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.

Yoga and health

Guest post by Julianne Beall

We recently published a new number for therapeutic use of yoga (615.824) and a Manual note explaining how to classify various aspects of yoga in relation to health and disease at 613.7046 vs. 615.824, 615.851, 615.852, 616-618 Yoga and health. Here we highlight a few key points from the Manual note and give examples.

Use 613.7046 Physical yoga for works on preventive or "staying healthy" use of physical yoga, hatha yoga, yoga as exercise. Also use 613.7046 for comprehensive works on preventive and therapeutic use of all kinds of yoga. Examples:

Yoga for fitness and wellness

Yoga

Yoga for dummies

Use 615.824 Yoga for works on therapeutic or "regaining health" use of physical yoga, hatha yoga, yoga as exercise. Also use 615.824 for comprehensive works on therapeutic use of all kinds of yoga. Examples:

Recovery yoga: A practical guide for chronically ill, injured, and postoperative people

Healing yoga: Proven postures to treat twenty common ailments -- from backache to bone loss, shoulder pain to bunions, and more

Yoga as therapeutic exercise: A practical guide for manual therapists

For use of physical yoga, hatha yoga, yoga as exercise (or comprehensive works on all kinds of yoga) in treating a specific disease, begin with the number for the disease in 616-618. Then from the appropriate add table, add 06 Therapy plus 24 from 615.824 Yoga, following the instruction at 061-069 Specific therapies. Examples:

Yoga for arthritis: The complete guide 616.7220624

(616.722 Arthritis plus 06 Therapy from add table at 616.1-616.9 Specific diseases plus 24 from 615.824 Yoga, following instruction at 616.1-616.9:061-069 Specific therapies)

Gentle yoga for back pain 617.5640624

(617.564 Backache plus 06 Therapy from add table at 617 Surgery, regional medicine, dentistry, ophthalmology, otology, audiology plus 24 from 615.824 Yoga, following instruction at 617:061-069 Specific therapies)

EPC 142D exhibits available for review

This week marks the start of Electronic Meeting 142D of the Editorial Policy Committee (EPC). You can view the following revision proposals at oc.lc/deweyexhibits: 

• EPC 142D-S39.1 - Wedding planning and other events associated with customs
  • EPC 142D-S39.1a - Wedding planning
  • EPC 142D-S39.1b - Customs and associated events
• EPC 142D-S54.1 - Geographic treatment of minerals and mineralogy
• EPC 142D-S61.1 - 615.53 General therapeutic systems
• EPC 142D-S79.1 - Geocaching
• EPC 142D-S98.1 - Presidents of Colombia
• EPC 142D-T2.1 - Provinces of Bulgaria

EPC will be voting on these the last week in April. Please share any feedback, positive or negative! You can do so by commenting on this post, posting to the the Dewey Contributors Google Group, or by email to [email protected] or an EPC member.

Results of electronic meeting EPC 142C

During the month of October, the Dewey Editorial Policy Committee (EPC) reviewed seven exhibits. Six were approved, with one sent back for further work. This post will summarize changes from these exhibits; consult WebDewey, where all changes are live, for full details.

EPC 142C-S02.1 Library programs has introduced a new class, 025.57 Library programs on specific subjects. You can add up to three digits to this base number from 001-999 for specific subjects, such as 025.578 for creative writing programs, or 025.57929 for genealogy programs. Just keep in mind the class-elsewhere note at 025.5. Works on programs on specific subjects for specific groups will go with the group (e.g., 027.625 for children).

EPC 142C-S20.1 Religious conversion authorizes 204.24 Conversion in comparative religion, which was formerly in an including note at 204.2. For a while now, the DDC has had numbers for conversion in specific religions (e.g., 248.24 for Christianity), but not for the idea of religious conversion more broadly.

Look for a full blog post about EPC 142C-S41.1 Sign languages soon!

EPC 142C-S62.1 Arms and armor resolves some issues with 623.441 Small arms of pre-firearm origin ("Weaponry of prefirearm origin" before the changes). This expansion authorizes six new subclasses for specific types of weapons, e.g., 623.4416 Bows and arrows, and also develops for new numbers under 623.42 Specific pieces of artillery. Armor is still stuck in this "weapons" hierarchy, now at 623.4418 Armor, but hopefully the situation is more clear than before!

EPC 142C-T2.1 Counties of Kenya and EPC 142-T2.2 Regions of Denmark give more specific Table 2 notation for those two countries.

