restaurants.” What was a classifier supposed to do when faced with seemingly contrary instructions for a collection of recipes from a specific restaurant whose cooking was characteristic of a specific geographical environment? What in fact did classifiers do when faced with a collection of recipes from a specific restaurant whose cooking was characteristic of a specific geographical environment? Data from WorldCat show that, for the most part, classifiers opted to emphasize cuisine over location; that is, when faced with a collection of recipes from a specific restaurant whose cooking was characteristic of a specific geographical environment, classifiers have favored classifying the work in subdivisions of 641.59 Cooking characteristic of specific geographic environments, ethnic cooking.

If you check WebDewey, you will find that the class-here note under 641.509 has been modified to read: “Class here collections of recipes from specific restaurants associated with general cooking.” You also now find that “collections of recipes from specific restaurants associated with cooking characteristic of specific geographic environments, with ethnic cooking” have been relocated to 641.59. (Ah, so the previous class-here note was intended to take precedence over the do-not-use note / class-elsewhere note, was it? In defense of this interpretation, we note that a class-elsewhere note at 641.59 sent collections of recipes from specific restaurants back to 641.509. However, from the user’s perspective, it may be a good thing that all of that wasn’t clear.)

Now that the schedules have caught up with the classifiers, let’s make sure we are all on the same page. Take, for example, Chasen's, where Hollywood dined: recipes & memories. Here we have a collection of recipes from a now-defunct West Hollywood restaurant known for its chili, but not for a specific cuisine. This work should be classed in 641.50979493 (built from 641.509 History, geographic treatment, biography [of Cooking], plus T2—79493 Los Angeles County, which West Hollywood is part of). However, The French Laundry cookbook, a collection of recipes from a Napa Valley (California) restaurant that specializes in French cuisine, should be classed in 641.59440979419  (built from 641.59 Cooking characteristic of specific geographic environments, plus T2—44 France, following the add instructions at 641.593–641.599 Cooking characteristic of specific continents, countries, localities, plus T1—09 History, geographic treatment, biography, plus T2—79419 Napa County, following the instructions at T1—093-099 Specific continents, countries, localities; extraterrestrial worlds). Note that with the relocation of collections of recipes from specific restaurants associated with cooking characteristic of specific geographic environments to (subdivisions of) of 641.59, it is now possible to represent both the cuisine of the restaurant and its location.

Extrasolar Planets

In its 3 May 2013 issue, Science had a special section entitled "Exoplanets" summarizing what is currently known about extrasolar planets.  The Introduction, "Alien Worlds Galore," begins:

We knew they had to be there. Once people realized that the Sun is a star and that the planets travel around it, it was only natural to suspect that other stars had planets of their own. Confirmation, however, didn't come until the early 1990s, when astronomers found compelling signs of smaller bodies orbiting first pulsars and then normal main-sequence stars. 

Today, it is estimated that our galaxy contains at least as many planets as stars. Almost 900 have been detected, and a few thousand others are under investigation. . . .

Exoplanets, one of the works cited in an article ("Exoplanet Habitability") included in the special section, has the LCSH "Extrasolar planets."  LCSH lists "Exoplanets" as a variant of  "Extrasolar planets."  Exoplanets is classed in 523.24 Extrasolar systems, which has a class-here note: “Class here extrasolar planets.”  The Relative Index entries "Extrasolar planets" and "Extrasolar systems" both point to 523.24, and the LCSH "Extrasolar planets" and "Habitable planets" have both been mapped to 523.24.  Other examples of works classed in 523.24 Extrasolar systems are:
Exploring Exoplanets
Are There Other Earths?
A Decade of Extrasolar Planets around Normal Stars: Proceedings of the Space Telescope Science Institute Symposium, Held in Baltimore, Maryland, May 2-5, 2005.

What If I Am Using the WebDewey Number Building Tool and Click START or ADD Then--Oops!--Regret It?

Let's say I want to build a DDC number for The Texas Flower Garden: Seasonal Guide to Bloom, Height, Color, and Texture, which has the LCSH:

Plants, Ornamental--Texas
Plants, Ornamental--Texas--Pictorial works
Landscape gardening --Texas
Landscape gardening--Texas--Pictorial works
Color in gardening--Texas

I look for "Gardens" in the Relative Index, find 635 Garden crops (Horticulture), and click START in that record, without taking time to look at the main subdivisions of 635 in the hierarchy box:

635.1-635.8 Edible garden crops
635.9 Flowers and ornamental plants

Belatedly, I remember that I should have looked for flowers or ornamental plants.  When I do look, I realize that I should have started with 635.9 Flowers and ornamental plants.  The Relative Index entries "Flower gardening," "Flowers--gardening," and "Ornamental plants" all point to 635.9.  I select 635.9, but before I can use 635.9 as base number, I need to click CANCEL in the Create Built Number box, which still holds 635:

Then I can click START in the Create built number box for 635.9 Flowers and ornamental plants:

Among the standard subdivisions I see T1--09 History, geographic treatment, biography. I select it because my work has geographic treatment and click ADD.  Now I have more of the number that I want:

