025.431: The Dewey blog

WebDewey Install

We will have a WebDewey install on Wednesday, November 11, 2020.

WebDewey will be unavailable for approximately 30-45 minutes beginning at 2:30pm Eastern Time.

Tomes & Talismans: teaching Dewey with a post-apocalyptic sci-fi twist

In 1986, Mississippi Public Broadcasting created a show so wild that many of us who watched it as kids thought we had imagined it in a fever dream. Tomes & Talismans was a 13-part television series that was designed to educate schoolchildren about how to find library resources, but with a dark, complex plotline: at the end of the 21^st century, an alien race called "the Wipers" colonizes a polluted and overcrowded Earth, destroying data technology. But that's just the prelude! One hundred years after that, a librarian named Ms. Bookhart is the only human left on the planet, and must teach another alien race called "the Users" to use the resources of the last library on Earth to find a way to defeat the Wipers.

I was never one of those kids who always knew they wanted to be a librarian, but this series really made an impact on me after watching it in my elementary school's library in the fifth grade. I'm sure it helped guide me to a love of science fiction (I only wish I had had access to Doctor Who back then!). Library workers and Dewey fans will find a lot to love in Tomes & Talismans, especially in episode five, which is all about the DDC.

Mississippi Public Broadcasting is hosting an event on Thursday October 17^th to celebrate the series and they'll be making episodes available for streaming. Episodes will be available online for free until November 17^th. The show is worth a watch, if only for the incredible synth music of the intro and the truly fantastic 1980s hairstyles.

Register for November 2020 eCourse: Using WebDewey and Understanding Dewey Decimal Classification

It's time for another round of Using WebDewey and Understanding Dewey Decimal Classification, brought to you by ALA Publishing in cooperation with OCLC. Dewey Editor Violet Fox will serve as the instructor for this 4-week facilitated eCourse starting on Monday, November 2, 2020.

Participants will gain a comprehensive grounding in Dewey Decimal Classification® (DDC) principles and practices. Starting with the basics, this eCourse will teach you how to:

• Navigate within WebDewey to determine appropriate DDC numbers
• Build numbers using the WebDewey number building tool
• Apply numbers that help patrons browse your library

Plus, experienced users will benefit from guidance building more complex numbers and learn how to make more effective use of WebDewey. Lessons are asynchronous so you can review course materials and complete exercises as your schedule allows.

I love being a part of this course, which always includes Dewey users from around the world. It's a lot of fun to see those lightbulb moments when students begin to understand the concepts of the DDC! To learn more and register for this eCourse, please visit the ALAstore.

Happy retirement, Michael!

Guest post by Julianne Beall

Last week we held a virtual retirement celebration for Michael Cantlon, who retired September 30, 2020, after 41 years of service as a Dewey classifier at the Library of Congress. His colleagues in the Dewey Program contributed slides and pictures to a PowerPoint presentation expressing their appreciation and best wishes for a happy retirement. One classifier, Cat Eiche, contributed to the presentation by raiding the Dewey archives for pictures of Dewey staff that included Michael before his hair turned gray—and other items that amused her, like a list of office equipment that included a Zenith 100 microcomputer (on which we first tried editing DDC on a computer) and a Diablo 630 printer.

Michael's primary areas of expertise were DDC 100s and 200s, but he also classified and trained classifiers in the 400s, 700s, 800s, and 900s. His colleagues expressed appreciation for the deep knowledge of the DDC that he shared.

Michael made many contributions to Dewey editorial work over the years, but mostly behind the scenes, making proposals and giving guidance directly to the editors. However, for DDC 20 and 21, he did much editorial work on the 200s and on the separate 200 Religion Class publications reprinted from those editions with expanded indexing. For the latter, see:

• 200 Religion Class (from DDC 20)
• 200 Religion Class (from DDC 21)

And today Michael has an exhibit among the EPC 142C exhibits now available for review at oc.lc/deweyexhibits: EPC 142C-S20.1 Religious conversion.

We all look forward to the day when the Library of Congress is fully open and we can give Michael our best wishes for a happy retirement in person.

