025.431: The Dewey blog

Leotards

(This is the sixth in a series of posts on eponyms.)

Leotards, a tight-fitting one-piece garment, are worn by various types of athletes and performers, for example, acrobats, dancers, figure skaters, and gymnasts.  By the latter part of the 1900s, leotards had also become common attire for exercise.  Other types of garments strongly influenced by leotards include one-piece bathing suits, biketards, and unitards.

The leotard was made popular by Jules Léotard (1838/1842-1870).  To make sense of that statement, we need a little background that relies on his father’s business:

Part of his father’s gymnasium was a swimming pool which had skylights in the roof and young Leotard was tasked with the job of opening and closing them using their long ropes. He began swinging from rope to rope over the pool. He then started practicing on a swinging bar and developed such grace and skill that his antics drew comments of admiration from his father’s customers.

Before long, Léotard was invited to take his flying trapeze act to a circus in Paris, which necessitated that he be properly outfitted.  He insisted on the design of the tight-fitting garment (the original was apparently made of velvet!) that eventually became known by his name, although not until after his death.  (Incidentally, Léotard himself referred to the garment as a “maillot,” a term fashion designers still use in reference to a woman’s one-piece swimsuit.)  For more on Léotard, see the PBS and Victoria and Albert Museum articles.

The Fairchild Dictionary of Fashion, 3rd ed., classifies leotards as activewear.   Here’s what the Relative Index gives for activewear:

Activewear                            796
     commercial technology        687.16
     customs                           391.48
     home economics                646.3
     home sewing                     646.47

The interdisciplinary number for activewear is 796 Athletic and outdoor sports and games—the clothing for an activity going with the activity—where a work like The sports bible: encyclopedia for activewear, outerwear, streetwear & sports fashion is classed.  (Notation T1—03 Dictionaries, encyclopedias, concordances is not added, because activewear/clothing does not approximate the whole of 796.)   Works on specific aspects of activewear would be classed in the other numbers; for example, Sewing active wear is classed in 646.47 Construction of garments for special purposes, with its including note, “Including activewear (clothing for athletic and outdoor sports, . . .”

And what about the comprehensive biography number for Léotard?   The ubiquity of leotards aside, Léotard’s most significant contribution—and the basis of his comprehensive biography number—is his creation of the flying trapeze act.  His comprehensive biography number, used for works like La course aux trapèzes volants: l'exploit de Jules Léotard! [The flying trapeze race: the feat of Jules Léotard!] and Pirouettes et collants blancs: mémoires de Jules Léotard, le premier des trapézistes (1860) [Pirouettes and white tights:  memoires of Jules Léotard, the first trapeze artist (1860)] is therefore 791.34092 Acrobatics and trapeze work—Biography, built from 791.34 (Circuses) Acrobatics and trapeze work, plus T1—092 Biography.  By the way, the number for “The Daring Young Man on The Flying Trapeze,” a song written about Léotard, is 782.42164 Western popular songs, built with 782.42 (Secular) Songs, plus 164 from 781.64 Western popular music, following the instructions at 782.1-782.4 Vocal forms.

Tuesday Afternoon

Well, that's what it is right now for the Dewey editorial team (save consulting assistant editor Giles Martin in Australia, who is probably already into Wednesday morning).  But it's also the title of the sixth song in the set that the Moody Blues played last night in Pittsburgh.  Listening to them, I couldn’t help but muse about how useful it is to have the note "Class here specific rock styles" under 781.66 Rock (Rock 'n' roll).  In a show that ranged from pure rock ("I'm Just a Singer [in a Rock and Roll Band]") to spoken word ("Late Lament") to the something-for-everyone-in-one-song ("Question"), I thought about how hard it is to describe the Moody Blues beyond rock.  The Manual note at 781.62 vs. 781.63-.66 Folk and popular music instructs one to use allmusic.com or a similar online source for help determining the style of music.  Allmusic.com lists the Moody Blues in the Pop/Rock genre, with the styles of Prog-Rock, Contemporary Pop/Rock, Album Rock, Art Rock, British Invasion, Psychedelic, British Psychedelia, and AM Pop.  I think this gives you an idea of why we decided not to subdivide 781.66 by specific rock styles!

