025.431: The Dewey blog

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.

Presidential Pets

Many U.S. presidents and their families have had well-known pets, as can be seen in the photo essay “Presidential Pets.”  Works about presidential pets are often historical and biographical, e.g., The Presidents and Their Pets, which is classed in 973.099 United States presidents—collected biography (built with 9 plus T2—73 United States plus 099 Collected persons treatment, as instructed under 930–990 History of ancient world; of specific continents, countries, localities; of extraterrestrial worlds and under 973.01–973.09 Standard subdivisions, which shows that only one zero instead of two should be used and which has the note, “As modified under 930–990”).  

There are also historical and biographical works about individual pets, e.g., First Dog, Fala, which is classed in 973.917092 Administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1933–1945—biography (built with 973.917 Administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1933–1945 plus T1—092 Persons). Even Millie’s Book: As Dictated to Barbara Bush sticks close to history and biography; the book is classed in 973.928092 Administration of George Bush, 1989–1993—biography (built with 973.928 Administration of George Bush, 1989–1993 plus T1—092 Persons).       

Biographical works about presidential pets are usually classed according to the advice in the “Families and close associates of the famous” part of the Manual note at T1—092 Persons: “Class a history of the immediate or extended family of a famous person with the biography of that person if the work strongly emphasizes the famous person. The same rule applies to the biography of a single relative or close associate of a famous person. However, if the relative or associate is important in his or her own right, or if the famous person is not strongly featured, class the life of the relative in the subject warranted by his or her own work, e.g., use 269.2092 for a biography of evangelist Ruth Carter Stapleton, sister of President Jimmy Carter, that treats the president only incidentally.”  Most presidential pets are not famous or important in their own right—that is, they are best known as pets of famous people, not best known as prize-winning show dogs or racehorses, not famous for having rescued humans, etc.—and usually the famous person is strongly featured.  Consequently, biographical works about presidential pets are usually classed in presidential biography numbers instead of in the pets’ own biography numbers, and T1—0929 Persons treatment of nonhumans is not used.

The newest presidential pet, Bo, is a Portuguese water dog.  The interdisciplinary number for the Portuguese water dog is 636.73 Working and herding dogs, where the breed is named in the including note and where there is an unsubdivided Relative Index entry for the breed.  The American Kennel Club puts the Portuguese water dog in the “working group.”  The Manual entry 636.72–636.75 Specific breeds and groups of dogs explains, “The main groupings used are those recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC) in The Complete Dog Book, 1997. The roughly corresponding groupings of the Kennel Club of United Kingdom (KC) are given in class-here notes when the names differ materially.”  An example of a work classed in 636.73 Working and herding dogs is Portuguese Water Dog.  

President Abraham Lincoln and His Wife, Mary Todd Lincoln

The United States is celebrating the bicentennial of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln (he was born February 12, 1809, the same day as Charles Darwin).  The Lincoln Bicentennial Commission web site has events listed for all 2009, plus much information about Lincoln and his family.  The Library of Congress, Smithsonian, and C-Span web sites—among many—also have information about Lincoln bicentennial exhibits and programs.

Comprehensive biographies of Lincoln are classed in 973.7092 Administration of Abraham Lincoln, 1861–1865—Persons (built with 973.7 Administration of Abraham Lincoln, 1861–1865    Civil War plus T1—092 Persons).  Examples are Lincoln and Lincoln: A Photobiography. 

Most biographies of President Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, are classed in the same number as President Lincoln’s biography, 973.7092.  Examples are Mary Todd Lincoln: A Biography and Mrs. Lincoln: A Life.  The Manual entry for T1—092 Persons has a section entitled “Families and close associates of the famous”:

Class a history of the immediate or extended family of a famous person with the biography of that person if the work strongly emphasizes the famous person. The same rule applies to the biography of a single relative or close associate of a famous person.

The First Hundred Days

Many news stories recently have looked forward to Barack Obama’s first hundred days as U.S. President, while looking back to the first hundred days of the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), e.g., “Shades of FDR in Obama’s First 100 Days”:

As Barack Obama plans his first 100 days as president, he has looked for inspiration to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who raced through his early days in office, spurring Congress to act.

“I hope my team can emulate (FDR)...not always getting it right, but projecting a sense of confidence and a willingness to try things, and experiment in order to get people working again,” the president-elect told “60 Minutes” in November. He said he was reading a book about the New Deal president's first 100 days in office in 1933.

At the height of the Depression, Roosevelt used his first three-plus months in office to quickly push through Congress a series of reforms aimed at righting the economy.

Since then, the first 100 days of each administration have become a benchmark to track the progress of the new president.
.....

Like many previous presidents, Obama has attempted to tamper expectations for his first 100 days in office.

