025.431: The Dewey blog

Holiday Cookies

At this time of year many newspapers and web sites have recipes for holiday cookies (or outside of North America, holiday biscuits), e.g., “Holiday Cookie Recipes from Newspaper Food Sections,” “Our Favorite Holiday Cookies,” “12 Days of Cookies,” and “Christmas Recipes: Gingerbread Snowflake Biscuits.”

The Relative Index entries “Biscuits (Cookies)—home preparation” and “Cookies—home preparation” both lead to 641.8654 Cookies.  The entry for 641.8654 has the note “Variant name: biscuits (United Kingdom).” 

The Relative Index entry “Holidays—cooking” leads to 641.568 Cooking for special occasions, and the Relative Index entry “Christmas—cooking” leads to 641.5686 Christmas cooking. 

Most cookies are baked.  The Relative Index entry “Baking—home cooking” leads to 641.71 Baking and roasting.

Which number has preference, 641.8654 or 641.568+ or 641.71? The see references at 641.5 Cooking have hierarchical force: “For specific cooking processes and techniques, see 641.7; for cooking specific kinds of dishes, preparing beverages, see 641.8.”  The class-elsewhere note at 641.7 Specific cooking processes and techniques has hierarchical force: “Class specific processes applied to specific kinds of dishes, preparing beverages in 641.8.” Hence 641.8654 has preference, because of the notes above 641.568+ and 641.71 that lead away from 641.5 and 641.7 and their subdivisions and toward 641.8 and its subdivisions. Works on baking holiday cookies are classed in 641.8654, e.g., Baking with Bill: Fancy Holiday Cookies: 17 Video Baking Lessons, A Baker's Field Guide to Christmas Cookies, Christmas Cookies: 50 Recipes to Treasure for the Holiday Season, and Santa's Favourite Biscuits.

Traffic Safety

Recently National Public Radio has run a series entitled “On the Road to Safety,” exploring various aspects of traffic safety.

The interdisciplinary number for traffic safety is 363.125 Highway and urban vehicular transportation, a number that has 363.1 Public safety programs and 363.12 Transportation hazards in its upward hierarchy. The number 363.125 has unsubdivided Relative Index entries “Road safety” and “Traffic safety,” among others.  An example of a work classed in 363.125 is the World Health Organization’s Global Status Report on Road Safety (WorldCat record for summary here, full report available here). 

Works on safety engineering of roads are classed in appropriate subdivisions of 625.7 Roads, which has the Relative Index entry “Roads—engineering,” among others.  For example, works on protective roadside barriers are classed in 625.795 Protective roadside barriers.  An example of a work classed in 625.795 is Guardrail and Median Barrier Crashworthiness.  (The entry 625.795 has the note “Including dividers, fences.”)

The Relative Index entry “Safety engineering” leads to 620.86 Safety engineering.  The entry 620.86 has the note “For safety engineering of a specific technology, see the technology, plus notation T1—0289 from Table 1, e.g., safety in machine engineering 621.80289.”  The standard subdivision T1—0289 Safety measures is not added for topics in including notes, because those topics do not approximate the whole of a number; nor is T1—0289 added where redundant, as when the caption specifies safety. 

Works on safety engineering of motor land vehicles are classed in appropriate subdivisions of 629.2 Motor land vehicles, cycles.  For example, engineering works on safety design of motor land vehicles are classed in 629.231 Analysis and design (the entry has the note “Including . . . safety design” and the Relative Index entry “Safety engineering—automotive—design”).  An example of a work classed in 629.231 is Design for Safety & Quality: Lessons Learned from the Analysis of Crashed Daimler-Benz/Mercedes Automobiles: An Interview with Miklos F. Ranky.  (The entry 629.22 Types of vehicles has the class-elsewhere note “Class design, materials, construction of a specific type of vehicle in 629.23.”)  Engineering works on safety accessories in motor land vehicles are classed in 629.276 Safety accessories (the entry has the note “Including air bags, bumpers, mirrors, seat belts, windshield wipers and washers”).  An example of a work classed in 629.276 is Air Bags and Occupant Restraints.   The number 629.276 has the Relative Index entry “Air bags—automobile,” among others.  The Library of Congress subject heading “Automobiles—Occupant restraint systems” has been editorially mapped to 629.276 (in WebDewey).