I find and select T2--764 Texas and click ADD; then I get an error message:

I belatedly recall that I need to find the add note in Table 1.  First I must click the X in the red circle in the Create built number box to delete + T1--09 History, geographic treatment, biography and revert to only the base number 635.9:

Now I can find and select T1--093-T1--099 Specific continents, countries, localities; extraterrestrial worlds, then click ADD to get the add note in the Create built number box along with T1--09:

Now when I find and select T2--764 Texas, then click ADD, I get the desired result:

The "then add further as follows" part of the add note allows me to add further to express that the book is a pictorial work.  In the add table under T1--093-T1--099 Specific continents, countries, localities; extraterrestrial worlds I select 022 Illustrations (also known as T1--093-T1--099:022) and click ADD:

Now the number building process is complete. I can click SAVE and go on to review / revise the user terms that index the built number.

Note: We have encountered rare circumstances where the number building tool has become confused by multiple layers of backing out.  If things go awry, you can always click CANCEL and do what you really meant to do in the first place.

For more help with using the WebDewey number building tool, see the Dewey Training Courses site.

Architecture Examples: Using the WebDewey Number Building Tool with Add Tables and Standard Subdivisions

Modules on the Dewey Training Courses site and a previous blog post have treated use of the WebDewey number building tool with add tables (also known as internal tables) and with standard subdivisions.  This post uses architecture examples to emphasize that you need to find the records with the add notes that you want to use, then (and only then!) click START or ADD.

First, let’s consider a work about castles in a specific area, The English Castle, 1066-1650.  The record for 728.81 *Castles has an add footnote:  "*Add as instructed under 721-729."  We click START in the record for 728.81 to begin the number building process.

That leads to the add table at 721-729 Specific aspects of architecture:

Notation 09 in the add table (also known as 721-729:09) has notes, but none is an add note. We recognize from the notation (09) and the caption (History, geographic treatment, biography)--and from the parallel with 721-729:05-08 Standard subdivisions--that 721-729:09 represents T1--09 History, geographic treatment, biography.  We search for the record for T1--09 in Table 1, then look at its subdivisions in the hierarchy box:

 We select T1--093-T1--099 Specific continents, countries, localities; extraterrestrial worlds and read its many notes.  We find the add note that will allow us to add from Table 2 Areas: "Add to base number T1--09 notation T2--3-T2--9 from Table 2, e.g., the subject in North America T1--097, in Brazil T1--0981  . . . ."  We click ADD in the Create built number box, and the number building tool begins to build the number:

In accordance with the add note, the number building tool puts T2--3-T2--9 Specific continents, countries, localities; extraterrestrial worlds in the hierarchy box:

We find the Table 2 number for England (T2--42 England and Wales; the note at T2--421-T2--428 England says to class comprehensive works in T2--42).  We click ADD.  The number building tool finishes building the number:

With the number building process complete for 728.810942 Castles--England and Wales, we can click SAVE and go on to review/revise the user terms that will index the record.  (Note: the time period covered (1066-1650) is so long that it would not be useful to try to add further for time period.)

Next, let’s consider a work about houses with green technology, sustainable architecture, e.g., From the Ground Up: Innovative Green Homes.  It has the LCSH:

Ecological houses
Architecture, Domestic--Environmental aspects
Sustainable architecture

The record for 728.37 *Separate houses also has the add footnote:  "*Add as instructed under 721-729."  We click START in the record for 728.37 to begin the number building process.

As before, that leads to the add table at 721-729 Specific aspects of architecture:

This time we are interested in notation 04 Special topics (721-729:04 Special topics).  Notation 04 has an add note in the add table 721-729: "Add to 04 the numbers following 720.4 in 720.44-720.49, e.g., energy conservation 0472."  Consequently, we select notation 04 in the add table and click ADD.

In accordance with the add note, subdivisions of 720.4 Special topics of architecture appear in the hierarchy box:

We select the record for 720.47 Architecture and the environment.  It has the class-here note: "Class here green technology (environmental technology) [formerly 720.28], sustainable architecture." We click ADD.

The number building process is complete for 728.37047 Houses—architecture and the environment. We can click SAVE and go on to review/revise the user terms that will index the record.

 

Signs of Spring

The slideshow of signs of spring put together by NBC News makes clear that spring means different things in different places, from crocuses peeking out above the snow in Berlin, Germany (see slide 15) to beach-going  in Florida (USA; see slide 6).  In Washington, D.C., spring means cherry blossoms (slide 1, but see also slide 12). 

Last year the Library of Congress presented an exhibit on the 100^th anniversary of the city of Tokyo’s gift of 3,000 cherry trees to the city of Washington D.C.  Two of those trees are on the grounds of the Library of Congress, including this one, as seen in a shot taken last Friday:

(Or in case you want to see a full tree in bloom, catch the Library of Congress blog posting here.)

From a botanical perspective, cherry trees are classed in 583.73 Rosales, where cherries are present in the including note.  This number can be used to build several numbers in the 630s, of which the most appropriate for our purposes is 635.977373 (built from 635.977 Ornamental trees, plus notation 373 from 583.73, following the add instructions at 635.9773-635.9775).  The Relative Index terms Cherries—ornamental arboriculture and Japanese flowering cherry both lead to 635.977373.