EPC 142C exhibits available for review

Seven new proposals to revise Dewey are now available for public review at oc.lc/deweyexhibits. The Editorial Policy Committee will vote on them during the last week of October. The proposals for this meeting are: 

• EPC 142C-S02.1 - Library programs
• EPC 142C-S20.1 - Religious conversion
• EPC 142C-S36.1 - Vaping and vaping devices
• EPC 142C-S41.1 - Sign languages
• EPC 142C-S62.1 - Arms and armor
• EPC 142C-T2.1 - Counties of Kenya
• EPC 142C-T2.2 - Regions of Denmark

We're happy for any feedback, whether positive or negative; feel free to provide comments on this post, in the Dewey Contributors Google Group, or by email to dewey@oclc.org or an EPC member.

One for the history books

A few DDC users have recently asked about a perennial issue: classifying topics as history in the 900s vs. elsewhere in the schedules. Does putting a topic in the 900s diminish it, segregating it into history, or honor it, by recognizing it as historical importance? We can’t answer that for you; that depends on your collection, and your perspective. But we can run through some of the relevant guidance in the classification.

Our first stop is the Manual note for 900. It starts as follows:

Use 900 for the story of events that have transpired, or an account of the conditions that have prevailed, in a particular place or region. Use 001-899 for the history of a specific subject [plus standard subdivision T1—09]

That may be the easy part. Since the DDC is organized first by discipline, works of history go in the 900s, while history of a topic in another discipline usually goes with the topic, with a standard subdivision to indicate history.

How about if a work is about a specific event? The same Manual note says:

Depending upon their impact, class specific events either in 900 or in specific disciplines in 001-899. Use 930-990 for events that are important enough to affect the general social life and history of the place, regardless of any discipline involved, e.g., the sinking of the Lusitania 940.4514; the assassination of Abraham Lincoln 973.7092; the 1906 San Francisco earthquake 979.461051.

It’s not necessarily wrong to find works about such events outside of the 900s if that’s the disciplinary focus—the note gives as an example a number in the 360s about the assassination of John F. Kennedy in the discipline of criminology.

This, too, is easy enough, if we’re talking about events that occurred over 100 years ago. What about recent events? Then, guidance like “events that are important enough to affect the general social life and history of the place” can sound pretty subjective. Consider the author’s perspective: do they describe the event as an important historical one? The Manual note instructs you to prefer 900 if in doubt.

To sum up, here are a few points to consider when classifying such works:

1. What’s the discipline of the work? If it’s framed as history, you probably want the 900s.
2. Did the event described by the work have broad, enduring importance? If so, you probably want the 900s.
3. If in doubt whether the event had historic importance, prefer the 900s.

I’ll explore this same question about the 900s vs. the rest of the schedules in relation to groups of people in a forthcoming blog post. Stay tuned, and feel free to reach out with comments or questions!

Defund the police: classification decisions

Here in the U.S., the police abolition movement has gained significant momentum since the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in May 2020 and the continuing protests. Promoted with the phrase "defund the police," the movement argues that policing in the U.S. is inextricably tied with white supremacy and the capitalist interests of the ruling class and cannot be meaningfully reformed. Advocates of this argument propose dismantling police departments and creating alternate services which focus on building structures which support communities.

One of the classifiers at the Library of Congress recently received a Cataloging-in-Publication copy of a book discussing defund the police for a juvenile audience. The editors discussed multiple places where works on this topic might be classed. The scatter class-elsewhere note at 322.44 Reform movements reads "Class a movement seeking to reform a specific social function with the function, e.g., women's suffrage movement 324.623, welfare reform 361.68." So we looked to the social services hierarchy to find the class for Police services, 363.2.

One potential class for works on defunding the police is 363.20681, a number built from 363.2 Police services and T1—0681 Organization and financial management. The manual note at T1—068 says that the subdivisions of T1—068 parallel the subdivisions of 658, so reviewing 658.1 and its subdivisions can help you see what would be involved in T1—0681, including topics like financial management (658.15) and reorganization and dissolution of enterprises (658.16).

A broader option would be 363.2068, using T1—068 Management. This might be a good choice for a work on police abolition that included a significant amount of discussion about personnel management or marketing management (for example, in pitching community-oriented alternatives to policing).