The biography number for the Moody Blues is 782.421660922 (built with 782.42 Songs plus 1 General principles [from the add table under 782.1-782.4 Vocal forms] plus 66 Rock music [from 781.66, following the instructions in the aforementioned add table] plus T1—0922 Collected biography).  For that last element, if you were tempted to add collected biography by geographic area and slip in T1—092242 (T1—0922 plus T2—42 England) or T1—092242496 (T1—0922 plus T2—42496 Birmingham), please don't do so.  The Manual note at  T1—0922 Collected biography instructs:  "Do not use area subdivisions for collected biography of groups that have a strong collective personal identity, even though all the members are known to have come from one particular area, e.g., the Beatles 782.421660922 (not 782.42166092242 or 782.42166092242753)."

And yes, they did play "Nights in White Satin."

 

Rhythm and blues

In the Q&A session for one of our recent webinars (DDC 23 Update), the following question was posed:  “Are you able to give some insight into the reasoning behind relocating comprehensive works on rhythm & blues to 781.644 (the number for Soul music) from the number for blues (781.643)?” 

Here is how the two entries read in DDC 23:

781.643 †Blues

Class here traditional rhythm and blues; specific blues styles

Comprehensive works on rhythm and blues relocated to 781.644

781.644 †Soul

Class here comprehensive works on rhythm and blues [formerly 781.643], R&B; specific soul styles

For traditional rhythm and blues, see 781.643

That is, traditional rhythm and blues are part of 781.643 Blues, while contemporary rhythm and blues are part of 781.644 Soul.  Comprehensive works on rhythm and blues—works on both traditional and contemporary rhythm and blues—have been relocated from 781.643 Blues to 781.644 Soul.

In our review of popular music styles in the period before the publication of DDC 23, we investigated changing the structure at 781.643 Blues and 781.644 Soul to parallel the overall structure of allmusic.com, which distinguishes between blues and R&B and which treats soul music as a subcategory under R&B.  The arrangement in allmusic.com differs subtly from the meaning afforded these terms in Library of Congress Subject Headings, with its entries for Blues (Music), Rhythm and blues music (UF R&B), and Soul music.  Both Blues (Music) and Soul music are RTs of Rhythm and blues music (and vice-versa).   (For the record, the Library of Congress Classification combines Blues and Rhythm and blues into a single class.) 

WorldCat searches showed that Blues (Music) had been assigned quite infrequently in comparison to Rhythm and blues music and Soul music.  At the same time, works assigned the LCSH Rhythm and blues music were much more likely to be classed in 781.643 Blues than in 781.644 Soul.   It appears from this classification practice that the class-here note [5] for comprehensive works on rhythm and blues that had been in 781.643 was pulling literature into that class that should rightfully have gone into 781.644, given the USE/UF relationship between Rhythm and blues music and R&B.

Our solution has been (1) to distinguish between traditional rhythm and blues, aligned with 781.643 Blues, and contemporary rhythm and blues (that is, R&B), aligned with 781.644 Soul and (2) to relocate comprehensive works on rhythm and blues to 781.644.  The first part of our solution accords with the distinction between blues and R&B made on allmusic.com; the second part of our solution aligns the DDC’s comprehensive works on rhythm and blues with the LCSH Rhythm and blues music and corrects past misclassifications based on the assignment of that LCSH.

Electronica festivals

A recent USA Today article, entitled “Raves give rise to electronica fests,” gives us the quick opportunity to highlight two changes in DDC 23:  the first, an expansion, and the second, a relocation.

In a previous post on contemporary styles of music, we noted our intention of developing a new class, 781.648 Electronica, which is now present in DDC 23.  The close association of electronica and dancing makes 781.6481554 (built with 781.648 plus 1 General principles from the table under 781.63-78.69 plus 554 Dance music from 781.554 Dance music) redundant; a do-not-use note indicates that that number is not valid.  A work like All music guide to electronica would now be classed in 781.648.