Dewey by the Numbers

Here’s a brief snapshot of the DDC 23 EN database (the database associated with the English-language version of DDC 23) as of 1 April 2013 (no April Fool's jokes extended to 2 April):

New Provisions for Islamic Law in WebDewey

New provisions for Islamic law have been published in WebDewey--also changes to a few topics that came to our attention because of our work on Islamic law, especially religious activities and religious groups in 341 Law of nations and 342 Constitutional law. The changes for Islamic law involve primarily expansion at 340.59 Islamic law and clarification of previous DDC 23 structures elsewhere, plus optional provisions for specifying schools of Islamic law.  These new provisions have been under discussion since last summer. For previous discussion, see these blog entries and the Dewey discussion page.  For details, see Updates to DDC 23.

One example of a work previously classed in 340.59 Islamic law that could now be classed in a more specific number is Contemporary Ijtihad: Limits and Controversies; it could now be classed in 340.59138 Ijtihad (sound judgment), ijtihad al-ra'y (individual reasoning), taqlid (legal conformism; relying upon opinion of another).  Another example of a work that could now be classed in a more specific number is Custom in Islamic Law and Legal Theory: The Development of the Concepts of 'Urf and 'Adah in the Islamic Legal Tradition; it could now be classed in 340.59135 'Urf, 'adat (Custom).

Many works about Islamic law will be classed in the same numbers as previously; new notes are intended to clarify where they should be classed. For example, at 340.59 Islamic law is a see reference: "For a specific branch or topic of Islamic law, see the branch or topic, e.g., private law 346.167, marriage law 346.167016." Islamic law examples are given in the add notes under 346.1 Private law of socioeconomic regions.  An example of a work classed according to these add notes is Family Law in Islam: Divorce, Marriage and Women in the Muslim World.  The work is classed in 346.167015 Islamic law of domestic relations (Islamic family law), built with 346.1 Private law of socioeconomic regions plus 6 from T2--176 Regions where specific religions predominate plus 7 from 297 Islam, Babism, Bahai Faith, following instructions at T2--1762-1769 Other religions, plus 015 from 346.015 Domestic relations (Family law), following instructions at 346.1:01-09 Topics of private law.  Here is how the number building process looks when the WebDewey number building tool is used:   

The old scope note and class-elsewhere note at T2--1 Areas, regions, places in general; oceans and seas continue to apply: "Not limited by continent, country, locality" and "Class specific continents, countries, localities in T2--3-T2--9."  The parallel class-elsewhere note at 346.1 Private law of socioeconomic regions also continues to apply: "Class socioeconomic regions of a specific jurisdiction or area in 346.3-346.9." Hence Islamic private law in a specific jurisdiction or area continues to be classed with private law of the jurisdiction or area in 346.3-346.9 Private law of specific jurisdictions and areas. An example is Legal Framework for Islamic Banking, Pakistan's Experience, which has the LCSH:

Banking law--Pakistan
Banking law (Islamic law)

That work is classed in 346.5491082 Banking law of Pakistan, built with 346 Private law plus T2--5491 Pakistan, following instructions at 346.3-346.9 Private law of specific jurisdictions and areas, plus 082 from 346.082 Banks (which has the class-here note "Class here banking"), following instructions at 346.3-346.9: 01-09 Topics of private law. Here is how the number building process looks when the WebDewey number building tool is used:

For help with using the WebDewey number building tool, see the WebDewey training modules on the Dewey Training Courses site, especially the Law Number Building module.

Dewey embraces its international nature, drops decimal point

The DDC is a classification system that is used worldwide by libraries in more than 135 countries, with a majority of them not being English-speaking. We think it is time this broad international nature of Dewey use be reflected not only by numerous translations of the system, but finally in the Dewey numbers themselves.

Effective immediately, the editorial team has decided to move away from the decimal point in the Dewey numbers, with its use in decimal numbers being largely limited to English-speaking countries. The decimal point has for far too long encumbered DDC adoption and use in other parts of the world. The German translation even went to such length as calling the decimal point the “Dewey-Punkt” in the Glossary, because (of course!) in Europe and many other parts of the world, the comma is being used as the decimal marker.

We are predicting that the new international “look” of Dewey numbers will grow quickly on our users around the world, classifiers and information-seekers alike. If you are a subscriber to WebDewey, you will see the decimal comma appear as it is rolled-out in the next few days. I hope libraries will adapt quickly and change their data, signage, and spine labels as soon as possible.

How does it work in practice? For example, 394.262 will become 394,262. Easy! And it will finally allow our German user to enter a Dewey number completely from the numeric keypad, a long requested feature.

What’s next in store for Dewey numbers? After the implementation of the decimal comma, even more is planned to enhance the utility of Dewey numbers for organizing knowledge of all kind. We don’t want to give away all that we are working on, but let’s think for a moment how Dewey will keep pace with the exponential growth in knowledge we are experiencing today. What happens when we run out of (real) numbers? The answer is clear: we have to expand the set and move to complex numbers, adding an imaginary part to the real Dewey number. The devil is in the details, but don’t be surprised to see Dewey numbers like (808,882 +  006,752i) in the near future!

