Elliptical trainer

Those tips went down so well the other week, we thought we'd come right back at you with an even hotter one.

Q: I looked in the Relative Index of the print version of DDC 22 for the number for works about librarians, and it told me 020.92. But when I checked on WebDewey, the caption at 020.92 says it's for works about archivists. What's going on?

A: The number 020.92 is a built number, constructed by taking the base number 020 for Library and information sciences, dropping the terminal zero, and adding the "biography" number —092 Persons from Table 1: Standard Subdivisions. It isn't listed in the schedules of the print version of DDC, but it does have its own entry in WebDewey, where the caption is given as "Archivists, ..." The comma and ellipsis in the caption indicate that more than one Relative Index term is associated with the number, and that the single term given in the caption (in this case, "Archivists") is simply the one that comes first when those terms are ordered alphabetically. A complete list of Relative Index terms associated with a number is given at the bottom of that number's WebDewey display. Three terms are associated with 020.92: "Archivists," "Information scientists," and "Librarians."

The form of the caption for built numbers in WebDewey is explained in the WebDewey User Guide, in the section "WebDewey Record Structure," under "Caption":

For each DDC number in the schedules, tables, and manual, a caption (heading) defines the subject or subdivision that number represents. For built numbers, the caption given is the first Relative Index term (in alphabetic order) associated with that number. Therefore, if a built number contains more than one Relative Index term, note all the Relative Index terms associated to it; all associated Relative Index terms can apply to that number, not merely the alphabetically first Relative Index term associated to the built number in its caption. ... Captions with ellipses. Captions that end with ellipses occur only in records for built numbers. Built numbers do not appear in the DDC schedules but are constructed according to add instructions stated or implied in the schedules or tables. WebDewey uses the associated Relative Index term as the caption for a built number. If multiple Relative Index terms are associated with a built number, the first term in alphabetical order appears as the caption, followed by ellipses. (Ellipses, which also appear in browse results, indicate that more than one Relative Index term is associated to a given built number.)

Thanks to Arlene Taylor for the original idea for this tip, and to Winton and Juli for the details of the answer.

Comments

[g nagarajan]

nice explanation.