In Table 1, festivals have been relocated from 1—079 Competitions, awards, financial support to 1—074 Museums, collections, exhibits, where festivals are now listed in the class-here note.  A work on the subject of the USA Today article, electronica fests, would thus be classified in 781.648074 Electronica festivals.

Part-Time or Potentially Part-Time Businesses: Management

Library Journal's "Collection Development: Part-Time Businesses, March 1, 2011" discusses works helpful for people who want to start or run a part-time business.  Some of those works that emphasize management are mentioned here.

Few works are actually limited in scope to part-time businesses.  Most of the works in the Library Journal article focus on the kind of businesses that can be part-time or full-time—perhaps beginning part-time.  Nevertheless, browsing the Relative Index for "part-time" yields useful results:

Part-time enterprises—management                658.041
Part-time enterprises—management—initiation  658.1141

The entry for 658.041 Individual proprietorships has the notes:

Including part-time enterprises
Class here one-person enterprises, self-employment enterprises
Class executive management by entrepreneurs in 658.421
For one-person corporations, see 658.045

In the upward hierarchy for 658.041 is 658.04 Management of enterprises of specific forms, which has the see reference: "For initiation of specific forms of ownership organization, management of new enterprises of specific forms, see 658.114."  See references have hierarchical force.  The Mocha Manual to Turning Your Passion into Profit: How to Find and Grow Your Side Hustle in Any Economy is classed in 658.1141 Initiation of individual proprietorships (built with 658.114 Initiation of business enterprises by form of ownership organization plus 1 from 658.041 Individual proprietorships, following instruction at 658.114). 
 
Many of the works in the Library Journal article emphasize home-based businesses.  Browsing the Relative Index for "home-based" yields:

Home-based enterprises—management                658.0412
Home-based enterprises—management—initiation  658.11412

Works that focus on managing—or starting up and then managing—home-based businesses are classed in 658.0412 Home-based businesses, e.g., Ultimate Homebased Business Handbook: How to Start, Run and Grow Your Own Profitable Business and Start & Run a Real Home-Based Business. 

Works on starting up and then managing a specific form of business enterprise are classed with managing in 658.04+ rather than with starting up in 658.114+ because the comprehensive number is 658.04+.  How does one know that?  The see reference quoted above leads from 658.04 Management of enterprises of specific forms to 658.114 Initiation of business enterprises by form of ownership organization.  By definition, a see reference "leads from the stated or implied comprehensive or interdisciplinary number for a subject to component parts of the subject in numbers other than direct subdivisions of the original number or span."

The Manual note 658.04 vs. 658.114, 658.402 Management of enterprises of specific forms vs. Initiation of business enterprises by form of ownership organization vs. Internal organization can help in deciding between 658.04+ and 658.114+:

Use 658.04 for comprehensive works on management of enterprises of specific legal or ownership forms (e.g., corporations, partnerships). Use 658.114 for works that focus on initiating enterprises of specific legal or ownership forms—either starting a new business or converting an existing business to a new form, e.g., starting up a new individual proprietorship 658.1141, converting an individual proprietorship to a corporation 658.1145.

. . . . .

If in doubt, prefer in the following order: 658.04, 658.114, 658.402.

Some of the works in the Library Journal article focus on businesses in specific fields.  In the upward hierarchy for all the numbers mentioned thus far, at 658 General management, is the scatter see reference: "For management of enterprises engaged in a specific field of activity, see the field, plus notation T1—068 from Table 1, e.g., management of commercial banks 332.12068, management of automobile manufacturing 629.222068." The Handmade Marketplace, for example, is classed in 745.50688 Marketing management of handicrafts, built with 745.5 Handicrafts plus T1—0688 Management of distribution (Marketing).  Browsing the Relative Index for "marketing management" yields:

Marketing management    658.8
Marketing management    T1—0688

 

 

 

Harps

Over the past some months, harps have been more a part of my life than usual:  I have played (piano) with an orchestral harp; I have toured the workshop of a friend who makes Celtic harps (and indeed I am currently “babysitting” a Celtic harp for another friend); and on a recent visit home, I found that my mother had acquired an autoharp.