“The first hundred days is going to be important, but it's probably going to be more like the first thousand days that makes a difference,” he told a Colorado radio station in an interview shortly before Election Day. “Most of the big challenges that we face, whether it's making college more affordable, or fixing our health care system so it works for everybody, or making sure that we've got a serious energy strategy, or winding down the war in Iraq, all those things are probably going to take longer than three months to complete.”

Works about the first hundred days of FDR’s presidency are classed in 973.917 Administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1933–1945, if the focus is broadly on conditions, policies, programs, and events of that time, e.g., FDR: The First Hundred Days. If the work is biographical or focuses on FDR as a person (or on FDR and his close associates), it is classed in 973.917092 United States—1933–1945—biography (built with 973.917 plus T1—092 Persons), e.g., The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope and Nothing to Fear: FDR's Inner Circle and the Hundred Days that Created Modern America.

Works about the first hundred days of Barack Obama’s presidency—or first thousand days, or his full administration—will be classed as appropriate in 973.932 Administration of Barack Obama, 2009– or 973.932092 United States—2009– —biography.

Are Nanodiamonds Evidence That a Comet Caused Catastrophe 12,900 Years Ago?

The Washington Post article “Gems Point to Comet as Answer to Ancient Riddle” begins:

Something dramatic happened about 12,900 years ago, and the continent of North America was never the same. A thriving culture of Paleo-Americans, known as the Clovis people, vanished seemingly overnight. Gone, too, were most of the largest animals: horses, camels, lions, mammoths, mastodons, saber-toothed cats, ground sloths and giant armadillos.

Scientists have long blamed climate change for the extinctions, for it was 12,900 years ago that the planet’s emergence from the Ice Age came to a halt, reverting to glacial conditions for 1,500 years, an epoch known as the Younger Dryas.

In just the last few years, there has arisen a controversial scientific hypothesis to explain this chain of events, and it involves an extraterrestrial calamity: a comet, broken into fragments, turning the sky ablaze, sending a shock wave across the landscape and scorching forests, creatures, people and anything exposed to the heavenly fire.

Now the proponents of this apocalyptic scenario say they have found a new line of evidence: nanodiamonds. They say they have found these tiny structures across North America in sediments from 12,900 years ago, and they argue that the diamonds had to have been formed by a high-temperature, high-pressure event, such as a cometary impact.

The BBC ran a similar article, “Diamond Clues to Beasts’ Demise.”  The Post and BBC were responding to an article in Science, “Nanodiamonds in the Younger Dryas Boundary Sediment Layer.”  In addition to describing the controversial hypothesis, the Post and BBC cite critics unconvinced by the proposal, including an expert on impacts who does not believe that a comet could have broken up in the manner proposed (both the Post and BBC) and a geologist who says that nanodiamonds are being identified at other places and times without credible evidence of impact (BBC). 

A work emphasizing the Science article’s argument—that the nanodiamonds in the Younger Dryas Boundary sedimentary layer were formed under “extraordinary conditions, well outside the range of Earth's typical surficial processes but common to cosmic impacts” and that the “diamonds provide strong evidence for Earth's collision with a rare swarm of carbonaceous chondrites or comets at the onset of the Younger Dryas cool interval, producing multiple airbursts and possible surface impacts”—would be classed in standing room at 551.39 Geologic work of other agents, where the LCSH “Comets—Collisions with Earth” has been mapped.  (Most works about the impact of extraterrestrial objects on the earth’s geology are limited to meteorites; they are classed in 551.397 Meteorites, e.g., The Sedimentary Record of Meteorite Impacts.)

According to the rule of application, a work emphasizing the effect of an extraterrestrial calamity—or the effect of climate change or of whatever happened about 12,900 years ago—on the Clovis people would be classed with the history and archaeology of the Clovis people in North America in 970.011 Early history to 1492.  An example of a work about the Clovis people is The Clovis Era in a Mammoth-Haunted Continent. 

A work emphasizing the effect on large mammals of whatever happened about 12,900 years ago would be classed with paleozoology of mammals in 569 Fossil Mammalia, or in a subdivision if the emphasis is on a particular kind of mammal.  Works about mammoths are classed in 569.67 Proboscidea (built with 569.6 Ungulates plus 7 from 599.67 Proboscidea, following instructions at 569.63-569.68  Surviving orders of ungulates), e.g., Mammoths: Giants of the Ice Age and The Fate of the Mammoth: Fossils, Myths, and History.

Piracy

Piracy has been in the news recently, e.g., “Greek Ship Released by Pirates,” “Somalia Pirates May Reduce Ransom Demand for [Saudi] Tanker (Update2),” “Pirates Who’s Who,” and “A Somali Pirate with Historical Leanings Might Scoff at the Outrage: The Lovable Rogue Beloved of Literature and Hollywood Was More Often a Thieving Thug.”