One option you might consider is 363.208996073, a number built from 363.2 Police services + T1—089 Ethnic and national groups + T5—96073 African Americans. This could be an appropriate choice for works focusing on police service and racial discrimination against African Americans, but consider that other class numbers might be better choices. Check out our Black Lives Matter blog post to see other potential class numbers for works focused on the relationship between police and African Americans.

The specific book we were discussing introduced the topic by explaining the death of George Floyd as well as other police killings of Black people, but went on to focus on the general concept of what police abolition means, focusing on the implications of defunding and reinvesting money in other social services, so the editors suggested 363.20681. We anticipate more works in this area, so your feedback on where additional clarification or development is needed is helpful! Feel free to get in touch at dewey@oclc.org.

Reclassifying the 200s at Lawrence Public Library

    Guest post by Emily McDonald, Lawrence Public Library

Lawrence Public Library (Kansas) is always looking for ways to be more inclusive and celebrate diversity in our collections and catalog. Our Celebration Picture Book collection was expanded to include more non-Christian holiday stickers and "Undocumented immigrants" was added to all the necessary catalog records before we outright replace "Illegal aliens" later in the year, what was next? When Kate Ray, former LPL cataloger, shared Rebecca Green’s guest post on the 220-299 optional arrangement with me back in May 2019, we knew this arrangement was the perfect fit for our library.  We wanted to use this arrangement because of its equitable treatment of religions rather than giving the bulk of the schedule to Christianity. It has the added benefit of allowing all the religions packed into the 290s to have room to be built out more than what we can do in our system with the current DDC. The Dewey call numbers at LPL are limited to 8 characters (including the decimal), which means we are not able to drill down to specific topics in certain areas, such as Buddhist doctrines. While the optional arrangement can still exceed our 8 character limit, it helped us get specific topics next to each other on the shelf.

After receiving project approval from the supportive leadership team in June, the project was planned for mid-August. Mid-August is a slow time at the library in between the end of Summer Reading and the beginning of school, making it ideal for big projects like this. It also left us with some time to prep the collections before the update and inform staff about the changes. The first thing we did was coordinate with Collection Development to weed the 200s. We did not want to update more books than we had to because of the size of this project. A week before the project, we shelf read, looked for any missing items, and purged old records out of the system. We also posted "coming soon" signs before the project to let patrons know big changes were coming and that the collection would be off the shelf for a while.  

The first collection we updated was our biggest collection, adult non-fiction. On August 12, 2019, almost 1,500 books were pulled off the shelf to be reclassified. While the books were in the cataloging department, we updated the bibliographic call number, item call number, a local classification field, and the spine label. Even with 4 full-time catalogers, we expected it would take us a week to update the adult collection. We were pleasantly surprised when it only took us three days. On the afternoon of August 14th, the collection was back on the shelf. We spent another few days updating the various children’s collection, large print, audiobooks, graphic novels, and DVDs (about 500 more items). Staff holds were placed on any checked out items and system alerts were set up for any non-viable (lost, missing, etc.) items that might go through our automated returns sorter to prevent books being reshelved with the old DDC. By the end of the project and after the checked out items trickled in, 2,500 items were updated from our adult and children collections. 

It took weeks of planning, weeding, and prep to make this project go off without a hitch. The biggest help was creating a crosswalk between the DDC numbers and the optional numbers. I also recommend making a "pull list." Kate used our crosswalk to pull books off the shelf in their new order. For example, she pulled 299.511 first because the new number is 221.1. She also labeled the books she pulled first as "shelf 1," which corresponded with the first shelf in the collection.This made it easier to return items to the shelf without rearranging them and required minimal book shifting.

Display showing the new 200s numbers at Lawrence Public Library

After the project, we posted signs with the new numbers to inform patrons of the changes. We anxiously waited for patron feedback, but never received any. However, we did get a few positive comments on a social media post about the project. We also created a 220-299 Project Packet for libraries interested in making the change. The packet contains a DDC to optional arrangement crosswalk, action plan, and a copy of the optional arrangement schedule.

