025.431: The Dewey blog

Dewey by the Numbers

Here’s a brief snapshot of the DDC 23 EN database (the database associated with the English-language version of DDC 23) as of 14 January 2014 (as being reported this morning at the Dewey Update Breakfast):

 

Navigating to Schedule Numbers in WebDewey

What if you search for the full WebDewey record for a specific schedule number, and you get too many results?  For example, what if you type 599 into the standard Search box on the WebDewey home screen, looking for the full record for 599 Mammalia (Mammals), and click Search?

The standard Search box in WebDewey searches all fields by default.  A search for 599 in all fields yields 680 records:

If you have the time and patience to look in that set of results, you will find that the record you want is number 454.

Why so many results for an all-fields search for 599?  A few of the unwanted results are caused by matches with table numbers (e.g., T2—599 Philippines), but most of the unwanted results occur because of notes that specify 592-599, especially the add footnote attached to many schedule records: "Add as instructed under 592-599."

When you stumble upon too many results, instead of looking through the long list of results, one simple response is to insert the index label "dd:" for Dewey Numbers in front of the number to override the default choice of index, then click the Search button immediately to the right of the index selection box (which still reads "All Fields") to search for dd:599

Then you retrieve three records, and the one you want is number 2:

(For a complete list of index labels, look in WebDewey Help under Search WebDewey for Search indexes. Or look at "Introduction to WebDewey 2.0" on the Dewey Training Courses site.)

Alternatively, you can get the same results as a search for dd:599 by using Advanced Search and searching for 599 in Dewey Numbers.  To do that, you do not need to click Advanced Search to go to the main Advanced Search input screen; instead, you can click the pointer to the right of the index selection box that says "All Fields" and change "All Fields" to "Dewey Numbers" then click the Search button immediately to the right of that box:

Another alternative approach is to browse Dewey Numbers (with Captions).  You do not need to click Browse at the top of the screen to go back to the main Browse input screen; instead, you can use the radio buttons at the left to switch from Search to Browse. The default browse field "Dewey Numbers (with Captions)" will appear in the index selection box at the right. Then you need to press <Enter> or click the Search button to the right of that box to start the browse:

With the Browse approach, the number that you want is the second number in the list (the immediately preceding number is given for context). You don’t see the Manual record for 599 in the browse results, but you can easily get to it via the See-Manual reference in the full record display for 599:

 

 

Join us for Breakfast at ALA Midwinter in Philadelphia!

Hard to believe, but ALA Midwinter is not even a week away! The Dewey Breakfast/Update will be held on Saturday, 25 January, 7:00–8:30 a.m., Pennsylvania Convention Center, Room 120 C. (Register here.) 

The program will feature presentations on new WebDewey features (like the upcoming notification feature, which will help keep users informed about classification updates); a guest presentation by Merrilee Proffitt about DDC projects currently underway at OCLC Programs and Research (like the Dewey Graph project); and Cookbook Finder, a works-based application that provides access to thousands of cookbooks and other works about food described in library records derived in part from Dewey data in Classify. We also hope that there will be some time for brainstorming and discussion; bring your pressing Dewey questions! The ALCTS Public Libraries Technical Services Interest Group will meet in the same room 8:30–10:00 a.m. directly following the Dewey Update Breakfast.

Dewey at the ALA Midwinter Exhibits

Stop by OCLC Booth 1013 to see WebDewey 2.0. The print editions of DDC 23, Abridged Edition 15, and 200 Religion Class are available at the Combined Book Exhibit Booth 719.

WebDewey Hierarchy Displays and Schedule Numbers that End with Zero

In the hierarchy box for the WebDewey record for 500 Natural science and mathematics, there appear at first glance to be three different entries for the number 500:

A closer look reveals that the 500 just above the entry for 500 Natural science and mathematics has the last zero grayed out, and only 50 is in blue and underlined as a link.  The 500 at the top has both zeros grayed out, and only the 5 is in blue and underlined as a link.  Why?  The three different entries are used to display different hierarchical relationships. In the hierarchy box for the WebDewey record for 500 Natural science and mathematics shown above, the entries in the downward hierarchy all have the format 500.X: 500.2, 500.5, and 500.8.  In the bar at the top of the hierarchy box, the focal notation is displayed as 500.  That notation matches the notation in the 153 field of the underlying MARC record (click the MARC button to see the underlying record):

153 ## 500 $e 50 $j Natural sciences and mathematics

In the hierarchy box, click the entry just above the record for 500 Natural science and mathematics, and the downward hierarchy in the format 50X will be displayed:

In the bar at the top of the hierarchy box, the focal notation is displayed without the grayed-out zero: 50.  That notation matches the notation in the underlying MARC record:

153 ## 50 $e 5 $j Science

Click the top entry inside the hierarchy box, and the downward hierarchy in the format 5X0 will be displayed:

In the bar at the top of the hierarchy box, the focal notation is displayed without the grayed-out zeros: 5. That notation matches the notation in the underlying MARC record:

153 ## 5 $j Science

Why do the two entries with grayed-out zeros have a shortened caption—Science—by comparison with the full caption for 500: Natural science and mathematics?  The captions for entries with grayed-out zeros come from DDC Summaries: "The headings associated with the numbers in the summaries have been edited for browsing purposes and may not match the complete headings found in the schedules."

Like entries in DDC Summaries, the entries for numbers with grayed-out zeros have no notes, no Relative Index entries, and no mapped terminology.

What about number-span entries, e.g., 580-590 Natural history of plants and animals in the hierarchy box for 5 Science above?  There are no number-span entries in DDC Summaries, and no modified headings for them.  The zeros are not grayed out, and clicking that entry in the hierarchy box leads to the full record with notes.

Updated Training Materials

On December 30, many of the basic course modules on the DDC training site were updated.  A few of the updates correct typographical errors, while others reflect changes that occurred between Edition 22 and Edition 23 and that we failed to catch previously, or provide diacritics that were previously lost in converting from Word or PowerPoint files into PDFs. 

The following files have changed:

Training module	Exercises
Technical Introduction to the DDC	Exercises for Technical Introduction
Choice of Number Review	Exercises for Choice of Number Review
Number Building: Add Tables	Exercises for Number Building: Add Tables
Introduction to Table 1	Exercises for Table 1
Introduction to 000, 100, 200	Exercises for 000, 100, 200
Introduction to 300 and Table 5	Exercises for 300 and Table 5
Introduction to 400 and Tables 4 and 6
Introduction to 500
Introduction to 700
Introduction to 800 and Table 3	Exercises for 800 and Table 3
Introduction to 900 and Table 2	Exercises for 900 and Table 2

 Most of the updates were made in conjunction with training preparations made by the National Library of Vietnam and by assistant editor Julianne Beall for the recent launch of the Vietnamese translation of DDC 23.

This previous posting summarizes what can be found in the various training modules and how to use them.