Recently we published a cluster of changes approved by the Dewey Decimal Classification Editorial Policy Committee (EPC) related to child rearing. These changes include:
(1) Multiple do-not-use notes in subdivisions of 649.108 Child rearing with respect to groups of people (built with 649.1 Child rearing plus T1—08 Groups of people). These do-not-use notes point to specific numbers for parents and children of specific groups. For example:
649.108652 Single people Do not use for works for single parents; class in 649.10243
649.1087 People with disabilities and illnesses, gifted people Do not use for rearing of children with disabilities and illnesses, gifted children; class in 649.15
649.1089 Ethnic and national groups Do not use for rearing of children by ethnic and national groups; class in 649.157
(2) A Manual note at 649.12-649.15 vs. 649.1024, 649.108 Child rearing with respect to groups of people to explain further how to handle (1) works about rearing a specific group of children, (2) works for a specific group of parents or others involved in child rearing, and (3) how to handle issues of preference order. For example, works for parents with disabilities (whose children may not have disabilities) are classed with the parents in 649.1087 People with disabilities and illnesses, gifted people, e.g., The parenting book for persons with a disability: From planning your family to raising adolescents. Works for African American parents about raising African American children are classed with the children in 649.15796073 African American children—home care (built with base number 649.157 plus T5—96073 African Americans [United States Blacks]), e.g., My Brown Baby: On the joys and challenges of raising African American children.
(3) New provisions for raising specific groups of children. For example, The gender creative child: Pathways for nurturing and supporting children who live outside gender boxes can be classed in the new number 649.1564 Transgender and intersex children, which has the standard-subdivisions-are-added-note: Standard subdivisions are added for transgender and intersex children together, for transgender children alone.
(4) Clarification that religious aspects belong in the 200s with religion, beginning with a do-not-use note at 649.10882 Religious groups: Do not use for religious aspects of child rearing, religious training of children in the home; class in 204.41.
The number 204.41 Marriage and family life is the broadest possible number for this topic. Works about this topic in the context of a specific religion are classed with the religion, as indicated by the class-elsewhere notes at 201-209 Specific aspects of religion:
Class treatment with respect to Christianity in 230-280
Class treatment with respect to a specific religion other than Christianity in 292-299
For some religions, the number for religious aspects of child rearing is built by adding notation from 204.41, e.g., as provided in the add table at 290 Other religions. Specific numbers for this topic not built with notation from 204.41—and a sampling of those that are—can be found by browsing the Relative Index for Child rearing—personal religion or Parenting—personal religion.
For example, Jewish spiritual parenting: Wisdom, activities, rituals and prayers for raising children with spiritual balance and emotional wholeness is classed in 296.74 Marriage and family life.
Comments