Going forward, we hope to make the 220-299 optional numbers more accessible to any library interested in making the change. As we catalog new books, we are updating the master record in WorldCat, adding a new 082 field containing the optional number with the $m optional designation. We are trying to keep the arrangement inclusive by adding numbers of our own as needed. During the project, we created our own number within the arrangement for Satanism. It is a recognized religion and we moved it from 133.42 to 299.71, our local number. Since the Witchcraft update, we have updated our documentation to make sure 299.9 is expanded to include any potential built numbers.

Ranking editorial priorities: looking for feedback

To make Dewey the best it can be, we rely on users like you to give us feedback about how we can best use our time in making revisions. This very brief poll asks you to rate the importance of topics that have been identified as needing development. It's also a chance to give us information about topics that might not be on our radar. We'll be repeating this poll a few times a year to ensure we're making the most effective use of our resources. 

The September 2020 poll is available at https://forms.gle/E73bxu6JBmZuPdWF6. We'll have it open for three weeks, until September 22. This is your chance to weigh in on how the DDC should be changed; we're glad for your feedback!

What makes the DDC so powerful; or, How do I build a number about using astrology to determine the best care for kittens? An explainer

Because I’ve been sequestered at home for far too long, I've been rereading the classic history of the DDC, The Eighteen Editions of the Dewey Decimal Classification by John P. Comaromi. Comaromi was the editor in chief of Dewey from 1980 to 1991, and he describes the history of the classification in technical critiques of decisions made as well as describing the personalities involved. Reading his book is a great way to recognize all the multiple points at which the development of the DDC might have gone in different directions, if not for personality quirks or external pressures.

Since I'm at the part of the book where he's talking about one of my favorite things about the DDC, I'll take that as an opportunity to talk about add instructions. Add instructions were formerly referred to as "divide like" notes; the concept itself has been present since Edition 1 of the DDC back in 1876. Add instructions are absolutely the best thing about Dewey! But they're also an aspect that non-catalogers don't necessarily know about, since they can be challenging or impossible to spot without guidance provided by the schedules.

There are a few different types of add instructions that appear in Dewey. One of the most frequent is adding from one of the six Dewey tables. For example, at the number 737.49 Coins of specific countries, a note tells you to "Add to base number 737.49 notation […] from Table 2." So a work about Chinese coins would be classed at 737.4951 (that is, the base number 737.49 + the Table 2 number for China, 51).

A slightly different type of add instructions tells you to add one part of a number to another base number. For example, the number for astronomical works about moons is 523.98 Satellites and rings. At that number, you'll find the note "Add to base number 523.98 the numbers following 523.4 in 523.43-523.48." That's a little tricky to parse, but it's easier when you can look over at the 523.4 hierarchy and see that that's where the numbers for non-Earth planets in our solar system are found. Once you know that, for example, the number for Mars is 523.43, you can follow the instructions given above: Add to base number 523.98 the numbers following 523.4 in 523.43, that is, 3. So the class number for the moons of Mars is 523.98 + 3, that is, 523.983.

And my very favorite thing in Dewey is when you get the chance to add notation 001-999. That means that, at certain numbers, you can add the whole set of Dewey numbers (like, all of them, from 001 all the way to 999) to a base number! Let's see what that looks like in practice with the example 133.58 Application of astrology to specific topics. The add note there says "Add to base number 133.58 notation 001-999." That means that you can add any Dewey number to the base number to reflect what the astrology of that subject is. Do you have a book about astrology and crime? Just take the base number 133.58 and add the number for crime, 364.1, and smash 'em together, so the number for the application of astrology to crime is 133.583641. A book on the astrology of making pizza? 133.58 + 641.8248 = 133.586418248! A book on the astrology of caring for kittens? 133.58636807!

It may just be my isolation-addled brain saying this, but if that kind of number building isn't fun, I don't know what is!!

"Cosmic kitten" by Nicolas Raymond is licensed under CC BY 3.0.

A heaping side dish of new numbers

EPC 142B-S64.1 Fermented foods and drinks was approved by the Editorial Policy Committee (EPC) at the end of July. Although the focus of the proposal was expanding the provisions for fermented foods and drinks, we also made a few other revisions. We hope these new numbers and new index terms don't leave a sour taste in your mouth.

