Tags and Dewey

We’re sure many blogs in library and information science land will be buzzing about Kevin Kelly’s piece in yesterday’s New York Times Magazine, “Scan This Book!” (pp. 42-49, 64, 71 in the print version).  We’ll comment on Kelly’s observation about Dewey: “Because tags are user-generated, when they move to the realm of books, they will be assigned faster, range wider and serve better than out-of-date schemes like the Dewey Decimal System, particularly in frontier or fringe areas like nanotechnology or body modification” (p. 45).

Kevin Kelly, it’s not an either/or thing—tags and classification systems complement each other similar to the way subject headings and classification numbers have complemented each other for years. Categories in a classification system represent concepts—the number associated with each category is a language-independent representation of those concepts.  We update Dewey continuously and regularly associate additional terminology with categories explicitly and through mappings. The win for tags and classification systems is to encourage associations between the two—aren’t tags just another set of vocabularies that could enrich Dewey and for which a language-independent standard such as the DDC might provide a useful underlying switching language?

By the way, there are a few Dewey numbers related to those “frontier or fringe areas” named by Kelly. Nanotechnology has a category of its own in engineering, 620.5 Nanotechnology (in French, 620.5 Nanotechnologie; in German, 620.5 Nanotechnologie; in Italian, 620.5 Nanotecnologia; in Russian, 620.5 Нанотехнология; in Spanish, 620.5 Nanotecnología—starting to see the “language-independent” picture?).  There are explicit index entries for nanotechnology in economics (338.476205) and commerce (381.456205).  There’s also a general instruction in the record for 620.5 concerning the classification of applied nanotechnology: “Class a specific application of nanotechnology with the technology, e.g., nanotechnology used in manufacturing thin-film circuits 621.3815.  If you are into body modification, we have you covered at 391.65 Tattooing and scarification (with a reference to 391.7 for body piercing).

Comments

[pinch]

great site, I learn a lot about nanotechnologie

[North Shore Funding]

I was wondering when we were going to overhaul the dewey decimal system.. With the advances in technology it is about time.. Thje tags system seems like a great start..

[realestateglendaleca]

nice blog... i really don't have idea of tag system but its very interesting quotes...

[Online Casino]

Oh man, I remember the dewey decimal system..it was during my early years in life. It really needs to be overhauled now.

[online degree]

i study the system recently in my course. Thank god i see this blog to have some info.

[Gary From Think-CreditCards.com]

Very interesting blog. Can't say i really knew much about it before, but keep it up!

[Terry (thecar finder) Bolton]

great post,

number systems like dewey are made to implement independante and unique way to identify stuff.

but langual ways like tags will have other problems than the landuage differances

if you have seen the internet lately most tags are sometimes mixed between objects and cant be specific.

if Kevin Kelly is so happy about tags maybe we can change his social security number with his nick name

:)

thanks ........

[Nic (accredited online degrees master) Haffner]

more on the last comment

number systems has proven to be sucessful around ages in identification like he following.

1- we write dates in numbers (we dont name centuries and years)

2- historical events are only identified in sequence because of using numbers

3- world wide web uses numbers in the background (IP adresses) for example yahoo.com is not an object its just an alias for a set of ip number for servers

thanks alot

[Gary from Think-Creditcards.com]

interesting point though nic!

[Don - Needs Slot Machine Tips]

There is a correction:

Correction: May 14, 2006

An article on Page 42 of The Times Magazine today about the future of book publishing misstates the number and type of libraries in China from which a Chinese company, Superstar, has made digital copies of books. It is 200 libraries of all kinds, not 900 university libraries.