Report from the DDC EPC Chair, Deane Zeeman
The 127th meeting
of the Dewey Decimal Classification Editorial Policy Committee (pictured left) was held at the
OCLC Campus in Dublin, Ohio, on May 9-11. Among the first items of
business was the introduction of two new members of the Dewey family, Rebecca
Green (assistant editor) and Michael Panzer (global product manager of taxonomy
services), who bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the editorial
team. Initial discussions focused on proposed enhancements to the MARC 21
formats to facilitate their use with the DDC. The Committee’s insights helped
the editorial team to clarify the proposal, which is being developed jointly
with the Library of Congress and the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek (DNB). Assistant editor Juli Beall will be
discussing the proposal with the DNB in connection with her participation at an
international workshop on MARC 21 in Frankfurt
later this month.
This intense discussion set
the stage for a challenging two and a half days. In addition to such technical
topics as the MARBI proposal and functional specifications for a new DDC
editorial system, we spent considerable time wrestling with how to improve the Classification
from 004-006 Computer science, 010-090 Information and general works, and 150
Psychology to 930-990 History by way of 641.22 and 663.2 Wine, miscellaneous
topics in 620, Table 1—08 (Groups of people), and Table 3C (Themes in art and
literature). Updates to records associated with many of these topics (and some new numbers) will
be released to users over the next several months.
One of the highlights of Day
2 was the proposed expansion of the “Wars” entry in the Manual, written by
assistant editor Winton Matthews. The quality of the research and of the
writing of this exhibit prompted the Committee to recommend that a possible
avenue for separate publication be explored.
Most of this feverish intellectual activity
was undertaken without the guidance of our Fearless Leader, Joan Mitchell,
editor-in-chief of the Classification. Joan was unfortunately taken ill and
unable to take her usual place at the EPC helm. (She is recovering at home.) It
was inspiring to experience the commitment of the editors, the rest of the Dewey team (product manager Libbie Crawford, pictured left) and Committee members,
who demonstrated a dedicated professionalism and worked through the agenda in less
than ideal circumstances. I honor and thank them all.
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