The Decimal Classification Editorial Policy Committee (EPC)* met at OCLC May 7-9, 2008. EPC approved several adjustments to the proposed overhaul of the treatment of groups of people (including a separate number for intersex people based on feedback from users) plus the implementation plan for the changes. The current plan is to post draft versions of Table 1 and 305-306 on the Dewey web site in August 2008 (with links from the Dewey blog). We will request comments on the content and implementation plan by October 30, 2008—this will permit discussion of user comments at EPC Meeting 130 in November 2008. It is our intention to introduce the changes to the treatment of groups of people throughout the DDC by second quarter calendar year 2009 in WebDewey and Abridged WebDewey. We plan to make final PDFs of Table 1 and 305-306 available on the Dewey web site at the same time the changes are implemented in the web versions of the DDC. The changes introduced in the web versions of the DDC will also appear in the print version of DDC 23 (scheduled to be published in late calendar year 2010).
In addition to the changes to groups of people in Table 1, EPC approved two changes to T1—079 Competition, awards, financial support: clarification of the add instruction from Table 2, and the relocation of festivals from T1—079 to T1—074 Museums, collections, exhibits. Watch this space for more information on these changes. EPC also approved several changes in Table 2 (Geographic Areas, Historical Periods, Persons) for Belgium, South Africa, Sweden, and Clifton Forge, Va. (the last reflects a rare change within administrative units in the U.S.). In Table 3 (Subdivisions for the Arts, for Individual Literatures, for Specific Literary Forms), EPC approved new provisions for autobiographical fiction, biographical fiction, and alternative histories. In Table 6 (Languages), EPC approved updates to Indonesian languages and Galician, plus several miscellaneous updates. Similar changes were made to parallel notation in Table 5 (Ethnic and National Groups).
In the schedules, EPC approved updates in the following areas: 004-006 Computer science, 025.4 Subject analysis and control, 160 Logic, 320 Political science, 364.16 Offenses against property, 398.2 Folk literature, 400 Language, 510 Mathematics, 560-590 Life sciences, 610 Medicine and health, 700 The arts, 800 Literature, and 900 History, geography, and auxiliary disciplines. EPC also reviewed reports on work under way in 200 Religion, 340 Law, and 370 Education. The changes in 364.16, along with other updates to the treatment of criminal offenses, will be the focus of the June New and Changed Entries. We will discuss the proposed updates and open issues in several of the aforementioned schedules in the coming weeks in the Dewey blog—stay tuned.
EPC reviewed several research initiatives from the OCLC Office of Research and the Dewey editorial team. Diane Vizine-Goetz presented current work on a prototype classification web service and pilot terminology services. Dewey editorial team members presented progress reports on several current research projects: machine-assisted derivation of the abridged edition, mixed translation models, identification of the relationship of Relative Index terms to Dewey classes, and improvements to Dewey captions. The team also briefed EPC on our new editorial support system, recent changes to the representation of the DDC in MARC21 formats, and a proposed new approach to the display of relocations and discontinuations in DDC class records. Further, the team gave EPC a progress report on the development of DDC training materials being posted online. There was also a lively discussion on how we might facilitate development and sharing of “Dewey neighborhoods” by Dewey users (see the innovative presentation by the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library at the March 2008 Public Library Association (PLA) Conference).
EPC will hold a follow-up electronic meeting (Meeting 129A) during June 2008 to resolve some minor open issues from Meeting 129. The group will meet next in person at the Library of Congress in November 2008.
*Photo at top of EPC at OCLC on May 8, 2008—standing from left to right: Lyn McKinney (Billings [MT] Senior High School), Sandra Singh (Vancouver [BC] Public Library), David Farris (Library and Archives Canada), Welna van Eeden (University of South Africa), Andrea Kappler (Evansville Vanderburgh [IN] Public Library) and EPC Chair Caroline Kent (British Library). Seated from left to right: Arlene Taylor (University of Pittsburgh SIS, retired), Vice Chair Anne Robertson (Australian Committee on Cataloguing), and Deborah Rose-Lefmann (Northwestern University).
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