025.431: The Dewey blog

United States Banking Laws

President Obama recently proposed changes to United States laws about banks and banking, e.g., “Obama Proposes Tough Limits on Largest Banks.”  His proposals have provoked a variety of reactions, e.g., “Obama’s Move to Limit ‘Reckless Risks’ Has Skeptics,” “Frank Says Obama Bank Plan Could Be Law within Months,” and “Obama Proposal to Curb Banks Dominates, Divides Davos Debates.”

Works on United States laws and regulations about banks and banking are classed in 346.73082 United States law of banks (built with 346 Private law plus T2—73 United States plus 082 from 346.082 Banks, which has the class-here note “Class here banking,” following the add note at 346.3–346.9 Specific jurisdictions and areas).  Examples of works classed in 346.73082 are Banks and Their Customers (from a “Law for the Layperson” series) and Federal Banking Law and Regulations: A Handbook for Lawyers.

How does a classifier find the add note at 346.3–346.9 Specific jurisdictions and areas?  One way is to follow the do-not-use note at 346[.0093–346.0099] Private law of specific continents, countries, localities: “Do not use; class in 346.3–346.9.”  Another way is to follow the add footnote at 346.082: “Add as instructed under 342–347.”   In the add table under 342–347 Branches of law at 093–099 Treatment by limited area within a jurisdiction is the note: “Law limited to a specific jurisdiction or area is classed under the jurisdiction before indicating the subject of a branch of law, e.g., criminal courts of Australia 345.9401, not 345.01094. Further instructions are given under 342–349.”  General instructions on how to build law numbers are given under 342–349 Branches of law; laws, regulations, cases; law of specific jurisdictions, areas, socioeconomic regions. 

In WebDewey the number for U. S. law of banks is already built; the built number can be found, for example, by browsing in the Relative Index:

Banks (Finance)—law                           346.082
Banks (Finance)—law—United States      346.73082

A cataloger who finds the built number 346.73082 and wonders how it was built can go to the record for the number, then click 346.3–346.9 Specific jurisdictions and areas in the upward hierarchy to find the add note.

Dewey Breakfast/Update at ALA Midwinter 2010: Presentations + 370 Education Discussion Paper

The presentations from the Dewey Breakfast/Update on January 16, 2010, at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Boston are now available on the Dewey web site at http://www.oclc.org/dewey/news/conferences/default.htm.

Libbie Crawford gave a general DDC product update, and discussed the new screen layouts and features in WebDewey 2.0. Juli Beall presented work to date on improvements to 281.5-281.9 Eastern churches and 340 Law. Proposed changes to the development for 281 Eastern churches are currently out for an initial round of review with a group of experts in Orthodox Christianity. (Note: Rebecca Green is the lead editor on this work, but did not attend ALA.) Juli is working closely with the European DDC Users’ Group (EDUG) 340 Law Working Group on improvements to 340 Law to address European Union law, criminal courts and procedures, and general issues related to legal systems based on civil law.

I discussed our work on 370 Education. For several years, we have been studying improvements to 370 Education to make the schedule a more useful general framework for the organization of education in a global context. We have focused initially on two areas in the 370 Education schedule: primary education in specific subjects (372.3-372.8) and levels of education (372-374, 378). To date, we have received advice from the EDUG 370 Education Working Group, members of the American Association of School Librarians, and the Decimal Classification Editorial Policy Committee (EPC). There is a discussion paper available on the Dewey web site that describes our current proposals. The revisions proposed in the paper are still preliminary, and subject to further development and review. We are seeking comments on the proposed revisions and open questions in the paper by February 27, 2010—interested parties can comment directly here on the blog, or e-mail their comments to me at mitchelj@oclc.org.

I also gave a quick update on the project under way with the OCLC Research to create a BISAC authority file and add Dewey numbers to the records. Michael Panzer wrapped up the meeting with a demonstration of some applications of the current set of Dewey linked data available at dewey.info. He also discussed our plans to link Table 2 (Geographic Areas, Historical Periods, Persons) records with FAST geographic headings—besides the usefulness of additional terminology, the Table 2-FAST links will be a path to associate geographic coordinates with Table 2 records (records for FAST geographic headings include geographic coordinates algorithmically assigned from GeoNames). Exciting stuff!

The next Dewey Breakfast/Update will be held in conjunction with the Public Libraries Association 13th National Conference in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday, March 25, 7:00-8:00 a.m. (place to be announced). Mark the date—we expect lots of new developments over the next two months!

Dark Matter and the Milky Way

Several news articles—“Scientists Chart Dark Matter Halo That Binds Milky Way” (Christian Science Monitor),  “Astronomers Map Dark Matter ‘Beach Ball’” (National Public Radio), and “Dark Matter ‘Beach Ball’ Unveiled” (BBC) —cover a January 6 press briefing by David R. Law (UCLA) at the 215th American Astronomical Society meeting.  The BBC article begins:

The giant halo of dark matter that surrounds our galaxy is shaped like a flattened beach ball, researchers say.

It is the first definitive measure of the scope of the dark matter that makes up the majority of galaxies’ masses.

The shape of this “dark matter halo” was inferred from the path of debris left behind as the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy slowly orbits the Milky Way.

National Public Radio also has a background blog about dark matter: “Dark Matter: ‘What Is Essential Is Invisible.’”

The comprehensive (and interdisciplinary) number for dark matter is 523.1126 Dark matter; an example of a work classed there is In Search of Dark Matter. 