What makes a harp a harp?  A harp is a chordophone, that is, a musical instrument whose sound is produced by the vibrating of strings; other common chordophones include the piano, guitar, and violin.  Like many chordophones, harps include a sound box, which serves to amplify and prolong the sound produced by the strings.   The sound box, or resonator, is one of three edges in the triangular shape of the harp; the other two edges are called the neck, to which the strings are attached at the top of the instrument , and a forepillar, which parallels the longest of the strings.  The Harvard Dictionary of Music defines a harp as “a chordophone in which the plane of the strings is perpendicular to the soundboard.”  According to this definition, my mom’s autoharp isn’t actually a harp, but rather a zither, a chordophone in which the plane of the strings is parallel to the soundboard.

Executant (the voice or instrument that produces the music) gets top billing (i.e., is first in the citation order) in the DDC’s faceted classification of music.  The discussion in the Manual note at 780 on the arrangement of the components of complex subjects parallels the instruction at 780 that a subject with aspects in two or more subdivisions of 780 is to be classed in the number coming last.  Accordingly, general principles of music and musical forms are found in 781, before vocal music in 782-783 and instrumental music in 784-788 (789 is an optional number).    Thus a work on harps will be classed in subdivisions of 787 Stringed instruments (Chordophones), no matter whether it is music for the harp, a critical study of music for the harp, or a work on harps as instruments.

The subdivisions of 787 are organized by families of chordophones.  In 787.2–787.6 we find bowed stringed instruments:  violins, violas, cellos, double basses, viols, hurdy-gurdies, and more.  Plectral chordophones—struck stringed instruments—are found in 787.7–787.9, with zithers in 787.7, lutes in 787.8, and harps and musical bows in 787.9.  Autoharps are classed in 787.75 Plucked board zithers, while both orchestral and Celtic harps are classed in 787.95 Frame harps.  In all three cases, the specific instrument is named in the including note.   This means that no further number building can be done for the specific  instrument.  For example, The autoharp owner's manual: everything from maintaining to building an autoharp is classed in 787.75 Plucked board zithers itself, without being allowed to follow the instruction given throughout 787 to “add as instructed under 784–788.” 

Where a work is not specific to a kind of harp, however, the add instructions at 784–788 make it possible to represent other musical concepts in the class number.   Notation for general principles is taken from 781.1–781.7, while notation for musical forms and instruments is taken from 784.18–784.19.  Several examples will illustrate:   

• The pocket guide to harp composing: a concise, non-technical manual containing all of the information needed to write effectively for any type of harp is classed in 787.913 Harp composition (built with 787.9 Harps and musical bows [the comprehensive number for harps] plus 13 from 781.3 Composition, following instructions in the add table under 784–788).
• Ten Christmas carols: transcribed for the harp with or without pedals is classed in 787.91723 Christmas music for harp (built with 787.9 Harps and musical bows plus 1723 from 781.723 Music of Christmas following instructions in the add table under 784–788). 
• Zur Baugeschichte der Harfe : vom Mittelalter bis zum 19. Jahrhundert : 13. Musikinstrumentenbau-Symposium in Michaelstein am 6. und 7. November 1992, a work on the history of harp construction should be classed in 787.9192309 Harp construction (built with 787.9 Harps and musical bows plus 1923 from 784.1923 Construction, following instructions in the add table under 784–788, plus standard subdivision T1—09 History).  
• Method for the harp: fundamental exercises with illustrations and technical explanations is classed in 787.9193 Techniques for playing harp (built with 787.9 Harps and musical bows plus 193 from 784.193 Techniques for playing instruments, following instructions in the add table under 784–788).  

 

 

 

 

 

Patchwork and Quilting

The Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns is listed in “Top 10 Craft and Gardening Books: 2010,” an article published in Booklist and reissued in AL Direct (December 22).

The Quilter’s Album has the LCSH “Patchwork—Patterns” and “Quilting—Patterns.”