Works on piracy as a crime and pirates as criminals are classed in 364.164 Violent offenses against property, which has the note “Including piracy. . . .”  Examples are Pirates Aboard!: Forty Cases of Piracy Today and What Bluewater Cruisers Can Do about It and Pirates in Paradise: A Modern History of Southeast Asia’s Maritime Marauders.  Because piracy is in an including note and thus in standing room, no further addition is possible. 

Works that treat pirates’ expeditions as seafaring adventure are classed in 910.45 Ocean travel and seafaring adventures, which has the note “Including pirates' expeditions.” An example is Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life among the Pirates.

EPC Meeting 130

The Decimal Classification Editorial Policy Committee (EPC)* held Meeting 130 at the Library of Congress November 18-19.  The meeting was chaired by Caroline Kent (British Library); Anne Robertson (Australian Committee on Cataloguing) was re-elected vice-chair for another two-year term. 

Prior to Meeting 130, EPC held an electronic pre-meeting, and approved updates to historical periods; modernization of the treatment of radio programs, motion pictures, and television programs regardless of method of distribution; and updates to 510 Mathematics.  All but the last will be distributed to users in early 2009.  EPC also approved, with minor modification, the long-planned updates to groups of people in Table 1 and 305-306—we plan to release the updates in mid-2009.

EPC discussed two sets of updates to Table 2 (Geographic Areas, Historical Periods, Persons)—the conversion of the relocation information and corresponding changes in the reorganization of Scotland, England, and Wales presented in DDC 22; and further updates to the area table for Indonesia.  Both sets of changes require additional consultation with in-country groups.   EPC approved a final round of updates to Table 4 (Subdivisions of Individual Languages and Language Families, for Individual Literatures, for Specific Literary Forms), Table 5 (Ethnic and National Groups), and Table 6 (Languages)—most of the updates will be distributed to users in mid-2009.

In the schedules, EPC approved updates in the following areas: 001 Knowledge; 002 The book; 150 Psychology; 330 Economics; 390 Customs, etiquette, folklore; 400 Language (including the relocation of computational linguistics); 610 Medicine and health; 640 Home and family management; 650 Management and auxiliary services; 660 Chemical engineering & related technologies; 730 Sculpture and related arts; 740 Graphic arts and decorative arts; 750 Painting and paintings; 760 Printmaking and prints; 770.23 Photography as a profession, occupation, hobby; and 790 Recreational and performing arts. EPC also approved updates to the current historical periods in 947 Russia and 968 South Africa. Updates in many of these areas will be released during 2009.  EPC reviewed reports on work under way in 340 Law, and discussion papers on 370 Education and 780 Music. We will be seeking advice from users on a number of topics discussed at Meeting 130, including subjects in primary school curricula, language variations, meals, clothing, musical styles, and literary periods for Galician.

EPC reviewed several research initiatives from the OCLC Office of Research and the Dewey editorial team, plus draft guidelines for classifying photographs for the World Digital Library project—we’ll blog about these activities separately in the coming weeks.

On November 18, EPC held a special dinner in honor of assistant editor Winton Matthews and outgoing member Arlene Taylor.  Winton has indicated that he plans to retire in early 2009—we’ll share the resolution passed by EPC in his honor later on the occasion of his retirement.  Arlene Taylor served on EPC 2000–2008.  The committee's resolution honoring Arlene reads in part:

Whereas Arlene Taylor . . . participated in the development and review of Edition 22 (2003) and Abridged Edition 14 (2004) of the Dewey Decimal Classification, and in the publication of ongoing updates in WebDewey and Abridged WebDewey; . . . focused in particular on the needs of students and teachers of the DDC in her comments; . . . contributed “Teaching the Dewey Decimal Classification System” to a special issue of Cataloging & Classification Quarterly devoted to the DDC; . . . presented “Research in Knowledge Organization” at Meeting 116; . . . participated in the EPC planning retreat, “The Future of the Dewey Decimal Classification,” March 15-18, 2004, at OCLC;  . . . paid special attention to the treatment of groups of people, and in particular prompted improvements to the caption for people in early adulthood and the terminology for children of unmarried parents (the latter formerly “children born out of wedlock”);  . . . Be it resolved that the members of the Decimal Classification Editorial Policy Committee here assembled at the One Hundred Thirtieth Meeting of said committee, the DDC editors, and staff at the Library of Congress Dewey Section and OCLC express to Arlene Taylor their deep gratitude and appreciation for her service and commitment to the Committee and the Classification, their regret that she will no longer be one of their number, and their wishes for her continued success and happiness now that she has retired from the Committee.

*Photo at top of EPC at LC on November 18, 2008—from left to right: Beacher Wiggins (Library of Congress), Vice Chair Anne Robertson (Australian Committee on Cataloguing), Welna van Eeden (University of South Africa), Sandra Singh (University of British Columbia), Lyn McKinney (Billings [MT] Senior High School), EPC Chair Caroline Kent (British Library), Andrea Kappler (Evansville Vanderburgh [IN] Public Library), Arlene Taylor (University of Pittsburgh SIS, retired), David Farris (Library and Archives Canada), and Deborah Rose-Lefmann (Northwestern University).