Prairie Dogs

An article in a recent issue of Science ("At Home on the Range: Prairie Rodents Yield Their Secrets to a Dogged Observer") begins:

To say that John Hoogland is passionate about prairie dogs is an understatement. A behavioral ecologist, he has studied these North American colonial rodents for 40 years, spending months at a time sitting in a blind from dawn to dusk recording the activities of each individual in a colony.

The comprehensive biology number and interdisciplinary number for prairie dogs is 599.367 Cynomys (Prairie dogs).  An example of a general work classed in 599.367 is Prairie Dogs.

The record for 599.367 Cynomys (Prairie dogs) has a footnote: "Add as instructed under 592-599."  The add table at 592-599 Specific taxonomic groups of animals makes it possible to add 1 General topics of natural history of animals and then add further as instructed:  "Add to 1 the numbers following 591 in 591.3-591.7, e.g., beneficial animals 163, marine animals 177." Thus it is possible to add notation from subdivisions of 591 Specific topics in natural history of animals to the number for prairie dogs.

Hoogland was called a "behavioral ecologist."  Browsing the Relative Index for "ecology" yields:

Ecology--animals 591.7

Browsing the Relative Index for "behavior" yields:

Behavior--animals 591.5

At 591 Specific topics in natural history of animals is a table of preference in which

Behavior 591.5

appears above

Animal ecology, animals characteristic of specific environments 591.7

Hence we might expect works by a behavioral ecologist to be classed with behavior rather than ecology.  That seems to fit the specific report from Hoogland given in another article in the same issue of Science: "Prairie Dogs Disperse When All Close Kin Have Disappeared."  Here is part of the editor's summary:

Dispersal, movement away from an organism's natal site, is a critical stage in the development of a juvenile into an adult and several drivers of this process have been proposed. . . . Hoogland (p. 1205) studied populations of three species of prairie dogs over more than three decades and found that the presence of close kin in these highly social rodents actually led young animals to remain on their natal site, whereas dispersal away from it occurred almost exclusively when close female kin were absent. This suggests that sociality may in fact result in individuals remaining with their close kin in order to benefit from cooperation and that longer-distance dispersal may instead occur when the opportunity for cooperation does not exist.

Let's consider a monographic work (by C. N. Slobodchikoff and others):  Prairie Dogs: Communication and Community in an Animal Society. The work has the LCSH:

Prairie dogs
Animal communication
Social behavior in animals

The work is classed in 599.367156 Behavior relating to life cycle in prairie dogs (built with 599.367 Cynomys [Prairie dogs] plus 1 General topics of natural history of animals plus 56 from 591.56 Behavior relating to life cycle).  At 591.56 is a class-here note: "Class here . . .  social behavior . . . ."  Also at 591.56 is a see reference: "For communication, see 591.59."  Since this work treats more aspects of social behavior than just communication, notation from the implied comprehensive number 591.56 is used to build the DDC number for the work instead of notation from 591.59 Communication.  Here is how the number building process looks with the WebDewey number building tool:

Inflammation

A special section on inflammation in the 11 January 2013 issue of Science begins with a brief description of acute inflammation like that commonly associated with an infected cut or sprained ankle--"redness, swelling, heat, pain"--but moves quickly to the section's emphasis on chronic inflammation in relation to diseases:  "This special section in Science highlights the detrimental, but also in some cases beneficial, role of inflammation in neurodegenerative disease, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome."

The DDC number 616.0473 Inflammation, a subdivision of 616.047 Symptoms and general pathological processes as problems in their own right, has much current literary warrant.  Works classed in 616.0473 Inflammation may treat both acute and chronic inflammation.  An example is Fundamentals of Inflammation. 

At 616.047 Symptoms and general pathological processes as problems in their own right are multiple class-elsewhere notes.  The notes most relevant to inflammation are these:

Class results of injuries and wounds in 617.2

Class surgical complications and sequelae in 617.919

Class symptoms and pathological processes of a specific disease or class of diseases with the disease or class of diseases, e.g., symptoms of heart diseases 616.12

Those notes have hierarchical force.  Consequently, works limited to inflammation as a result of injuries and wounds are classed in 617.22 Fever, infections, inflammation, a subdivision of 617.2 Results of injuries and wounds.  Currently, however, little monographic literature about inflammation that fits in 617.22 is being published. 

By contrast, many works are being published about inflammation in relation to specific diseases.  An example is Inflammation and Atherosclerosis, which discusses "the pathogenetic, diagnostic, preventive and possible therapeutic relevance of inflammation in atherogenesis." That work is classed with atherosclerosis in 616.136 Arteriosclerosis, which has the class-here note:  "Class here atherosclerosis."  Another example is Innate Inflammation and Stroke, which has papers from a 2010 conference entitled "Innate Inflammation as the Common Pathway of Risk Factors Leading to Transient Ischemic Attacks and Stroke: Pathophysiology and Potential Interventions."  That work is classed in 616.81 Cerebrovascular diseases, which has the class-here note "Class here stroke."