EPC Meeting 132

Giles Martin took the photo of EPC at LC on November 17, 2009. From left to right: Karl Debus-López (Library of Congress, standing in for Beacher Wiggins), Jonathan Furner (UCLA), Welna van Eeden (University of South Africa), Lyn McKinney (Billings [MT] Senior High School), Deborah Rose-Lefmann (Northwestern University), Sandra Singh (University of British Columbia), EPC Vice-Chair Anne Robertson (Australian Committee on Cataloguing), EPC Chair Caroline Kent (British Library), Andrea Kappler (Evansville Vanderburgh [IN] Public Library), and David Farris (Library and Archives Canada).

Meeting 132 of the Decimal Classification Editorial Policy Committee (EPC) was held November 16-17 at the Library of Congress. EPC Chair Caroline Kent (British Library) was re-elected for a second two-year term as chair.

In Table 1 (Standard Subdivisions), EPC approved a proposal to recast T1—0286 Waste technology as T1—0286 Green technology (Environmental technology). In Table 2 (Geographic Areas, Historical Periods, Persons), EPC gave provisional approval to the revision of Asia Minor and Turkey, and requested additional literary warrant information before approving the expansion for Switzerland.

EPC approved selected updates in the following schedules: 004-006 Computer science; 320 Political science; 361-365 Social problems and services; 390 Customs, etiquette, folklore; 400 Language; 569 Fossil mammals and 599 Mammals; 636 Animal husbandry; 646 Sewing, clothing; 690 Buildings; 720 Architecture; 800 Literature and rhetoric; and various historical periods in 900. EPC also reviewed and approved the full schedules for 670 Manufacturing and 680 Manufacture of products for special uses.

Several discussion papers were considered by the committee. One discussion paper addressed current and proposed practices related to representation and use of standard subdivisions with extended or narrowed meanings, and displaced standard subdivisions. Our investigation of such subdivisions was prompted by two streams of inquiry—a set of questions posed by a group of Dewey Section classifiers preparing training materials (Michael Cantlon, Carolyn Turner, and Ruby Woodard), and our ongoing review of practices related to the representation of standard subdivisions in add tables. EPC approved the discussion paper on 281 Eastern churches for external review. We are seeking advice immediately from the Arabic, Greek, and Russian translation teams; we will also be seeking advice from other experts in Orthodox Christianity. Yvonne Jahns (Deutsche Nationalbibliothek), chair of the European DDC Users’ Group (EDUG) 340 Law Working Group, was a guest attendee at the meeting. She participated in the extensive discussion of various 340 Law discussion papers; the full 340 Law schedule will be considered at Meeting 133. Yvonne also presented “20 years SWD: German subject authority data prepared for the future.” EPC considered another set of discussion papers, including one from the EDUG 370 Education Working Group, focused on the 370 Education schedule. EPC reviewed revised proposals for updates to 372.3-372.8 Elementary education in specific subjects, and updates to levels of education in 372, 373, and 378. The full 370 Education schedule will also be considered at Meeting 133.

EPC also heard progress reports on Dewey linked data, mixed translation models, and ongoing efforts to use machine assistance in the development of the abridged edition. Thanks to the efforts of EPC member Welna van Eeden, a representation of the DDC Summaries in Afrikaans was added last week to dewey.info (Afrikaans is the tenth language represented in the service).

EPC scheduled a follow-up electronic Meeting 132A (to be held February 1-26, 2010), during which the committee will review the Editorial Rules for standard subdivisions; further work on the machine-assisted abridged model; updates to T1—0288 Maintenance and repair to address issues raised at Meeting 131; updates to the Table 2 provisions for Asia Minor, Turkey, and Switzerland; a possible expansion at 746.92 Costume to match similar provisions for clothing and accessories elsewhere; the updated history periods for Africa based on comments from outside reviewers; and minor updates proposed by the Swedish translation team. If necessary, we will split the meeting into two parts and schedule Electronic Meeting 132B (possibly as a webinar) at a later date. Meeting 133 will be held June 16-18, 2010, at OCLC headquarters in Dublin, Ohio.