And the winner is . . .

973.932.

Barring the unforeseen, the next period in U.S. history will begin on January 20, 2009, with the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44^th President of the United States.  The updates to Dewey are underlined below:

973.93       2001–

973.931             Administration of George W. Bush, 2001–2009

973.932             Administration of Barack Obama, 2009–

Global Positioning Systems (GPS)

In August, while on vacation backpacking in central Oregon, my sister and I began learning to use her new GPS receiver—fascinating! 

General explanations of the Global Positioning System are found at “GPS Tutorial” and “How GPS Receivers Work.”  The Russian Federation has a similar system, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS).  The European Commission (EC) and the European Space Agency (ESA) plan to launch a global navigation satellite system called GALILEO. 

Interdisciplinary works on GPS and other global navigation satellite systems are classed in 910.285 Computer applications in geography and travel, as shown by the class-here note at 910.285: “Class here interdisciplinary works on geographic information systems (GIS), global positioning systems (GPS).”  Examples are GPS for Dummies and Fun with GPS. 

The number 910.285 is built with standard subdivision notation T1—0285 Computer applications.  There is a scatter see reference at 910.285: “For an application of geographic information systems (GIS) or global positioning systems (GPS) to a subject, see the subject, plus notation T1—0285 from Table 1, e.g., GIS applications in mathematical geography 526.0285.”  Works on use of GPS in various outdoor recreational activities are classed in 796.50285 Computer applications in outdoor life (built with 796.5 Outdoor life plus notation T1—0285 Computer applications), e.g., GPS-Navigation [für Wanderer, Bergsteiger, Biker . . . ].  Works on the use of GPS for hiking and backpacking are classed in 796.510285 Computer applications in walking (built with 796.51 Walking, which has the class-here note “Class here backbacking, hiking,” plus T1—0285).

Works that emphasize engineering aspects of GPS receivers are classed under radio engineering in 621.384191 Direction and position finding, which has the class-here note “Class here GPS receivers,” e.g., Hacking GPS.

Incidentally, orienteering is a competitive sport, with World Cup competition sponsored by the International Orienteering Federation (the final round of World Cup 2008 will be held in Switzerland on the first weekend of October).  Works on the sport are classed in 796.58 Orienteering, e.g., Orienteering and Be Expert with Map & Compass: The Complete Orienteering Handbook.  Standard rules of orienteering require that competitors use map and compass, not GPS.   There are versions of the sport that allow competitors to use GPS, and GPS can be used in other ways, e.g., to make the special maps used in the sport.  Nevertheless, most works on use of GPS should not be classed in 796.58 Orienteering.

Darfur Conflict

We noticed a question on Autocat earlier this week concerning the correct number for the conflict in Darfur. The Darfur Conflict, which started in February of 2003, is a military conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan. Many works have been written about the conflict, e.g., Darfur's Sorrow: A History of Destruction and Genocide by M. W. Daly, War in Darfur and the Search for Peace by Alexander De Waal, and The Darfur Crisis by William R. Jeffries. These titles have the DDC number 962.4043 History of Sudan since 1985.

Why is the conflict classed in 962.4043 instead of the number for the same period in the history of Darfur itself, 962.7043 History of the Darfur region since 1985 (built with 962.7 History of Darfur region of Sudan plus 043 from 962.4043, following instructions at 962.701-962.704)? The reason why the conflict is classed with the history of the Sudan and not with the history of the Darfur region is that the war or conflict fought in a limited portion of a country is classed with the history of the country as a whole. This instruction is given in the following paragraphs from the Wars section of the 930-990 History of ancient world; of specific continents, countries, localities; of extraterrestrial worlds Manual entry (the pertinent sentences are underlined). This section was the subject of the November 2007 New and Changed Entries (in Word and PDF formats).

If most of a war’s fighting took place in one region or country, use the number for the history of the region or country. For example, class the War of the Austrian Succession with the history of Europe in 940.2526; class the Vietnam War with the history of Vietnam in 959.7043. Use the number for the history of the country as a whole, even when the war was fought within a limited portion of a country. For example, class the Second Seminole War, which was fought against the Seminole Indians in Florida, with the history of the United States in 973.57 (not with the history of Florida in 975.904).

For an ongoing war, use the number for the history of the region or country in which most of the fighting has occurred. For example, when World War II was introduced in Edition 14, most of the fighting had been in Europe; thus, World War II was classed with the history of Europe in 940.53 (not with world history in 909.824). If there is no one region or country in which most of the fighting has occurred, use the number for the history of the region or country where the war began.