Have you reviewed the materials in your library classed at 398.2 Folk literature lately? Are there works there that should be classed in the 200 Religion hierarchy instead?
Just as we constantly revise the DDC, classification decisions from the past should be reviewed periodically, especially in culturally sensitive areas. The topic of myths and legends highlights the need for an iterative approach to classification, as previous classification decisions may have inappropriately centered familiar beliefs while disregarding others that seemed foreign. The "mark it and park it" approach to classification (that is, making a classification decision about a work and never revisiting it) can lead to alienation between the organization of our library's collections and our professional goals of equity and inclusion.
So how do you determine which works should be classed in 398.2 versus 200? Dewey asks you to look at the presentation of the work in hand to determine whether it is presented as a religiously-based work, especially for works that might be described as myth.
Terminology challenges
The relationship between religion and myth can be difficult to pin down, because it depends on one's understanding of the definition of a myth. The Oxford English Dictionary gives two distinct definitions:
1. A traditional story, typically involving supernatural beings or forces, which embodies and provides an explanation, aetiology, or justification for something such as the early history of a society, a religious belief or ritual, or a natural phenomenon.
2. A widespread but untrue or erroneous story or belief; a widely held misconception; a misrepresentation of the truth. Also: something existing only in myth; a fictitious or imaginary person or thing.
Over the past century scholars have assigned various definitions to the word "myth," diverging in opinion on whether it implies that a story is sacred or related to religious rituals. Joseph Campbell famously gave his favorite definition of mythology as "other people's religion." The popular meaning of myth as being distinct from fact (as in the second OED definition above) means that assigning a value of "myth" to a particular story or set of stories is a value-laden proposition.
Dewey and myth
From its beginning, the DDC has asked classifiers to make a distinction between works that are presented as mythology and those presented as religion. The wording of the distinction has varied through editions, but the current language providing guidance was established in Edition 22 in 2003; it can be found in Manual note 398.2 vs. 201.3, 230, 270, 292-299 Myths and legends:
Use 398.2 for myths or mythology presented in terms of cultural entertainment or, especially, as representative of the early literary expression of a society, even if they are populated by gods and goddesses. Use 201.3 and similar numbers elsewhere in 200 for mythology presented from a strictly theological point of view or presented as an embodiment of the religion of a people. For example, use 398.2 for Greco-Roman myths retold for a juvenile audience; but use 294.382325 for Jataka tales illustrating the character of the Buddha.
Use 398.2 for mythology having a nonreligious basis that deals with beliefs and stories that can be referred to as superstitions, legends, fairy tales, etc., where the religious content or interest is not apparent. Use 201.3 and similar numbers elsewhere in 200 for mythology having a religious basis that deals with the most basic beliefs of people and with religious beliefs and practices.
Class specific myths and legends presented as examples of a people's religion with the subject in religion, e.g., legends of Jesus' coming to Britain 232.9.
Use 398.2 for interdisciplinary works on mythology, since this number includes folk narratives with a broader focus than religion alone. If in doubt, prefer 398.2.
In following these instructions, a work like Bulfinch's mythology, which clearly states that people no longer religiously believe in the gods and goddesses portrayed, is easily classed in 398.2. But for less clear examples, we know that catalogers will make judgments based on their own cultural context.
Questions about moving forward
One of the most frequent comments I hear about Dewey are questions about Indigenous stories being categorized as myth (for example, see Dr. Debbie Reese's 2018 post Some thoughts on a big word: MYTH and a 2013 post DDC 398.2 vs. 290s in Public Libraries by Reddit user MeepleWatcher). As librarians strive to equitably represent multiple worldviews in their libraries, these questions will continue to come up. How can we encourage catalogers to make culturally appropriate classification decisions in this area? Is it possible to make a clear distinction between religious beliefs and myths? Is that distinction valuable to users?
Should we change these instructions in the DDC? One potential option would be to revise the manual note to put all stories based in religion in the 200s regardless of a work's presentation. Another option would be to categorize all works about religions that are currently practiced in the 200s. Would those (or other) options solve any problems or just create new ones? There are no easy answers, but we want to open up the discussion to the profession at large.
In the meantime, take a look at the works that have been classed within 398.2 in your library. Do they accurately represent what your library's users would describe as myths and legends? Should some of them be reclassified? Has your library made any local adaptations to the DDC to more appropriately classify works representing "the most basic beliefs" of Indigenous or other peoples?
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