Diets for Health

The October / November 2009  posting of New and Changed Entries draws attention to new numbers for kinds of diets in the context of personal health (613 Personal health and safety) under 613.2 Dietetics. Here are examples of new numbers with sample works that could be classed in the new numbers:

613.2622 Vegan diet
Becoming Vegan: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Plant-Based Diet

613.265 Raw food diet
12 Steps to Raw Foods:  How to End Your Dependency on Cooked Food

613.2833 Low-carbohydrate diet (Carbohydrate-restricted diet)
Staying Power:  Maintaining Your Low-Carb Weight Loss for Good

613.28332 Sugar-free diet
Win the Sugar War: 100 Real-Life Stories of Conquering Cravings—and Pounds

613.2843 Low-fat diet (Fat-restricted diet)
365 Ways to Get Out the Fat: A Tip a Day to Trim the Fat Away

613.285223 Sodium-restricted diet (“Class here low-salt diet, salt-free diet”)
Get the Salt Out: 501 Simple Ways to Cut Salt Out of Any Diet

The posting also contains relocations from 613.24 Weight-gaining diet and 613.25 Weight-losing diet (Reducing diet) to 613.28 Specific nutritive elements for weight gaining / weight losing diets focused on a specific nutritive element.  With the relocations, a work on using a low-carbohydrate diet to lose weight is classed in 613.2833 Low-carbohydrate diet (Carbohydrate-restricted diet), not 613.25 Weight-losing diet (Reducing diet).  An example of a work that now should be classed in 613.2833 Low-carbohydrate diet (Carbohydrate-restricted diet) is Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution: The No-Hunger, Luxurious Weight Loss Plan That Really Works! It has Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) “Low-carbohydrate diet” and “Reducing diets.”

With the relocation of diets focused on specific nutritive elements away from 613.25 Weight-losing diet (Reducing diet), which has the note “Class here . . . low-calorie diet,” the preference order for diets in the personal health context matches the preference order in the cooking for health context (641.563 Cooking for health . . . .).  The entry 641.5635 Low-calorie cooking has two notes: “Class here cooking for overweight persons” and “Class cooking with respect to low carbohydrate, fat, protein content in 641.5638.” An example of a work covered by the class-elsewhere note is The New Eat Yourself Thin Like I Did! Quick and Easy Low Carb Cookbook, a cookbook with LCSH headings “Low-carbohydrate diet—Recipes” and “Reducing diets”; it is classed in 641.56383 Low-carbohydrate cooking, not 641.5635. 

Norman Borlaug and Wheat Stem Rust

Since his death in September, there have been news stories about Norman Borlaug, e.g., an obituary from the Telegraph that begins:

Norman Borlaug, who died on September 12 aged 95, won the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for his achievement in promoting the use of more productive cereal strains in order to feed the world’s vast population of the starving; his efforts to introduce hybrid cereal varieties into agricultural production in Pakistan, India, Mexico and other developing countries are estimated to have saved about a thousand million people from dying of hunger.

Borlaug spent his life on the borders of traditional agriculture and biotechnology and stood at the centre of the greatest and most dramatic success stories in world farming — the so-called “Green Revolution” of the 1960s. Perhaps more than anyone else, he was responsible for the fact that throughout the postwar era, except in sub-Saharan Africa, global food production has expanded faster than the human population, averting the mass starvations that were once widely predicted.

But Borlaug’s “Green Revolution” was not “green” in the modern sense. High yields demanded artificial fertiliser, chemical pesticides and new soil technology. As a result of this he was vilified by many in the environmental movement . . . .