This leaves EPC 142C-S36.1 Vaping and vaping devices. This is an area that Dewey users have rated as a high priority for future development, but EPC had questions about this proposal, and we want to make sure we get it right. Expect to hear more about this in the future.

Special thanks go out to our community volunteers who worked on these proposals: Julianne Beall, Michael Cantlon, Bradley Carrington, Josh Hall, and Winton Matthews.

A heaping side dish of new numbers

EPC 142B-S64.1 Fermented foods and drinks was approved by the Editorial Policy Committee (EPC) at the end of July. Although the focus of the proposal was expanding the provisions for fermented foods and drinks, we also made a few other revisions. We hope these new numbers and new index terms don't leave a sour taste in your mouth.

The previous caption at 641.46, "Pickling, brining, smoking," was somewhat limited, although a class-here note expanded the scope of the class to include all works of food-related chemical preservation. After some discussion with EPC members, we've revised the caption to "Pickling, smoking, other forms of chemical preservation." We're hoping this change, along with new numbers for 641.463 Fermenting and 641.465 Smoking, will help classifiers recognize this as the appropriate place for works about chemical preservation for food.

The idea of "side dishes" is one that's culturally defined, since one person's side dish is another person's main dish—in fact, the editors had an interesting side discussion with one of the EPC members about whether fondue was a main dish or a side dish. While there was already a number for side dishes in general (641.81), we didn't have a good place for works about specific foods that were treated as side dishes, or that are traditionally thought of as side dishes. We've now got ranges of numbers available for those works: 641.8113-641.8117 Side dishes made with a specific food derived from plant crops and domesticated animals, and 641.8119 Side dishes made with game, seafood, miscellaneous foods. As an example of how to use this new range, you can build a number just for works about side dishes made primarily from cabbage, like sauerkraut or kimchi.

We've also added a whole lot of indexing terms to help people find the right class number for specific fermented foods and drinks. For example, kefir and kumiss, both fermented drinks made from various types of animals milk, are now indexed to two numbers: 641.26 Nonalcoholic beverages for works about the beverages themselves, and 641.875 Nonalcoholic beverages for works about preparing those beverages. Works about kombucha, a fermented tea drink, can also be classed at those numbers. More work needs to be done at those classes in the future to provide new numbers for individual beverages—the editorial work is never complete!

Finally, I wanted to point out that the impetus for this exhibit was a comment on this blog. I posted about a few small revisions to the 640s in early April (Flash exhibit: Cooking and baking), and later that month someone mentioned in a comment that it would be a good idea to add numbers for recipe books with fermented foods. We agreed and the result was this exhibit. We really do need your feedback for helping us identify areas where Dewey should be expanded, and we want to work with you to make that happen! On this proposal we were lucky to work with Greta Heng, University of Illinois MLIS student; it is much better than it would have been without her research skills. Take a look at the Dewey Contributors site, where we explain how changes to Dewey happen, and get in touch with us at [email protected] with your ideas.

Results of EPC meeting 142B

The Editorial Policy Committee meets in person once a year to review proposals to revise the DDC, but there are also periodic online meetings. The most recent online meeting, EPC 142B, took place from July 6-31, 2020. EPC reviewed six exhibits; you can find the full text of those proposals at oc.lc/deweyexhibits. The results of EPC 142B:

• EPC 142B-S00.1 Conspiracy theories: approved
• EPC 142B-S20.1 Witchcraft: approved with two changes:
  • Added a new class-elsewhere note at 299.675 for hoodoo not presented as religious practice, replacing existing see-also note
  • Added Relative Index term "Hoodoo—religious practice" to 299.675
• EPC 142B-S28.1 Pentecostalism: approved with one change:
  • Changed caption of 269.4 to "Pentecostalism and charismatic movement"
• EPC 142B-S35.1 Space forces: approved
• EPC 142B-S64.1 Fermented foods and drinks: approved with three changes:
  • Changed caption at 641.46 to "Pickling, smoking, other forms of chemical preservation"
  • Added a new class-here note at 641.46 for comprehensive works on chemical preservation
  • Instead of just one base number for side dishes made with a specific food derived from plant crops and domesticated animals (641.811), created separate base numbers for side dishes from plant crops and domesticated animals (641.8113-641.8117) and from game, seafood, miscellaneous foods (641.8119)
• EPC 142B-S79.1 BASE jumping: approved

We're working on implementing these revisions to WebDewey; look for them to be published in the next few weeks. Please let us know if you have any questions about these changes or about the revision process itself.