Browsing the Relative Index for “patchwork” yields:

Patchwork—arts               746.46

Browsing the Relative Index for “quilting” yields:

Quilting—arts                   746.46
Quilting—home sewing       646.21

The entry 746.46 Patchwork and quilting has the class-here note “Class here quilts” and the subdivisions-are-added note “Subdivisions are added for either or both topics in heading,” plus a footnote add instruction “Add as instructed under 746.” The Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns is classed in 746.46041 Patchwork and quilting patterns (built with 746.46 Patchwork and quilting plus 041 Patterns from the add table under 746 Textile arts, following the footnote add instruction at 746.46).

What about the home sewing number for quilting given in the Relative Index?  The entry 646.21 Construction of home furnishings has an including note “Including making bedclothes, curtains, hangings, slipcovers, table linens, towels” and the class-elsewhere note: “Class artistic and decorative aspects of construction of interior furnishings in 746.9.” The Quilter’s Album is not limited to construction of home furnishings.  Moreover, it emphasizes decorative aspects and thus would belong in a subdivision of 746 Textile arts even if it were limited to construction of interior furnishings.

What about use of quilting to make a specific kind of product (not quilts in general)? An example is Thimbleberries Four Seasons of Calendar Table Toppers, with “12 Quick Quilts and Easy Accent Projects to Make for Each Month of the Year” (quoted from cover). The work has the LCSH “Quilting—Patterns,” “Household linens,” and “Table setting and decoration.” Browsing the Relative Index for “table linens” yields:

Table linens                        642.7
Table linens—arts                746.96
Table linens—home sewing    646.21
Table linens—table setting    642.7

This work focuses on making table linens, not using them for table setting; hence 642.7 Table furnishings, a subdivision of 642 Meals and table service, is not a good choice. Because this work emphasizes decorative aspects, it belongs in a subdivision of 746 Textile arts rather than 646.21. 

Which subdivision of 746 should be used for Thimbleberries Four Seasons of Calendar Table Toppers? The entry 746.96 Table linens has the class-here note “Class here doilies, mats, napkins (serviettes), scarves, tablecloths; fair linens.”  Since the work is predominantly about quilting, however, 746.46 Patchwork and quilting must also be considered.  At 746.1–746.9 Products and processes is a table of preference in which Needlework and handwork 746.4 appears above Other textile products 746.9; hence 746.46 is preferred over 746.96. At 041 Patterns in the add table under 746 Textile arts is the class-elsewhere note “Class patterns for specific products in 043” (i.e., in 043 Products in the same add table).  Thimbleberries Four Seasons of Calendar Table Toppers is classed in 746.460436 Patchwork and quilting table linens (built with 746.46 Patchwork and quilting plus 043 from 0434–0438 Interior furnishings in the add table under 746, following the footnote add instruction at 746.46, plus 6 from 746.96 Table linens, following the add instruction at 0434–0438 in the add table under 746).

Ukuleles

From time to time ukuleles appear in the news, e.g., “A Working Life: Ukulele Teacher” (The Guardian), “Beginners Warm to Free Ukulele Lessons” (Honolulu Star Advertiser), “The Uke Will Set You Free” (San Francisco Chronicle), “‘The Mighty Uke’: A Musical Underdog Makes A Comeback” (NPR), and “Ukulele Sends UK Crazy” (BBC).

Ukulele music is classed in 787.89 Ukuleles, e.g., Gently Weeps (ukulele music from various traditions, e.g., “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Ave Maria,” “Sakura,” and “Star-Spangled Banner”).  For works emphasizing a specific tradition, notation can be added to express the tradition.  For example, Blues Ukulele is classed in 787.891643 Blues music for the ukulele (built with 787.89 plus 1 from 11–17 General principles in add table at 784–788 Instruments and their music plus 643 from 781.643 Blues, following footnote  instruction at 787.89 and instructions in add table at 784–788).   The Beatles for Ukulele is classed in 787.89166 Rock music for the ukulele (built with 787.89 plus 1 from add table at 784–788 plus 66 from 781.66 Rock [Rock 'n' roll]). 