Norman Borlaug spent his life in agricultural research and dealt with many aspects of technical agriculture.  His comprehensive biography number is 630.92 Agriculture—biography (built with 63 from 630 Agriculture and related technologies plus T1—092 Persons). (In the table of preference at the start of Table 1, T1—092 Persons is higher than T1—07 Education, research, related topics.)  An example of a work classed in 630.92 is The Man Who Fed the World: Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Norman Borlaug and His Battle to End World Hunger: An Authorized Biography.

There is not space in this blog entry to cover all the specific aspects of agricultural technology touched by Norman Borlaug; two closely related examples will have to suffice.  (There is also not space to consider the social, economic, and environmental aspects—fortunate and unfortunate—of the Green Revolution.)   Late in his life Borlaug was fighting a new outbreak of wheat stem rust.  The May 2009 issue of Science ran a story, “The Famine Fighter's Last Battle,” that began:

On a cold, January morning in 2005, a small plane landed outside the town of Njoro, Kenya, where a handful of scientists waited eagerly as the plane taxied. After the propellers stopped, an old man slowly climbed out and walked across the grassy airstrip. Norman Borlaug, then 91, had come from Nairobi to examine for himself the impact of a highly virulent race of stem rust, called Ug99, a plant pathogen that had recently crossed the border from Uganda and was now threatening wheat farmers around the world.

Few living people—scientists or farmers—had had any experience with outbreaks of stem rust. To Borlaug, however, it was a familiar enemy. After epidemics had devastated wheat fields in Mexico in the 1940s, Borlaug, who was working at an agricultural experiment station in Mexico, bred new varieties of wheat that could resist the disease. These varieties were a key component of the green revolution of the 1960s, helping to boost wheat yields in Mexico and avert famine in India, Pakistan, and elsewhere. Ever since, the world had seemed safe from stem rust. Now, the energetic, tenacious, Nobel Peace Prize–winner is trying once more to defeat the threat.

The Borlaug Global Rust Initiative carries on the work.  In June the Los Angeles Times ran an article entitled “A ‘Time Bomb’ for World Wheat Crop” that began:

The Ug99 fungus, called stem rust, could wipe out more than 80% of the world's wheat crops as it spreads from Africa, scientists fear. The race is on to breed resistant plants before it reaches the U.S.

The DDC number for wheat stem rust fungus is 633.119492 Wheat rusts (built with 633.11 Wheat plus 9 Injuries, diseases, pests from add table under 633–635 Specific plant crops, following footnote instruction at 633.11, plus 4 from 632.4 Fungus diseases, following add instruction at 9 in the add table, plus 92 from 579.592 Uredinales [Rusts], following the add instruction at 632.4).  An example of a work classed in 633.119492 is Stem Rust of Wheat.

The DDC number for breeding new wheat varieties based on studies of their genetics (as well as genetic engineering of new wheat varieties) is 633.11233 Agricultural genetics of wheat (built with 633.11 Wheat plus 233 from 631.5233 Agricultural genetics, following instructions at 1–6 Cultivation and harvesting from add table under 633–635).  An example of a work classed in 633.11233 is Genes for Rust Resistance in Wheat.

Wind Power

News articles like “Wind Could Meet China's Electricity Needs by 2030: Study” and “Could Wind Power China’s Energy Future?” appeared in response to a report in the September 11 issue of Science, “Potential for Wind-Generated Electricity in China.” The Science article reports on a study that covers a range of factors, including meteorology, economics, and government policies.  The abstract reads in part:

Wind fields derived from assimilated meteorological data are used to assess the potential for wind-generated electricity in China subject to the existing government-approved bidding process for new wind farms. Assuming a guaranteed price of 0.516 RMB (7.6 U.S. cents) per kilowatt-hour for delivery of electricity to the grid over an agreed initial average period of 10 years, it is concluded that wind could accommodate all of the demand for electricity projected for 2030, about twice current consumption.