The previous caption at 641.46, "Pickling, brining, smoking," was somewhat limited, although a class-here note expanded the scope of the class to include all works of food-related chemical preservation. After some discussion with EPC members, we've revised the caption to "Pickling, smoking, other forms of chemical preservation." We're hoping this change, along with new numbers for 641.463 Fermenting and 641.465 Smoking, will help classifiers recognize this as the appropriate place for works about chemical preservation for food.

The idea of "side dishes" is one that's culturally defined, since one person's side dish is another person's main dish—in fact, the editors had an interesting side discussion with one of the EPC members about whether fondue was a main dish or a side dish. While there was already a number for side dishes in general (641.81), we didn't have a good place for works about specific foods that were treated as side dishes, or that are traditionally thought of as side dishes. We've now got ranges of numbers available for those works: 641.8113-641.8117 Side dishes made with a specific food derived from plant crops and domesticated animals, and 641.8119 Side dishes made with game, seafood, miscellaneous foods. As an example of how to use this new range, you can build a number just for works about side dishes made primarily from cabbage, like sauerkraut or kimchi.

We've also added a whole lot of indexing terms to help people find the right class number for specific fermented foods and drinks. For example, kefir and kumiss, both fermented drinks made from various types of animals milk, are now indexed to two numbers: 641.26 Nonalcoholic beverages for works about the beverages themselves, and 641.875 Nonalcoholic beverages for works about preparing those beverages. Works about kombucha, a fermented tea drink, can also be classed at those numbers. More work needs to be done at those classes in the future to provide new numbers for individual beverages—the editorial work is never complete!

Finally, I wanted to point out that the impetus for this exhibit was a comment on this blog. I posted about a few small revisions to the 640s in early April (Flash exhibit: Cooking and baking), and later that month someone mentioned in a comment that it would be a good idea to add numbers for recipe books with fermented foods. We agreed and the result was this exhibit. We really do need your feedback for helping us identify areas where Dewey should be expanded, and we want to work with you to make that happen! On this proposal we were lucky to work with Greta Heng, University of Illinois MLIS student; it is much better than it would have been without her research skills. Take a look at the Dewey Contributors site, where we explain how changes to Dewey happen, and get in touch with us at dewey@oclc.org with your ideas.

It’s all a conspiracy!

Are you seeing more literature about conspiracy theories? Scholars who study them have seen them proliferate in the internet’s decentralized media landscape. You may have encountered them yourself on social media.

In the DDC, works on conspiracy theories have long gone in the hierarchy of 001.9 Controversial knowledge, though subject to the scatter class-elsewhere note instructing you to class controversial knowledge concerning a specific subject with the subject.

One of our partners at the Library of Congress alerted us to growing literature about conspiracy theories, so we created an exhibit to propose a new number for them. EPC approved it in their July electronic meeting, so let’s welcome the newest Dewey number: 001.98 Conspiracy theories!

The new class has a similar scatter note to the one at 001.9, to reiterate that works on conspiracy theories concerning a subject still go with a subject. The new class is perfect for works about conspiracy theories themselves, and those that deal with a variety of conspiracy theories across disciplines, such as Are conspiracy theories valid? It may also be appropriate for works on a single conspiracy theory with wide-ranging scope (e.g., Ancient aliens and the Illuminati, though don’t overlook 366 Secret associations and societies for works about the Illuminati).

When classifying such works, don’t forget about the first-of-two rule. Works on conspiracy theories may well have overlap with other topics at 001.9. For example, a work positing a conspiracy covering up the existence of the Loch Ness monster would class at 001.944 Monsters and related phenomena.

Revisions to witchcraft and Wicca

Editorial Policy Committee meeting 142B wrapped up at the end of July, with six proposals considered and approved. One of those proposals was on the topic of witchcraft, a frequently critiqued topic in the DDC, so I wanted to take this opportunity to elaborate on the changes approved, now available in WebDewey.