Papal resignation, papal election

When Pope Benedict XVI announced his intention to resign as of February 28, the whole world took notice.  We took notice, too.  No sooner had we learned the news than questions were going the rounds of the team: 

• What would we need to do to prepare for a new pope? 
• Is it really possible to distinguish cleanly between 262.1309 History of papacy and 282.0922 Collective biography of popes?
• What would be the number for the upcoming conclave?

So that you'll be in the know before you even need to know, let's address those questions.

First, does a new pope get a new number the same way a new president (often) gets a new number?  No, the DDC does not develop the history of the papacy by ecclesiastical administrations the way that it develops the history of countries by political administrations.  Instead, the history of the papacy in the 2010s would be classed, in the standard way, in 262.13090512 Roman Catholic papacy, 2010–2019 (built from 262.13 Papacy and patriarchate, plus T1—090512 2010–2019).  (Note the standard-subdivisions note at 262.13:  "Standard subdivisions are added for . . . Roman Catholic papacy alone.")

So, is it really possible to distinguish cleanly between 262.1309 History of papacy and 282.0922 Collective biography of popes?  Can you talk about the history of the papacy without discussing the lives of individual popes?  Can you talk about the collective lives of popes without talking about the history of the papacy?   Maybe not, but still we can make a case for when one number is more appropriate than the other.  If the emphasis of the work is ecclesiological, as in The chair of Saint Peter: a history of the papacy, 262.1309 History of papacy is more appropriate.  If the emphasis of the work is biographical, as in Their name is Pius: portraits of five great modern popes, 282.0922 Collective biography of popes is more appropriate. 

What about the process whereby a new pope is elected?  What's the number for a papal conclave?  The LCSH Popes—Election includes 450 fields for Conclaves—Papal and Papal conclaves, so we might assume that those two questions are driving at the same thing.  But perhaps it is again a matter of emphasis.  If the emphasis is on the overall process, as in Papal elections in the age of transition, 1878-1922, or on the newly elected pope, as in The making of the Pope:  the selection of Pope Benedict XVI and what this choice means for Catholics today, 262.13 Papacy and patriarchate, is more appropriate.  But if the emphasis is specifically on the actions of the College of Cardinals, as in Les faiseurs de papes: les cardinaux et le conclave [The makers of popes: the cardinals and the conclave], then 262.135 College of Cardinals is more appropriate.  (Standard subdivisions can be added in either case.)

WebDewey Number Building Tool: Standard Subdivisions Improvements Now Available

As a previous post explained, the beta version of the WebDewey number building tool typically required use of the Edit Local function to get the correct number of zeros for a standard subdivision when it was on more than one zero.   The newest version of WebDewey is considerably more adept, which we will demonstrate with several examples, each of which explores a different piece of the puzzle. 

Example 1.  First we revisit the number from our previous post.  Until now we would need to invoke the Edit Local function to get this number right, but now the number building tool gets it right on its own.   Repeating from that post:   "Let's use the number-building tool to build 368.11009 for a history of fire insurance.  We start by retrieving our base number 368.11 *Fire insurance and then clicking Start.  Since 368.11 has an add instruction, 'Add as instructed under 368.1–368.8,' that span and its immediate subordinates are displayed in the hierarchy box, and the internal add table under 368.1–368.8 is displayed in the Notes box."

Since the standard subdivision we want to add is not modified under 368.1–368.8, we navigate to T1—09 History, and click Add.  The number building tool now correctly adds the extra zero for us:

Example 2.  This time, let's use the number-building tool to build 368.110065 for fire insurance companies.  We start in the same way by retrieving our base number 368.11 *Fire insurance and then clicking Start.  Notation 0065 Insurance companies from the expansion under 368.1–368.8:006 is not a standard subdivision, however, but is special notation.  (See section 8.4 of the Introduction for further clarification.)  In this case, we navigate to the special notation and click Add, giving us our built number, with the correct number of zeros:

The general principle is to add standard subdivisions by navigating to and adding from Table 1, but to add special notation from expansions under standard subdivisions by navigating to and adding the special notation from the add table where it appears.   Following these general principles will result in incorporating the most appropriate coding for the underlying MARC record.

Example 3.  An exception to the general principle stated above applies if a standard subdivision number or range in an add table has an associated add instruction.  In this case, we need to navigate to the add table notation, not to Table 1.  If we want, for example, to build 224.50046 for apocalyptic passages in the book of Daniel, we begin by retrieving 224.5 Daniel and clicking Start.  The footnote add instruction at 224.5 tells us to add as instructed under 221–229 Specific parts of Bible, Apocrypha, pseudepigrapha, intertestamental works.  We navigate to 001-009 Standard subdivisions in the add table under 221–229 because of the add instruction associated with 001-009. That gets us to this point:

We click Add, then navigate to 220.046 Apocalyptic passages, and click Add.  Our final result is just what we want:

Example 4.  The number building FAQ presents the following question and answer:

Why can't I start with a built number already in the DDC and add further to it?