Flash exhibit: traveling and Travellers

The COVID-19 pandemic has given the world a different perspective on traveling, and here in the U.S., many are still staying close to home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. I've been thinking a lot about the joys of travel lately, which spurred the development of this flash exhibit discussing travel and Travellers.

Even those who are traveling freely within their countries or outside of them have a new perspective on health while traveling these days. In Dewey the relevant number is 613.68 Travel health. To add more access to direct classifiers to this number, I've added a new RI term for Tourism—health and mapped the LCSH Travel—health aspects.

Even if we can't travel in real life, we can enjoy artwork dedicated to travel. Books focusing on the artistic aspects of travel posters are favorites of mine, so I've mapped the LCSH Travel posters to 741.674 Commercial posters. I've also added a new built number 741.6740993 Posters—arts—New Zealand, to demonstrate the pattern in that area.

One of my favorite New Zealand travel posters from the television show "Flight of the Conchords" (shared with my sincere admiration for such a successful campaign against COVID-19!)

Speaking of travels, I found an opportunity to update the provisions we have in Dewey for the ethnic groups of Travelling People in Great Britain. LCSH has four different headings, which correspond to the recognition of these groups by UK and Ireland law:

• Irish Travellers (Nomadic people)
• Scottish Travellers (Nomadic people)
• English Travellers (Nomadic people)
• Welsh Travellers (Nomadic people)

To clarify how the LC subject headings relate to Dewey's Table 5 numbers for groups of people, I've added additional mappings.

• At T5—916 Celts, I've mapped the LC heading Irish Travellers (Nomadic people)
• At T5—91497 Romany people, I've mapped the LC headings English Travellers (Nomadic people) and Welsh Travellers (Nomadic people)
• The Scotland community has two groups of Travellers, one of Gaelic origin and the other of Romani origin. So I've mapped the LC heading Scottish Travellers (Nomadic people) to both numbers, T5—916 and T5—91497.

Of course these identities cannot be cleaved as cleanly as this mapping makes it seem, and different identities have merged and split throughout the centuries (read more about the complex history and culture of Gypsy, Roma, and Irish Traveller Communities in Britain). But indexing these headings in WebDewey can give catalogers a good place to start in finding the best place to classify a work.

If you're unfamiliar with these ethnic groups and want to learn more, this five-minute video is charming and informative: "Roads from the Past: A Short History of Britain's Gypsies, Roma, and Travellers".

 Wishing safe travels to all, whether down the block or further afield.

Why are the disciplines within the 600s so disparate? An explainer

One question that people sometimes ask about Dewey is about why the 600s are a hodgepodge of seemingly unrelated topics. The caption of the 600 hierarchy is Technology, which makes it hard to understand how such disparate topics as medicine, engineering, cooking, child rearing, management, and construction would fit under one main class.

For the first 14 editions of the DDC, the caption for the 600s was Useful arts (as opposed to the 700s, labeled Fine arts). The categories of 600s in the first edition of the DDC are not too far removed from what exists currently in WebDewey; the divisions of the 600 hierarchy in 1876 were:

610 Medicine
620 Engineering
630 Agriculture
640 Domestic economy
650 Communication and commerce
660 Chemical technology
670 Manufactures
680 Mechanic trades
690 Building

As discussed in Philosophy of Technology and Engineering Sciences (page 47), the broad idea of "technology" was not a conceptual category when Melvil Dewey wrote the first edition of the DDC. Similarly, in a 1901 draft of the Library of Congress Classification, these topics were grouped together as "Useful Arts, Agriculture, Manufactures" in what would eventually become the "Technology" category.

In the contentious 15^th edition (1951), the caption of the 600s was changed to Applied science, while in the next edition (1958), the caption was revised again, to Technology. Some interim editions have listed the caption as "Technology (Applied sciences)," but the caption has remained Technology through the current edition.

To focus on just one part of the 600s, Melvil Dewey and his wife Annie were closely involved in the development of the discipline of home economics. (Melvil was very interested in economy and efficiency, founding the very first library instruction program in 1887 at Columbia under the name School of Library Economy.) At the Lake Placid Conferences on Home Economics, held annually from 1899 to 1908 at the Deweys’ resort, attendees worked to define the concepts involved in the new discipline and founded the American Home Economics Association. They proposed different names to represent the different aspects of the field (including "euthenics" and "ecology") and worked to combat the marginalized position of home economics compared to other disciplines (primarily because it was seen as inconsequential and women's work). The attendees of the Lake Placid conferences even proposed a new additional provision for home economics in the DDC within the 300s, because sociology and economics were seen as having more prestige than home economics. You can read more about this fascinating history in the 2004 article "Classification and the Definition of a Discipline: The Dewey Decimal Classification and Home Economics" by Anne M. Fields and Tschera Harkness Connell.