There are three primary areas where books about modern Western witchcraft are classed:

• 133.43 Magic and witchcraft and 133.44 Spells, curses, charms
• 203.3 Witchcraft
• 299.94 Religions based on modern revivals of witchcraft [caption prior to revision]

The most prominent complaint about the treatment of witchcraft was that most works were ending up in the 133.4 hierarchy, a class focused on occultism. This was especially a problem with works about spells and charms—since the 130s were the only area that had an explicit place for spells, nearly all works about spells were being classed there, even if they had titles naming a religious practice, such as The only book of Wiccan spells you'll ever need. The Manual note 130 vs. 200 directed catalogers to use the 200s for religious works, but then went on to tell catalogers to prefer the 130s if they weren't sure if a work was religious or not; since there is still a significant cultural stigma surrounding witchcraft in many areas, this meant catalogers were not recognizing when these works should be classed in the 200s. How could we revise the DDC to direct attention to the fact that a significant number of these works are religious/spiritually based, and thus should be classed in the 200s?

The proposal text has more information about the multiple approaches I considered, in consultation with people who practice various forms of witchcraft and Paganism (you can view the full 8-page proposal). The final proposal which was approved has a mix of new numbers, new notes, and new manual instructions to help classifiers find the best place for these works.

New numbers include 203.32 Spells, curses, charms for works that are not based in a specific cultural tradition of witchcraft, and 299.942 Wicca. With the add instructions given at 299.942, numbers can now be built for works about Wicca spells (299.942332) and, for example, therapeutic Wicca spells (299.9423326). (This new spells number can also be used with other religions with "Add as instructed under 290" notation, such as Santería.)

A new note at 203.3 Witchcraft helps clarify what should not be classed in that number. This note, what we call a scatter class-elsewhere, now reads "Class specific cultural traditions of witchcraft with the tradition, e.g., witchcraft as practiced in African religions in 299.6133, religions based on modern revivals of witchcraft in the Western world in 299.94". So what should be classed at 203.3? A new class-here note reads "Class here interdisciplinary works on witchcraft". Works about comparative studies of witchcraft should be classed in 203.3 when they don't focus on a specific cultural tradition.

Finally, what I consider the most significant change: instead of a manual note that directs catalogers to place works in the 130s if in doubt, the manual note, now renamed 200 vs. 130, directs catalogers who are not sure if a work is religious/spiritual to prefer a number in the 200s. This helps ensure that even when catalogers are not as familiar with witchcraft as they are more widely practiced religions, they should take time to discern where a specific work should be classed and not default to the 130s. My hope is these changes, taken together, result in more appropriate placement of works about witchcraft, and more of those works being classed in the 200s.

Thank you to everyone who gave feedback on this proposal, including Jane Cothron (Lincoln County Library District), Helen Imre (Franklin Township Public Library), and Rebecca DeLio (Denver Public Library), as well as others, including both witchcraft practitioners and library workers. Their feedback was incredibly helpful in making these revisions happen.

Results of EPC meeting 142B

The Editorial Policy Committee meets in person once a year to review proposals to revise the DDC, but there are also periodic online meetings. The most recent online meeting, EPC 142B, took place from July 6-31, 2020. EPC reviewed six exhibits; you can find the full text of those proposals at oc.lc/deweyexhibits. The results of EPC 142B:

• EPC 142B-S00.1 Conspiracy theories: approved
• EPC 142B-S20.1 Witchcraft: approved with two changes:
  • Added a new class-elsewhere note at 299.675 for hoodoo not presented as religious practice, replacing existing see-also note
  • Added Relative Index term "Hoodoo—religious practice" to 299.675
• EPC 142B-S28.1 Pentecostalism: approved with one change:
  • Changed caption of 269.4 to "Pentecostalism and charismatic movement"
• EPC 142B-S35.1 Space forces: approved
• EPC 142B-S64.1 Fermented foods and drinks: approved with three changes:
  • Changed caption at 641.46 to "Pickling, smoking, other forms of chemical preservation"
  • Added a new class-here note at 641.46 for comprehensive works on chemical preservation
  • Instead of just one base number for side dishes made with a specific food derived from plant crops and domesticated animals (641.811), created separate base numbers for side dishes from plant crops and domesticated animals (641.8113-641.8117) and from game, seafood, miscellaneous foods (641.8119)
• EPC 142B-S79.1 BASE jumping: approved

We're working on implementing these revisions to WebDewey; look for them to be published in the next few weeks. Please let us know if you have any questions about these changes or about the revision process itself.

Victims of crimes and victims of war

Guest post by Julianne Beall

We have recently expanded the social welfare provisions for crime victims, providing numbers for victims of specific crimes under 362.88 Victims of crimes. Here are examples of works previously classed in 362.88 that can now be classed in more specific numbers.

