How do the Dewey editors decide which topics to work on? The majority of our efforts are determined by feedback from Dewey users like you! Catalogers email us frequently with comments or questions about specific numbers. We also receive queries from members of the Editorial Policy Committee and the teams that translate the DDC into languages other than English. Sometimes we can point out an instruction or a principle that someone might have missed, but often the question reflects an area where the instruction is not quite as clear as it could be, or a distinction that the editors didn’t consider when establishing a new number. The questions and comments we receive provide the opportunity to refine guidelines to help classifiers make the best choice for their work. Feedback from the Dewey community also helps us recognize when particular subject areas are in need of expansion.
To make Dewey the most useful system of classification possible, we want to ensure we're hearing from a broad range of those who use it. We’re implementing new questionnaires that will gather feedback from library workers. We've been working on a one-time formal survey that will ask in-depth questions about the DDC; you’ll see more about that posted here soon. In the meantime, we're also starting a very brief poll that asks you to rate the importance of the topics we've identified as needing development as well as identify additional topics. We'll repeat that poll quarterly. Your feedback on these polls will help us determine the most effective use of our resources.
The spring 2019 poll is available at https://tinyurl.com/DDCprioritiesApril2019. This is your chance to weigh in on the development of the DDC; we'll be glad to hear from you!
Could you post an email address (or comment for or similar) for questions? I can't see this anywhere currently on the site (but please point me in the right direction if I'm being blind)
I have a couple of queries - which are probably just that I can't find the information .....
And will certainly fill in the poll - to highlight the areas of DDC where we'd love to see some development.
Posted by: Ann Ryan | April 16, 2019 at 07:30 PM
Ann has already found the email address for questions, but in case others are curious, the editors can always be reached at dewey [at] oclc.org.
Posted by: Violet Fox | April 19, 2019 at 11:23 AM