A recent blog entry on the abundance of snow received this winter in the eastern United States promised “a subsequent blog entry [to] explore various ramifications of the snow, including specific social services rendered in response to the storms.” Having spent the past week at a conference in the mild climate of Rome (more on the ISKO conference in a blog entry to come—yet another IOU!) and finding on my return that there’s much less snow still hanging around than when I left, I can’t say that the ramifications of snowstorms are much on my mind. But a promise is a promise.
The ramifications of the snowstorms have been many. Social services rendered have included procuring 4-wheel-drive vehicles to offer emergency transportation to medical facilities and rescuing stranded drivers. Snow removal consisted first of using snowplows to clear pathways by pushing snow to the sides of roads and subsequently of hauling snow away to out-of-the-way locations. Events and services were cancelled: airline flights, social events, sporting events, church services, school. Downed trees often resulted in downed power lines, with subsequent power outages. And the list could go on and on.
Works on emergency transportation services provided in response to snowstorms are classed in 363.349258 Remedial measures, services, forms of assistance in snowstorms (built from 363.3492 Disasters caused by weather conditions plus notation 5 from the numbers following 551.55 in 551.555 Snowstorms, following the instructions at 363.34922–363.34926 Specific kinds of storms, plus notation 8 Remedial measures, services, forms of assistance from the add table under 362–363, also following the instructions at 363.34922–363.34926). Works on rescuing stranded drivers are classed close by in 363.3492581 Rescue operations in snowstorms (built in like manner, except that the notation added from the add table at 362–363 is 81 Rescue operations). Works on snow removal as a social service are classed in 363.349256 (built in like manner, except that the notation added from the add table at 362–363 is 6 Control, which is defined as “Elimination and reduction of hazards, of sources and causes of difficulty”).
However, snow removal is more often written about from some perspective other than as a social service. For example, Traffic and parking control for snow emergencies: a recommended practice of the Institute of Transportation Engineers and A routing methodology for snow plows and cindering trucks consider snow removal from the perspective of road transportation and are thus classed in 388.312 Highway services Traffic control, with snow removal mentioned in its including note. But a work like Let it snow: winter road maintenance products and technology considers snow removal from the perspective of road engineering and is to be classed in 625.763 [Roads, Maintenance and repair] Snow and ice control measures, which is indexed by Snow removal—road engineering.
Cancellations of events are classed with the event. For example, the cancellation of church services is classed in 264 Public worship; the cancellation of school and the attendant extension of the school year are classed in 371.23 School year, with its note “Class here school calendar”; airline flight cancellations are classed in 387.74 Air transportation activities and services; and the cancellation of parties is classed in 793.2 Parties and entertainments.
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