The interdisciplinary number for wind power is 333.92 Air, a subdivision of 333.9 Other natural resources.  The entry for 333.92 has the class-here note: “Class here wind energy, use of wind for generation of electricity.”  An example of a work classed in 333.92 is Wind Energy—The Facts: A Guide to the Technology, Economics and Future of Wind Power.  Because of the class-here note, wind energy approximates the whole of 333.92, and further addition is possible.  For example, Wind Power in Europe: Politics, Business and Society is classed in 333.92094 Wind energy in Europe, built with 333.92 Air plus T1—09 Geographic treatment plus T2—4 Europe (as instructed at T1—093–T1—099 Treatment by specific continents, countries, localities; extraterrestrial worlds).  Because of the add footnote at 333.92 (“Add as instructed under 333.7-333.9”), it is necessary to check the entry 01–09 Standard subdivisions in the add table at 333.7–333.9 Natural resources and energy to be sure that there are no special instructions for standard subdivisions.

Works on the technology of wind-powered generation of electricity are classed in 621.312136 Wind-powered generation.  (There is a note at 621.45 Wind engines: “Class wind-powered generation of electricity in 621.312136.”)  An example of a work classed in 621.312136 is Homebrew Wind Power: A Hands-On Guide to Harnessing the Wind.

Summer Is Over, but the Memory Lingers On

In the U.S. it’s traditional to take a vacation sometime during the summer months of June, July, or August.  And so it was as friends would mention where they had just returned from that they would in turn ask if I were going somewhere interesting.  I had to admit that my only plans were to take a few days off around Labor Day, the traditional end to summer in the U.S.  According to some of my friends, that just simply wasn’t a vacation at all, because it was already a holiday.  (Note:  The word “holiday” has at least two senses.  According to sense 1, holidays are vacations and represent personal leisure time; where some people [e.g., Americans] take vacations, others go on holiday.   According to sense 2, holidays are times that are fixed institutionally [e.g., by a governmental or ecclesiastical body].  My mini-vacation was a holiday in both senses.)  The short time period demanded that more be packed into a smaller amount of time.  But not to fear—I’m not going to try to convince you that that’s the case, but will highlight only two of the activities I undertook.

As a cultural institution, vacations are classed in 306.48125 Vacations (Holidays).  Labor Day is classed in 394.264 Holidays of September, October, November, where it is in standing room.  In contrast, some holidays, e.g., Halloween and Thanksgiving, approximate the whole of their respective classes and thus permit the addition of standard subdivisions and other number building techniques.   Note:  Sense 1 of “holiday” shows up in the context of 306.48125 Vacations (Holidays), while sense 2 of “holiday” shows up in the context of 394.26 Holidays. 

Activity one:  hiking in the Shenandoah National Park.  One hike, on a path “less traveled by,” brought us in near proximity to the local wildlife in the form of an American black bear.  Fortunately the bear was no more eager to make our acquaintance than we were to make his (or maybe it was hers).  By the time I spotted the bear, it had climbed a tree about 15 yards/meters away; it then scampered back down the tree and took off in the opposite direction from us.  We went singing on our way to let the bear know where we were, so it could continue to stay away!

General works on hiking are classed in 796.51 Walking; works on hiking the part of the Shenandoah National Park we were in are classed in 796.5220975594 (796.522 Walking and exploring mountains, hills, rocks plus T1—09 Geographic treatment plus T2—75594 Page County as instructed at T1—093–T1—099 Treatment by specific continents, countries, localities; extraterrestrial worlds; comprehensive works on Shenandoah National Park use T2—7559 Northwestern region of Virginia; works on the specific area of the park that we hiked in use T2—75594 Page County).  The interdisciplinary number for the Ursus americanus (American black bear) is 599.785.

Activity two:  visiting the other LC--the first is the Library of Congress; the second is Luray Caverns.  The caverns contain a one-of-a-kind musical instrument, built after Leland Sprinkle had the idea of using the tones created by tapping the stalactites in the caverns in the operation of an organ.  The resulting instrument, the Great Stalacpipe Organ, is said to be the largest musical instrument in the world:  the organ’s keyboards control mallets that strike stalactites spread out over an area of 3.5 acres (ca. 15,000 meters square).