Gently Weeps is a sound recording, while Blues Ukulele and The Beatles for Ukulele are music scores.  No special notation is used in 780 Music to distinguish sound recordings or music scores themselves (except as an option).  Here are the relevant examples of standard DDC numbers given in the Manual entry 780.26 Texts; treatises on music scores and recordings:

Number      Used for
787.2         A treatise on violin music
787.2         Violin scores
787.2         Recordings of violin music

Works about techniques for playing the ukulele are classed in 787.89193 Techniques for playing the ukulele (built with 787.89 plus 1 from 18–19 Musical forms and instruments in add table at 784–788 Instruments and their music plus 93 from 784.193 Techniques for playing instruments following footnote  instruction at 787.89 and instructions in  add table at 784–788).   An example is Absolute Beginners. Ukulele.

A World Cup post-mortem

The FIFA World Cup came to an end on Sunday with Spain’s victory over the Netherlands in a very physical and hard-fought final game. After four weeks of constant football excitement – as much as three matches a day in the first round! – suddenly, millions of football (or soccer, fútbol, Fußball, calcio, ...) fans are finding themselves with a lot of free time on their hands. So what could be better than to use this time to look back at some of the more colorful “side events” that seem to accompany every World Cup and make it unique?

The biggest star that has emerged over the duration of the tournament (judging by the way it has captured media attention and the world’s imagination) is Paul, the clairvoyant octopus, who seemingly had several of his eight arms in everything. German TV stations interrupted their regular programming to broadcast live from Oberhausen’s Sealife aquarium, where Paul correctly predicted the outcome of every game Germany played in the tournament plus Spain as the winner in the final. After being presented by two clear containers, each adorned with national flags, he “made” his prediction by grabbing a mussel from one of the containers.

It’s not always nice to have such a good track record, however. After predicting Argentina’s defeat in the quarter final, “the oracle of Oberhausen” reportedly received death threats (in the form of octopus recipes). German fans were very upset when he predicted Spain’s win over Germany in the semi-final and even accused him of jinxing the “Mannschaft.” This went as far as Spain offering him asylum “so the Germans don’t eat him.” The Dutch were not amused, either. So it is probably a good thing that it has been announced that Paul is going to retire; at the ripe age of 2 1/2 years, he really is a pensioner in octopus years.

Paul was not the only animal around the world that was used as an oracle for World Cup games (another one was Mani, the Singaporean parakeet); after all, if you only “ask” enough of them, one is statistically bound to get it right. Even more about them can be found in 133.89 Animal magnetism, hypnosis, extrasensory perception of animals, aura, where animals with “psychic powers” are classed.

Another topic that was on everyone’s mind (and in everyone’s ears) was the vuvuzela, a plastic blowing horn that was a ubiquitous accessory at this years’ World Cup. Some found it an insufferable noise-maker (with a sound pressure of around 120 dB at close range) that drowned out the stadium atmosphere even on TV; others said it is an integral part of a South African football experience. Because vuvuzelas technically only produce one note, a B-flat at a frequency of about 230 Hz, the sound can be (and was) filtered out to some degree by broadcasters. But for those who couldn’t get enough, Youtube added a “vuvuzela button” to its video player! Some, like these musicians at the Konzerthaus Berlin, took it even more seriously than others, and were able to unearth and perform the little-known vuvuzela solo that Maurice Ravel wrote for his “Boléro.”

Works about vuvuzelas are classed at 788.99 Other brass instruments, where vuvuzelas as instruments are implicitly in standing room. (Even though they are not made of metal, they qualify for inclusion under 788.9 because they are lip-reed instruments.)

Finally, an old classic came up as topic for controversy once again: the ball itself. As the official match balls for the 1970 World Cup, Adidas created what would become the perhaps most iconic ball of all: the Telstar with its familiar 12 black pentagons and 20 white hexagons. Geometrically, such a ball represents a truncated icosahedron, and, as such, is not perfectly round. Recently, manufacturers have embarked on a quest to construct a “rounder” ball with fewer seams, which should perform more consistently regardless where it is hit. While the 2006 World Cup saw the Adidas Teamgeist made out of 14 curved panels, the construction of this year’s Jabulani has been further reduced to eight spherically-molded panels.