The number building tool does not support extension to existing built numbers (other than direct addition of notation from Table 1 to the built number). If the number has been built with one step, the number building tool attempts to decompose the number automatically. If you click Start, the base number will appear in the Create-built-number box, and the notation taken away from the built number you started with will be displayed as the suggested addition to the base number in the hierarchy box.

It's possible you may have categorized the behavior described by "If the number has been built with one step, the number building tool attempts to decompose the number automatically" as a shortcut.  Letting the number building tool attempt to decompose numbers automatically can get in the way, however, of  correct addition of standard subdivisions.  Let's say that you want to build 966.9005 Nigeria—serial publications.  Start by going to the record with the add instruction that allows you to build 966.9; that is, first retrieve 930–990 History of specific continents, countries, localities; extraterrestrial worlds and click Start:

Then retrieve / navigate to T2—669 Nigeria and click Add:

Then retrieve / navigate to T1—05 Serial publications and click Add:

Caveat:  We have tried other ways to build this number, but have not found any other that works  (except by invoking the Edit Local function).  

Saved Libraries of Timbuktu

The web site of the Tombouctou Manuscripts Project (at the University of Cape Town) gives background information about the valuable manuscripts of Timbuktu, Mali, and efforts to study, preserve, digitize, and translate them, and make them available to modern scholars. "The city and its desert environs are an archive of handwritten texts in Arabic and in African languages in the Arabic script, produced between the 13th and the 20th centuries. The manuscript libraries of Timbuktu are significant repositories of scholarly production in West Africa and the Sahara."  The web site describes the manuscript libraries in Timbuktu, such as the Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Learning and Islamic Research.  In one publication associated with the project and available for free download, The Meanings of Timbuktu, scholars describe the tradition of African scholarship into which the manuscripts fit; the work is classed in 001.2096623 Scholarship and learning of Mali, built with 001.2 Scholarship and learning plus T1—09 History, geographic treatment, biography plus T2—6623 Mali, according to instructions at T1—093-099 Specific continents, countries, localities; extraterrestrial worlds.

(Incidentally, Tombouctou is the French spelling of Timbuktu—French is the official language of Mali—and the spelling preferred in the Library of Congress Name Authority File.) 

After French and Malian troops retook Timbuktu from rebel forces (January 28), there were fears that many of Timbuktu's manuscripts had been destroyed.  Fleeing militants did attack the Ahmed Baba Institute.  "As Extremists Invaded, Timbuktu Hid Artifacts of a Golden Age" and "Historic Timbuktu Texts Saved From Burning" are among the news articles reporting that in fact most of Timbuktu's valuable manuscripts had been saved because they were hidden or relocated.

There is a long sad history of libraries around the world being destroyed, e.g., as described in Lost Libraries: The Destruction of Great Book Collections since Antiquity.  The work is classed in 027.009 History of general libraries, archives, information centers, built with 027 General libraries, archives, information centers, which has the class-here note "Class here comprehensive works on libraries, on archives, on information centers, on libraries and information centers devoted to special materials," plus T1—09 History and biography (extra zero for standard subdivisions as instructed at 027.009).

What about the heroes who saved the manuscripts of Timbuktu?  One thinks of the war in Iraq, and of Alia Muhammad Baker, the librarian who smuggled books to safety in war-torn Basra.  Two children's books celebrate her: Alia's Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq: Inspired by a True Story and The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq.  Both are classed in 020.92 Biography of archivists, information scientists, librarians, built with 02 Library and information sciences (final placeholder 0 in 020 deleted before notation added) plus T1—092 Biography.  DDC does not have a special number for librarians who are heroes, but we recognize them nevertheless—kudos!

Dewey Update Breakfast at ALA Midwinter 2013 in Seattle

More than 50 convention attendees joined us to hear about and discuss new and ongoing Dewey-related projects. This time the presentations were grouped around the core theme of (semi-)automatic number building and classification.

Libbie kicked things off by updating everybody on Dewey products and services, including an overview of the new number building assistant now available in WebDewey. The high quality of numbers generated by the number building assistant makes possible the related user contribution feature, i.e., the ability of sharing user-built numbers with the entire Dewey community. My presentation gave a quick walk-through of user contribution and tried to assess how this feature opens up new possibilities of connecting with Dewey users.

Juli Beall continued with a presentation on how Classify can be used as a recommender of Dewey numbers for classifying, and how the number building assistant in WebDewey can be leveraged to save important numbers for future use.

To close the program Juli was joined by Caroline Saccucci, head of the Dewey Section at the Library of Congress, to discuss how AutoDewey enables catalogers at LC to semi-automatically assign Dewey numbers based on existing LCC numbers to works of literature. For simple cases, AutoDewey can reduce processing time to a mere 10 seconds per title.

If you haven't done so, check out the new number building feature in WebDewey and don't hesitate contributing numbers you think would be of interest to other WebDewey users. It will help improve Dewey for everybody. See you in Chicago!