The Luray Caverns are classed in 551.4470975594 (551.447 Caves and related features plus T1—09 Geographic treatment plus T2—75594 Page County as instructed at T1—093–T1—099 Treatment by specific continents, countries, localities; extraterrestrial worlds).  While the prototypical organ is classed in 786.5 Keyboard wind instruments, the Great Stalacpipe Organ is, in contrast, a lithophone, which classes with other percussion instruments in 786.83 Keyboard idiophones.

A sanitarium named “Limair” was built over the caverns.  Air from the caverns circulated through the sanitarium, with a complete exchange of air taking place every four minutes.  It is claimed that Limair was the first (1901) air-conditioned home in the United States. (It may seem odd to speak of this as air-conditioning.  The “conditioning” takes place as air is filtered naturally through the limestone walls of the caverns; no additional filtering took place as the shaft-and-fan system drew the air into the sanitarium.) 

Air conditioning in sanatoriums (“sanitarium” and “sanatorium” are alternate spellings of the same word) is classed in 697.93551 (697.93 Air conditioning + 551 General hospital and sanatorium buildings from 725.51, following instructions at 697.935-697.938).

Forest Fires

The Station fire—a forest fire in the Angeles National Forest near Los Angeles, California—has been in the news since it began August 26, 2009.  Fire officials expect it to be contained soon.

Browsing the Relative Index for “Forest fires” yields the following:

Forest fires                                    363.379
Forest fires—forestry                  634.9618
Forest fires—social services      363.379

Since a Relative Index entry with no subdivision identifies the interdisciplinary number for a topic, interdisciplinary works on forest fires are classed in 363.379 Fire hazards in specific situations.  Social services aspects of forest fires are also classed in 363.379. Since “forest fires” are named in an including note at 363.379 (“Including fire hazards in high-rise buildings, schools, transportation; forest fires”), nothing can be added. Examples of works classed in 363.379 are Wildfire! The 1871 Peshtigo Firestorm and The Experience of Community Residents in a Fire-Prone Ecosystem: A Case Study on the San Bernardino National Forest.

Works on the forestry technology aspects of forest fires are classed in 634.9618 Forest fire technology (built with 634.96 Injury, diseases, pests in forestry plus 18 from 632.18 Fire damage to plants, as instructed at 634.96).  For example, Ecological Foundations for Fire Management in North American Forest and Shrubland Ecosystems is classed in 634.9618097 Forest fire technology in North America (634.9618 plus T1—09 Geographic treatment plus T2—7 North America as instructed at T1—093–T1—099 Treatment by specific continents, countries, localities; extraterrestrial worlds).

EPC Meeting 131

Giles Martin took the photo of EPC at OCLC on June 12, 2009.  Standing, from left to right: Andrea Kappler (Evansville Vanderburgh [IN] Public Library), Sandra Singh (University of British Columbia), Lyn McKinney (Billings [MT] Senior High School), and Welna van Eeden (University of South Africa); seated, from left to right: Karl Debus-López (Library of Congress, standing in for Beacher Wiggins), David Farris (Library and Archives Canada), EPC Vice-Chair Anne Robertson (Australian Committee on Cataloguing), and Deborah Rose-Lefmann (Northwestern University).

It seems like forever since I’ve written something here, and I’m suppressing the urge to report chronologically on my activities since the last time you heard from me (so stay tuned for reports on three very interesting meetings [one in Houston and two in Vienna] in which I participated back in April).  Today, I’m jumping forward to last week with a quick summary of Meeting 131 of the Decimal Classification Editorial Policy Committee (EPC), which was held June 10-12 at OCLC.  The meeting was chaired by EPC Vice-Chair Anne Robertson (Australian Committee on Cataloguing).  EPC Chair Caroline Kent (British Library) and new EPC member Jonathan Furner (UCLA [and yes, former DDC assistant editor and creator of 025.431: The Dewey blog]) were unable to attend in person, but e-mailed voluminous comments that were considered by the committee during the meeting.