The comprehensive (and interdisciplinary) number for the Milky Way is 523.113 Milky Way; an example of a work classed there is The Milky Way.

Where should a work about dark matter as part of the Milky Way be classed?  The number for dark matter (523.1126) is a subdivision of 523.112 Galaxies.  At 523.112 is the see reference: “For Milky Way, see 523.113.”  That see reference acknowledges that the Milky Way is a galaxy and therefore logically belongs in a subdivision of 523.112—but specifies that works on that particular galaxy are classed in 523.113 Milky Way.  General works on interstellar matter of the Milky Way are classed in 523.1135 Interstellar matter; however, the entry for 523.1135 has the see reference: “For dark matter, see 523.1126.”  Consequently, works on dark matter as part of the Milky Way are classed with other dark matter in 523.1126 Dark matter, e.g., Dark Matter in the Milky Way.

Cardiac Rehabilitation

In December the Associated Press (“Study: Sticking with Heart Rehab Boosts Survival”) and WebMD (“Cardiac Rehab: Go, Go, Go: Cardiac Rehab Patients Have Better Survival Odds the More They Go”) reported on a study in Circulation: “Relationship between Cardiac Rehabilitation and Long-Term Risks of Death and Myocardial Infarction among Elderly Medicare Beneficiaries” (first published December 21; later version January 5).  Here are the opening paragraphs from the Associated Press article:

If you've had a heart attack or a bypass operation, there's an easy way to help prevent another one: stick with rehab.

People who get all 36 sessions of cardiac rehabilitation that most Medicare plans cover are less likely to die or suffer a heart attack in the next three to four years than people who have fewer sessions, a new study finds.

The research could encourage the multitudes of heart patients who don't follow doctors' orders to heed their advice. Only about one-fifth of heart patients even try rehab. Of those who do, few get all the sessions that are recommended.

The new study is one of the first big efforts to look at how survival is affected by the “dose” of rehab that heart patients get. Researchers saw a clear trend in this 65-and-older group.

What is cardiac rehabilitation? Here is a definition by Mayo Clinic staff:

Cardiac rehabilitation — also called cardiac rehab — is a customized program of exercise and education, designed to help you recover after a heart attack, from other forms of heart disease or after surgery to treat heart disease.

Cardiac rehabilitation is often divided into phases that involve monitored exercise, nutritional counseling, emotional support, and support and education about lifestyle changes to reduce your risks of heart problems. The goals of cardiac rehabilitation are to help you regain strength, to prevent your condition from worsening and to reduce your risk of future heart problems.

Cardiac rehabilitation programs increase your chances of survival. Both the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology recommend cardiac rehabilitation programs.

General works on cardiac rehabilitation are classed in 616.1203 Heart diseases—rehabilitation (built with 616.12 Diseases of heart plus 03 Rehabilitation from the add table under 616.1–616.9 Specific diseases, following the add footnote at 616.12: “Add as instructed under 616.1–616.9”).  Examples of works classed in 616.1203 are Cardiac Rehabilitation: A Guide to Practice in the 21st Century and Cardiac Rehabilitation.

A work like the article in Circulation that treats cardiac rehabilitation only in geriatric patients would be classed in 618.9761203 Heart diseases—rehabilitation—geriatric medicine (built with 618.976 Special medical conditions, specific diseases in geriatrics plus 1203 from 616.1203 Heart diseases—rehabilitation, following instructions at 618.9761-618.9769 Specific diseases).

Dewey Breakfast/Update at ALA Midwinter 2010

Please join us for the Dewey Breakfast/Update at the ALA Midwinter Meeting on Saturday, January 16, 7:00–8:20 a.m., Boston Westin Waterfront Hotel, Stone Room. The program will feature presentations on WebDewey 2.0 (coming soon!!!), Dewey linked data, BISAC-DDC mappings, and proposals for changes to 340 Law and 370 Education. There will also be a general Dewey update plus an open discussion period—bring those burning Dewey questions and suggestions!

If you haven’t done so already, please register for the Dewey Breakfast/Update here. Happy New Year, and see you next week in Boston!

Air Transportation as a Target of Terrorism

Terrorism and air transportation security have been in the news recently, e.g., “Obama Links Christmas Day Terrorist Attempt to Al-Qaida,” “Body Scanners to Be Used at Dutch Airport,” “Stepped-Up Screening Targets Fliers from ‘Terror-Prone’ Lands,” and “Why More Airport Security Doesn't Stop Terrorist Attacks.”

The interdisciplinary number for terrorism is 363.325 Terrorism, which has the class-here note: “Class here bombing; terrorism and responses to terrorism associated with a particular aspect of public safety; interdisciplinary works on terrorism.”  An example of a work classed in 363.325 is Terrorism.   

Because class-here notes have hierarchical force, the note at 363.325 applies also to subdivisions of 363.325, e.g., 363.3259 Specific targets of terrorism.  Works on terrorism targeting air transportation are classed in 363.32593877 Air transportation as a target of terrorism (built with 363.3259 Specific targets of terrorism plus 387.7 Air transportation, following instruction at 363.3259: “Add to base number 363.3259 notation 001–999 . . . .”).  An example of a work classed in 363.32593877 is Aviation and Airport Security: Terrorism and Safety Concerns.  A work that focuses on protecting air transportation passengers from terrorism is classed in 363.3259387742 Air transportation passenger services as a target of terrorism (built with 363.3259 plus 387.742 Passenger services, following instruction at 363.3259), e.g., Protecting Airline Passengers in the Age of Terrorism.