Urban Gardening

Potatoes on Rooftops:  Farming in the City—that title caught my eye in a list of books for young readers (specifically, a list of finalists for the Hands-on Science Book category for the 2013 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books). The book predominantly treats garden crops like potatoes and lettuce; the part about chicks is not large enough to put the book in a broader number.  The work has the LCSH "Urban gardening," and it is classed in the number to which that heading has been mapped:  635.091732 Urban gardening, built with 635 Garden crops (Horticulture) plus T1--091 Areas, regions, places in general plus 732 from T2—1732 Urban regions.  That number can be used for urban gardening for food, or for comprehensive works on urban gardening for food and flowers.  Most of the subdivisions of 635 Garden crops (Horticulture) are for gardening for food, as indicated by the centered entry 635.1-635.8 Edible garden crops. Gardening for flowers is limited to the last subdivision, 635.9 Flowers and ornamental plants, which has the class-here note "Class here floriculture."

Other works classed in 635.091732 Urban gardening include:

Incredible Edibles: 43 Fun Things to Grow in the City
I Garden: Urban Style
Urban Gardening for Dummies

Michael Panzer Appointed New DDC Editor in Chief

Life has been a little topsy-turvy of late in Dewey editorial land. As noted earlier, after almost 20 years at the helm as Editor in Chief of the DDC, Joan Mitchell retired at the end of last week. This week has seen the appointment of a new Editor in Chief. Quoting from the press release put out by OCLC:

Michael Panzer, formerly Assistant Editor, has been named the 10th Editor-in-Chief of the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system.

Mr. Panzer . . . becomes the first DDC Editor-in-Chief from outside the United States.

Mr. Panzer joined OCLC in May 2007 as Global Product Manager of Taxonomy Services, and was appointed Assistant Editor of the DDC in March 2009. From 2002 to 2005, he headed the technical team that translated Dewey into German. He was the first member of a Dewey translation team to be appointed Assistant Editor.

“Michael Panzer is well known and widely respected in the worldwide Dewey and Semantic Web communities,” said Jay Jordan, President and CEO, OCLC. “We look forward to his making the DDC ever more useful, to paraphrase Melvil Dewey, in new and imaginative ways.”

Mr. Panzer served on the W3C Library Linked Data Incubator Group, and is currently a member of the W3C Provenance Working Group.

Prior to joining OCLC, Mr. Panzer worked at Cologne University of Applied Sciences, where he was team leader of CrissCross, a research project funded by the German Research Foundation focused on mapping SWD, DDC, RAMEAU, and LCSH. He has an MA from Heinrich Heine University (Düsseldorf) in German Literature with a minor in Information Science. He also attended the University of California, Davis, on a four-month research scholarship.

Michael’s personal interests include:

• 194.0904
• 501
• 510.9
• 686.22
• 794
• 791.45617
• 833.6
• 907.2

As for that interest in 686.22, the colophon of DDC 23 indicates that “composition [of the edition] was done . . . under the supervision of Michael Panzer.” Indeed, Michael’s various technical skills have spawned a mythical corporate body we refer to in-house as PCI—Panzer Cottage Industries.

Those of us who have had the chance to work with Michael are delighted with the appointment and wish him well. (And those of you at the ALA Dewey Breakfast will have the chance to hear from and speak to Michael tomorrow morning.)

Dewey by the Numbers

Here’s a brief snapshot of the DDC 23 EN database (the database associated with the English-language version of DDC 23) as of 23 January 2013:

Happy retirement, Joan!

Joan S. Mitchell, editor in chief of the DDC since 1993, retired from OCLC on 18 January 2013. She is the ninth editor of the DDC since 1876. Under Joan’s editorship, OCLC published DDC 21 (1996), DDC 22 (2003), and DDC 23 (2011), plus the corresponding abridged editions and 200 Religion Class publications accompanying each full edition.  In addition, Joan expanded the DDC’s electronic publications, including Dewey for Windows and WebDewey. Most recently, the DDC has been released as linked data at Dewey.info.  Joan oversaw development of various mappings and crosswalks to the system, including mappings from Library of Congress Subject Headings.  She oversaw the translation of various versions of the DDC into 18 languages.  She started the annual Dewey Translators Meetings held in conjunction with the World Library and Information Conference (IFLA), and those meetings became the International Dewey Users Meetings at IFLA.  Joan has been a tireless advocate for Dewey and librarianship, and visited 30 countries on six continents on behalf of Dewey. Under her guidance, input from the worldwide Dewey community often shaped the proposals and conversation at meetings of the Dewey editorial team and meetings of the Decimal Classification Editorial Policy Committee (EPC). While at OCLC, she coauthored two books, wrote 30 scholarly papers for publication, and gave over 120 presentations in venues around the world. In 2005, the American Library Association awarded her the Melvil Dewey Medal, which recognizes distinguished service to the profession of librarianship.

Prior to joining OCLC in 1993, she was director of educational technology at Carnegie Mellon University and an adjunct professor in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh—and a member of EPC.  She has also held various positions in technical and public services in academic and special libraries.

The Dewey Section at the Library of Congress feted Joan 10 January, and OCLC feted her 17 January.  Her colleagues and friends spoke warmly not only of her professional accomplishments but also about how nice she has been to work with, about how we’ll miss her hearty laugh.