EPC reviewed the full version of Table 1 (Standard Subdivisions).  One provision was postponed for discussion at Meeting 132 in November 2009: the use of T1—0286 Waste technology to represent green technology.  We'll have more to say about that issue once we sort out the ripple effects throughout the schedules.  In Table 2 (Geographic Areas, Historical Periods, Persons), EPC looked mostly to the past in reviewing provisions for the ancient world in T2—3.  Some of the ancient world proposals have implications for the modern world versions of the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions, Asia Minor, and Turkey.  EPC also approved some adjustments to German administrative units proposed by colleagues at Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, plus the placement of the Barents Sea region, North Calotte, and Sápmi (Lapland).  EPC approved the full version of Table 3 (Subdivisions for the Arts, for Individual Literatures, for Specific Literary Forms), and an expansion for Hakka (Han Chinese who speak Hakka dialect) in Table 5 (Ethnic and National Groups).

EPC approved updates in the following schedules: 004-006 Computer science, 200 Religion, 300 Social sciences, 301-307 Sociology and anthropology, 320 Political science, 330 Economics, 340 Law, 400 Language, 610 Medicine and health, 780 Music, 800 Literature, and 960 History of Africa.  EPC reviewed preliminary versions of 640 Home and family management, 690 Buildings, 710 Civic and landscape art, and 720 Architecture.  On the recommendation of EPC, we plan to post the sewing and clothing sections of 646 shortly for outside comment.  EPC also reviewed a preliminary proposal for updates to sections of 372.3-372.8 Elementary education in specific subjects.  In addition to comments from members and observers on the private EPC mailing list, EPC’s deliberations were informed by reports from the working groups associated with the European DDC Users’ Group (EDUG) in the areas of law, education, archaeology, and technical issues.

EPC reviewed several research initiatives from the OCLC Office of Research and the Dewey editorial team, plus the latest draft specification for Dewey Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs).  We’ll be back with more information on these initiatives later.

EPC scheduled a follow-up electronic Meeting 131A (to be held August 3-28, 2009), during which the committee will address use of the term “encompassing” in the DDC, plus minor issues in 400, 710, and 780.  Meeting 132 will be held November 16-17, 2009, at the Library of Congress.

One other major Dewey event took place last week—June 12 was the last day for updating Dewey data in the current Editorial Support System (ESS).  The new ESS, along with new data formats based on the MARC classification and authority formats, is scheduled to be launched on July 5 (another reason for our recent periods of silence on this blog).  Rebecca wrote a bit about the new ESS last month—watch for more reports shortly.

Baby Animals

Spring brings news of baby animals, e.g., fawns (“Fawns Pop Up in Backyards around Washtenaw County” and “Wild Sunday II: Look Close”) or chicks (“Hatching a Love”).

Interdisciplinary works on all kinds of baby animals and comprehensive works on baby wild animals are both classed in 591.39 Young animals, a subdivision of 590 Animals.  The Relative Index entry is “Baby animals 591.39.” Examples of works classed in 591.39 are Wild Babies and Small Babies. 

Comprehensive works on baby domestic animals are classed in 636.07 Young of animals, a subdivision of 636 Animal husbandry.  The Relative Index entry is “Baby animals—domestic animals 636.07.”  An example of a work classed in 636.07 is Animal Babies on the Farm.

Works on fawns are classed in 599.65139 Fawns, a built number to which the LCSH “Fawns” has been editorially mapped in WebDewey.  The number 599.65139 Fawns is built with 599.65 Cervidae (Deer) plus 1 General topics of natural history of animals from the add table at 592–599 Specific taxonomic groups of animals, following the footnote add instruction at 599.65, plus 39 from 591.39 Young animals, following add instruction at 1 General topics of natural history of animals in the add table at 592–599. An example of a work classed in 599.65139 is Fawns.

Works on baby chickens are classed in 636.507 Chicks, a number built with 636.5 Poultry    Chickens plus 0 plus 7 from 636.07 Young of animals, following add instruction at 636.5001–636.508 Standard subdivisions, specific topics of husbandry of poultry.  An example of a work classed in 636.507 Chicks is A Chick Grows Up.