While many players seem to like it, it has gotten a lot of criticism. Some players have called it a “supermarket ball” or a “beach ball.” Even NASA has weighed in with an opinion on the aerodynamics of the Jabulani!

Works about the construction and performance of soccer balls are classed at 688.76334, built with 688.76 Equipment for outdoor sports and games plus 334 [from 796.334 Soccer (Association football)]. Since balls do not approximate the whole of equipment for association football, standard subdivisions may not be added; thus another hotly debated topic like the integration of computer chips into the ball to determine automatically when it has passed the goal line is also classed in 688.76334, not in 688.763340285.

This was not all, of course! Other trifles like the development in tactics, football jersey fashion trends and the history of official World Cup anthems will have to wait for another time.

Topic Neighborhoods

Neighbors and neighborhoods are found in many places in the DDC.   The interdisciplinary number for neighborhoods as a social community is 307.3362, where provision is made for adding from 307.72–307.77 to represent specific kinds of communities—rural communities, suburban communities, urban communities, and self-contained communities.  Interpersonal relations with neighbors are classed in 158.25, while the psychological influence of neighbors is classed in 155.925 (built with 155.92 Influence of social environment plus 5 from the numbers following 158.2 in 158.25 Interpersonal relations with neighbors, following the instructions at 155.92).   But humans apparently are not the only kinds of things who can be neighbors:  over forty Table 2 captions refer either to “neighboring islands” (as part of Indonesia) or to “neighboring counties” (in such states as Texas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Montana).  

In addition to social and geographic neighborhoods, metaphorical senses of neighborhood are also found in mathematics.  In topology, the neighborhood of a point in a topological space is defined as an open set containing the point; a topological neighborhood is classed in 514.322 Point set topology (General topology).   In graph theory, the neighborhood of a vertex in a graph is the set of all vertices adjacent to it and all edges between the adjacent vertices; a graph theoretical neighborhood is classed in 511.5 Graph theory. 

There is also a sense of topic neighborhood relevant to classification schemes, based on the graph theoretical concept of neighborhood.  This concept was the subject of a presentation on the ontological character of classes in the Dewey Decimal Classification given by DDC editors Rebecca Green and Michael Panzer at the Eleventh International ISKO Conference, held 23-26 February 2010 in Rome, Italy; the theme of the conference was paradigms and conceptual systems in knowledge organization.  (Michael also cooperated with Marcia Lei Zeng and Athena Salaba, both of Kent State University, in a presentation on expressing classification schemes with OWL 2.)   Topic neighborhoods in the DDC are classed in a number that this blog has memorialized, 025.431 Dewey Decimal Classification itself.

The gist of the concept of topic neighborhoods recognizes that the category description associated with a class in a classification scheme is seldom limited to a single topic.   Instead, the typical class is a gathering place for a set of related topics.  But that doesn’t mean that all the topics classed in the same number are part of a single undifferentiated neighborhood.  Rather the class is composed of a set of focal topics (topics in class-here and including notes; captions are often sources of focal topics as well) and their individual neighborhoods (the union of which can be referred to as the neighborhood of a set of points).

Using 782.292 Chant as our major exemplar, our presentation explored the many features of the DDC that define the membership of a class neighborhood.  Some of these features, like class-here and including notes, are additive in nature, while other features, like class-elsewhere and see-reference notes, are subtractive.  Additional features involved in the development of neighborhoods include subsumption (specialization, instantiation), the non-addition of standard subdivision notation for topics in standing room, index terms, hierarchical force, principles of assigning Dewey numbers, diachronic development of the DDC, the existence of the DDC in both full and abridged versions, the classification of bibliographic resources, and—a suggestion from our colleague Hope Olsen—the coordinate numbers of the class.  The presentation also addressed issues concerning the representation of topic neighborhoods in knowledge representation systems (a concern that also spilled over into the Zeng/Panzer/Salaba presentation).

(While we’re on the subject of neighborhoods, we also want to acknowledge the innovative application of neighborhoods to the Dewey context that has been adopted by the Topeka and Shawnee County [KS] Public Library.)