 

Caroline Saccucci, Head, Dewey Section, Library of Congress, presents Joan with a print of a hallway in LC’s Jefferson Building signed by Joan’s friends and colleagues at LC.

We wish Joan well in pursuing her personal interests:
641.5
746.432
782
787.87
796.935
800
914-919

Good luck, Joan, in this new phase of your life!

 

Comprehensive Numbers and WebDewey

A recent blog post discussed comprehensive numbers, or alternatively, numbers for comprehensive works.  What is the most efficient way to find the comprehensive number for a topic in WebDewey?  Often, the most efficient way is to browse the Relative Index for that topic.  

First, let’s consider the comprehensive number for a topic marked by an asterisk (*) in Table 2, with a footnote that reads: "*For a specific part of this jurisdiction, region, or feature, see the part and follow instructions under —4–9."  In such a case, in the Relative Index the comprehensive number for the topic appears as an unsubdivided entry at the top of the list of entries for that topic (line 2 in the browse display, right after the immediately preceding line given for context in browse displays).  This is like the treatment of interdisciplinary numbers in the Relative Index (described in the previous blog post about interdisciplinary numbers and WebDewey).  For example, what if we seek the comprehensive number for the Alps in Europe?  Browsing the Relative Index for "Alps" yields:

With this display, it is immediately clear that the comprehensive number for the Alps in Europe is T2--4947 Alpine region cantons.  By contrast, a simple search for "Alps" yields 17 hits in Table 2, and the record for the comprehensive number is 11th on the list.

What if we seek the comprehensive law number for libel?  Browsing the Relative Index for "libel" yields:

Here we find that the unsubdivided entry at the top of the list is not for a law number—that is, not for a number in the 340s.  (The unsubdivided entry indicates that 364.156 is the interdisciplinary number for libel; if we look at the record and its upward hierarchy, we find that 364.156 Offenses against reputation and honor is in the discipline of criminology.)  For the comprehensive law number, we look for the entry with only the simple disciplinary subdivision, in this case "law." Here the comprehensive law number for libel (345.0256) is a built number (built with 345.02 Criminal offenses plus 56 from 364.156 Offenses against reputation and honor, following the add instruction at 345.023-345.028 Specific crimes and classes of crime).  If we want to learn more about why 345.0256 is the comprehensive number, we can look in the upward hierarchy to 345.02 Criminal offenses and follow the see-Manual note to 345.02 vs. 346.03 Criminal offenses vs. Torts (Delicts). 

What if we seek the comprehensive religion number for marriage?  (The interdisciplinary number for marriage is in sociology at 306.81 Marriage and marital status.) We could browse the Relative Index simply for "marriage," then scan a long list to find "Marriage—religion"; however, browsing specifically for "marriage—rel" will yield a much shorter list, and the entry we seek will be at the top of the list of entries for that topic:

The record for 204.41 Marriage and family life has these notes (among others):

Class here comprehensive works on marriage
For marriage rites, see 203.85
For ethics of marriage, see 205.63

This approach also helps us find the comprehensive number for marriage in the context of a specific religion.  For example, the record for 296.74 Marriage and family life has these notes:

Including Jewish child rearing
Class here social theology of marriage and family, comprehensive works on marriage
For ethics of marriage, see 296.363
For marriage and divorce rites and traditions, see 296.444

By contrast, a simple search for "marriage" yields 74 records, with 204.41 Marriage and family life 10th on the list, and 296.74 Marriage and family life 40th on the list. 

The comprehensive number for a topic in a discipline may also be the interdisciplinary number for the topic, e.g., the comprehensive economics number for capital. Browsing the Relative Index for "capital" yields:

The unsubdivided entry for "capital" at the top of the list indicates that 332.041 Capital is the interdisciplinary number for capital, and the first subdivided entry indicates that 332.041 is also the financial economics number.  In the list are two other economics numbers for capital—that is, two other numbers in the 330s: 339.21 and 338.6041—plus a management number: 658.152.  There is no simple "economics" subheading; with this kind of display the classifier can assume that the interdisciplinary number for capital is also the comprehensive economics number for capital.

By contrast, a simple search for "capital" yields 89 records, and the record for 332.041Capital is 38th in the list.  A simple search for "capital economics" yields 16 records, and the sought record is 4th on the list.

Sometimes a comprehensive number is not the number for one topic, rather the number for a combination of topics treated together, e.g., harness horses and draft horses.  For that kind of comprehensive number, the Relative Index is of no special use, except for finding the numbers for each topic; then we must check the schedule for notes that indicate which number is comprehensive.  For example, in the Relative Index we can find one entry for draft horses, another for harness horses:

Draft horses            636.1/5 
Harness horses        636.1/4

The entry 636.14 Carriage horses has these notes (among others):

Class here coach horses, comprehensive works on harness horses (carriage horses and light harness horses)
Class comprehensive works on harness and draft horses in 636.15

The entry 636.15 Draft horses has these notes (among others):

Class here comprehensive works on harness and draft horses
For harness horses, see 636.14

These notes make clear that 636.15 is the comprehensive number.  If there were no special notes like those, then general rules would apply, such as the first-of-two rule.