• Homicide: The hidden victims: A guide for professionals 362.882 Homicide
• Given Kachepa: Advocate for human trafficking victims 362.8851 Human trafficking (plus T1—092 for biography)
• Stalking: A handbook for victims  362.888 Stalking (plus T1—09 plus T2—73 for United States)
• Assisting victims of terrorism: Towards a European standard of justice 362.889317 Terrorism
• Identity theft victims' assistance guide: The process of healing 362.8896393 Identity theft (plus T1—09 plus T2—73 for United States)

We have relocated social welfare for victims of war from 362.88 to 363.3498 War (previously, there was dual provision, with the same topic being classed in both places). Victims of war crimes, however, are now classed in an extension of 362.88: 362.88938 War crimes.

We have also separated the Table 1 provisions for victims of crimes and victims of war. Victims of crimes continue to be classed in T1—086949 Victims of crimes, but victims of war are now classed in a new number, T1—086948 Victims of war.

Flash exhibit: traveling and Travellers

The COVID-19 pandemic has given the world a different perspective on traveling, and here in the U.S., many are still staying close to home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. I've been thinking a lot about the joys of travel lately, which spurred the development of this flash exhibit discussing travel and Travellers.

Even those who are traveling freely within their countries or outside of them have a new perspective on health while traveling these days. In Dewey the relevant number is 613.68 Travel health. To add more access to direct classifiers to this number, I've added a new RI term for Tourism—health and mapped the LCSH Travel—health aspects.

Even if we can't travel in real life, we can enjoy artwork dedicated to travel. Books focusing on the artistic aspects of travel posters are favorites of mine, so I've mapped the LCSH Travel posters to 741.674 Commercial posters. I've also added a new built number 741.6740993 Posters—arts—New Zealand, to demonstrate the pattern in that area.

One of my favorite New Zealand travel posters from the television show "Flight of the Conchords" (shared with my sincere admiration for such a successful campaign against COVID-19!)

Speaking of travels, I found an opportunity to update the provisions we have in Dewey for the ethnic groups of Travelling People in Great Britain. LCSH has four different headings, which correspond to the recognition of these groups by UK and Ireland law:

• Irish Travellers (Nomadic people)
• Scottish Travellers (Nomadic people)
• English Travellers (Nomadic people)
• Welsh Travellers (Nomadic people)

To clarify how the LC subject headings relate to Dewey's Table 5 numbers for groups of people, I've added additional mappings.

• At T5—916 Celts, I've mapped the LC heading Irish Travellers (Nomadic people)
• At T5—91497 Romany people, I've mapped the LC headings English Travellers (Nomadic people) and Welsh Travellers (Nomadic people)
• The Scotland community has two groups of Travellers, one of Gaelic origin and the other of Romani origin. So I've mapped the LC heading Scottish Travellers (Nomadic people) to both numbers, T5—916 and T5—91497.

Of course these identities cannot be cleaved as cleanly as this mapping makes it seem, and different identities have merged and split throughout the centuries (read more about the complex history and culture of Gypsy, Roma, and Irish Traveller Communities in Britain). But indexing these headings in WebDewey can give catalogers a good place to start in finding the best place to classify a work.

If you're unfamiliar with these ethnic groups and want to learn more, this five-minute video is charming and informative: "Roads from the Past: A Short History of Britain's Gypsies, Roma, and Travellers".

 Wishing safe travels to all, whether down the block or further afield.

Recording of Dewey virtual update

Last week's webinar was a tremendous success! We'd like to thank everyone who attended, including people from 20 different countries, representing five continents. While it's always nice to share Dewey news over breakfast at ALA Annual, there's much to be said for this broader reach. (Special thanks to those of you who joined at quite early or late hours by local time!)

A recording of the session here is available on YouTube (with captions!). If you're part of the WebDewey Community Center, you can view a recording and the presentation slides here (login required). As always, feel free to get in touch if you have further questions, and stay tuned for future sessions!

Art in the Stacks: Dewey-inspired artwork

Back in February 2020, I visited a library in the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis to see their Dewey-inspired art, and I'm finally taking a moment to share what I saw!

