025.431: The Dewey blog

Autism in the DDC

I don’t quite remember what recently brought “An Autistic Take on DDC”, a blog post on the ALSC Blog, back to my screen. It was written in 2018. It’s still a very thoughtful take on the subject, and the author knows how to flatter (“The Dewey gods”!).

The post’s main criticism of the DDC’s treatment of autism, as I understand it, is the medicalized perspective the DDC takes. Numbers about autism and autistic people are almost exclusively found in the medicine schedules, or disability elsewhere. This is also reflected in built numbers, such as 362.19685882 (valid, but not currently in WebDewey) for social services to autistic people, built with 616.85882 Autism.

This is as good a time as any to remember that any given topic might fit in plenty of places in the DDC beyond where they’re explicitly mentioned. The author of “An Autistic Take” pines for books about autistics in 323 Civil and political rights, but he need not wait: 323.374 is a suitable place already for civil and political rights of autistic people.

Now, the caveats: when classifiers overlook valid numbers, that may be a sign that we could improve some things from the editorial side. And it certainly doesn’t mean there’s no room for improvement. With autism not mentioned anywhere in T1—08 Groups of people, it may not be apparent that autistic people can be expressed via T1—0874 People with mental illness and disabilities. Even if it is apparent, I wouldn’t blame someone for being dissatisfied with that notation.

What’s the best solution here? That’s what I’d like to ask you. What sort of works does your institution have on autism and autistic people? Does current coverage of the topic in the DDC meet your needs? If not, I welcome your feedback, or would be happy to work on a proposal with you.

Relocations and discontinuations: Graphic design and communication design

As promised, this post has tables of relocations and discontinuations (plus one continuation) associated with the recently approved EPC Exhibit 143-S74.1. Enlarged from what was already given in the exhibit, these tables can serve as quick guides to reclassification for your institution. Where numbers have been deprecated, they are given in square brackets. Authorizations are not separately listed; all numbers in 744 are newly authorized, as are 741.647 and 741.6474.

Where a number is deprecated, you should be safe to reclassify any items without further inspection. That's the case for most changes listed below. Otherwise, consider the context of the item. For example, interdisciplinary works on typography are being relocated from 686.22 to the new 744.47, but if you have works at 686.22 that are really about the older sense of typography (i.e., strictly concerned with printing techniques), they may not need reclassification.

Also, check any built numbers you have that may be affected, especially where the old number is being deprecated. An encyclopedia of pure and applied design and decoration now classed at 745.403 will move to 744.03. Simple enough, but in some other cases, a topic has been relocated into standing room. For example, works on counterfeit stamps at 769.56 that now have standard subdivisions added will now be relegated to just 744.72. Finally, if you used abridged classification, keep in mind that these tables are geared towards full classification. WebDewey will still have full segmentation marks available to help guide you. In abridged classification, for example, page design is relocated from 686.2 to 744.5.

Relocations

From	To	Topic
686.22	744.47	Typography (interdisciplinary works)
[686.224]	744.452	Typefaces (interdisciplinary works)
[686.2252]	744.5	Page design
741.6	744	Graphic design
741.674	744.78	Posters (comprehensive works)
[745.4]	744	Pure and applied design and decoration
[745.61]	744.42	Calligraphy
[745.66]	744.62	Heraldic design
[745.67]	741.647	Illumination
745.7	741.6	Coloring books
[769.55]	744.73	Paper money
[769.559]	744.739	History, geographic treatment, biography
[769.56]	744.72	Postage stamps and related devices
[769.561]	744.72	United Nations postage stamps, postal stationery, covers
[769.562]	744.72	Counterfeit postage stamps, covers, cancellations
[769.563]	744.72	Postage stamps commemorating persons and events
[769.564]	744.724	Postage stamps depicting various specific subjects (Iconography)
[769.565]	744.72	Covers
[769.566]	744.72	Postal stationery
[769.567]	744.72	Postmarks, cancellations, cachets
[769.569]	744.729	History, geographic treatment, biography
[769.57]	744.72	Stamps other than for prepayment of postage

 

Discontinuations

From	To	Topic
[686.221]	686.22	Typefounding and typecasting—printing technology
[686.224]	686.22	Typefaces—printing technology
[686.2253]	686.225	Hand composition
[686.2256]	686.225	Imposition and lockup

 

Discontinuations without meaning in context

From	Topic
[686.2247]	Specific typefaces and kinds of typefaces for the Latin alphabet
741.6	Commercial art

 

Continuation

From	To	Topic
740	744.4	Typographical designs

Save the date: New graphic design hierarchy

Have you heard? The largest changes to the DDC schedules since the designation of Edition 23 back in 2011 are fast upon us! The changes were recently approved by the Editorial Policy Committee (EPC) in Exhibit 143-S74.1 Graphic design and communication design. Most notably, this set of changes authorizes 744, a section which has sat vacant since Edition 17 (1965). Created alongside Steph Hooton, a professional designer, this makes the DDC a leader in modeling the emerging discipline of design. The work builds on a previous discussion paper on the topic prepared for EPC by Hooton and former editor Violet Fox.

Among other changes, these updates clarify treatment of illustration and design, which have been heretofore conflated at 741.6. The full exhibit still gives a good idea of what you can expect, but keep in mind that like any exhibit on our Google Drive, it was a proposal only, which EPC is free to amend. In this case, EPC's amendments include a fuller development of the forthcoming 744.7 Graphic design products, to which paper money (769.55) and stamps (769.56) are being relocated, since they don't really belong with the art of printmaking. The mockups of print schedules that we use in exhibits also don't do as good a job of showing the deprecation of numbers, which especially affects 686.22 Typography in the printing schedules (the short version: much of this is being relocated to the new hierarchy).

In the past, changes of this magnitude once approved would be set aside for the next print edition. Since we don't have formal print editions anymore, you can just log in to WebDewey one day and see them. In this case, that day is Tuesday, August 16, just over two weeks from today. Keep your eyes on the blog for a forthcoming list of relocations and discontinuations, just like those that helped guide major changes in full print editions.

Since print-on-demand (PoD) content is pulled once a year, the new 744 will first show up in the 2023 version. This is a good time for a reminder of the recent updates to DDC MARC fields, since there will be a period of a few months where classification of these topics from WebDewey vs. even the most recent PoD will differ quite a bit.

Finally, a couple of caveats about the publication: publication will occur the day before, on Monday the 15th, and history notes in WebDewey will reflect that date, but any time we publish, the changes don't actually become visible until the next day. And while many eyes have reviewed (and are continuing to review) these changes, there will always be the occasional typo, so it's possible there will be some additional tweaks in the days after.