The Anoka County Library has nine branches, one of which was recently renovated and reopened in 2019. The new building of the Centennial branch is bright and airy, with a lot of open space and windows, which made finding a place for artwork a challenge. The library system's executive director, Maggie Snow, was inspired by library art she'd seen in Sweden to purchase artworks from local artists that would be placed on the shelves. Eight pieces were selected to display alongside the library's collection, loosely themed on the Dewey Decimal Classification.

Each of the artworks are accompanied on the shelf by brief artists statements. I'll share three of my favorites.

"Shaman Paddler" by artist Wayne Potratz features a cast metal and stone tribute to the beauty of Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Its location is close to 977.675, the classification for the Boundary Waters.

 

"Garden of Words" by artist Karine Rupp-Stanko features paper blossoms spelling out the word "flower" in the seven most represented languages of Anoka County: Arabic, Dakota, English, Hmong, Russian, Spanish, and Somali. This artwork is located in the language section of the library's collection, the Dewey 400s.

 

Finally, artist Cecilia Schiller's work, "Running Wild," is placed in the technology section of Dewey, the 600s. The finger-operated machinery "expresses in microcosm the interconnectedness of the world." So cool!

Read more about the Anoka County Library art project in this 2019 news article: "Art in the stacks: More than books on the shelves". If your library has Dewey-inspired art, please let us know, we'd love to feature it here on the blog!

New proposals available for EPC meeting 142B

Six exhibits will be discussed at the Editorial Policy Committee online meeting 142B, taking place during July 2020. You can find the text of all six proposals to revise Dewey at oc.lc/deweyexhibits.

• EPC 142B-S00.1 Conspiracy theories
• EPC 142B-S20.1 Witchcraft
• EPC 142B-S28.1 Pentecostalism
• EPC 142B-S35.1 Space forces
• EPC 142B-S64.1 Fermented foods and drinks
• EPC 142B-S79.1 BASE jumping

We're happy for any feedback, whether positive or negative; feel free to provide comments on this blog post, in the Dewey Contributors Google Group, or via email to dewey@oclc.org or any EPC member. Please submit your feedback by Friday July 24, so EPC members can consider it before they begin the voting process on July 27.

Dewey Demystified video series

Guest post by Kate Brown, Adult Non-Fiction Librarian, Clinton-Macomb Public Library (Michigan)

In the months that the Clinton-Macomb Public Library has been closed due to COVID-19 we've offered programs through Zoom and on Facebook Live. We've had story times, trainings on databases and book discussions and recommendations. Our enlivened Facebook page seemed a good place for a program I've always wanted to do on the basics of the Dewey Decimal system. Many Library customers seem mystified by the arrangement of non-fiction titles. I suspected that a basic understanding of the Dewey decades would enhance their ability to browse the collection productively and enjoyably. With this in mind, our four-person Adult Non-Fiction team put together a five-day Facebook Live series called Dewey Demystified.

We each have responsibilities for different Dewey decades. We decided right away to present on our own decades, so we were able to work with areas of the collection that we knew well and to focus on the most popular sections within those areas. While the program was intended to highlight the types of materials found in each Dewey decade, it also ended up being something of a team-building experience, as we met frequently over Zoom to consult with each other and to practice our presentations.

We brought our own styles and ways of presenting the material to the project. We all created PowerPoint slides, but we didn't try to make all the slides look the same. In choosing the images of books we considered the timeliness, popularity and attractiveness of materials, as well as how representative they were of the Dewey decade. We made sure that there wasn't a day when only one person presented and tried to keep each of the daily program under twenty minutes. Whenever possible we made comments and asked questions during our co-workers' presentations. A friend of the Department Manager's came up with the idea of using the app My Talking Pet to make it appear that her dog, Sally, was contributing to the program. Sally gave an amusing introduction that touched on Melvil Dewey's issues with women. Later Sally wondered why her little cousin, a wolf, was not in the Dewey decade with dogs. She also recommended two books of dog-focused poetry that happened to be favorites of mine.

We've had positive feedback on our program and the videos remain available on the Clinton-Macomb Public Library's Facebook page (parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). We'd be happy to provide more details and to answer any questions if you'd like to offer a similar program.