Understanding this history gives us greater understanding of just how malleable our conceptions of categories and disciplines can be, even though they can feel locked in place by systems like the DDC. Does knowing that the captions were once "Useful arts" and "Applied sciences" help make the disciplines located within the 600s make more sense? Would changing the caption of the 600s to Applied sciences (or something else) make it easier for users to find works? Let us know what you think!

This is the latest post within my series discussing frequently asked questions about Dewey. Previous posts have included: 

• How do the editors decide which concepts get a Dewey number? An explainer
• Why are the 200s so heavily focused on Christianity? An explainer
• What's the distinction between myth and religion in Dewey? An explainer

Flash exhibit: Crafting

Our most recent flash exhibit is about crafting! Lots of folks have turned to arts and crafts while sheltering in place. While patrons may not be able to access physical resources to help them learn or expand their knowledge while many libraries are closed, some libraries have virtual craft circles or provide access to online craft tutorials. This resurgence is a perfect opportunity to provide additional access in WebDewey for a few specific arts and crafts.

While some libraries put all their knitting books in 746.432 Knitting, the asterisk at that number provides the opportunity to add as instructed under 746 to provide more subdivisions for different aspects of knitting. Since I've been knitting a lot of hats in the past few months, I've created a new built number for 746.4320432 Costume--Knitting—arts, which can be used for hats, scarves, sweaters, gloves, socks, or any other article of clothing.

Some of the hats Violet has knitted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year there was a great article in The Washington Post about libraries screening episodes of Bob Ross's "The Joy of Painting" while hosting paint-along events. If you're brushing up your own painting skills, you might be interested in works about painting nature. I've created new built numbers in WebDewey for 751.4543 Oil painting—nature and 751.42243 Watercolor painting—nature.

Kirigami is the Japanese technique of folding and cutting paper into objects or designs. Some libraries have put works about kirigami in handicrafts under 745.54 Papers, but the note there to "Class paper cutting and folding in 736.98" makes it clear that kirigami should go in that hierarchy. I've added a Relative Index term for Kirigami at 736.982 Origami to provide better access.

Finally, many people have taken the initiative to make homemade masks to help stop the spread of COVID-19. I couldn't find many books about sewing your own medical masks, but I bet we'll see at least a few being published in the coming months. One potential number for those works would be 646.5 Construction of headwear. You might see the RI term Masks—home construction at 646.478 Costumes and think that's the right place, but take a look at the other terms at that number: 646.478 is for costumes used for parties and theater, not for everyday wear (close attention is needed to spot the difference between "costumes" and "costume"!). Go a step up in the hierarchy to 646.47 Construction of garments for special purposes, and you'll see a note that says, "Class accessories for special purposes in 646.48". Following that note to 646.48 Accessories construction gives us a note that says "Class headwear in 646.5", which seems like the best place for works about sewing medical masks.

Pneumonia and COVID-19

Guest post by Julianne Beall

In the March 2 blog post COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019), we said that we were not sure where to tell you to class works on COVID-19. Now we have updated WebDewey with three new subdivisions of 616.241 Pneumonia:

• 616.2412 Bacterial pneumonia
• 616.2414 Viral pneumonia
• 616.2416 Fungal pneumonia

We have indexed "COVID-19 (Disease)—medicine" to 616.2414 Viral pneumonia.

What about the non-respiratory complications of COVID-19? These two notes under 616.1-616.9 Specific diseases are relevant:

Class a work treating all the complications of a disease with the disease, e.g., all the complications of diabetes mellitus 616.462

Class a work that focuses on one specific complication with the complication, e.g., peripheral nerve disorders associated with diabetes mellitus 616.856

Thus, a work about all the complications of COVID-19 would be classed with COVID-19 in 616.2414 Viral pneumonia, but a work that focused only on renal failure as a complication of COVID-19 would be classed in 616.614 Renal failure.

The number 616.2414 Viral pneumonia can be added at various places in the 610s and elsewhere. For example, the interdisciplinary number and social services number for viral pneumonia in humans (including COVID-19) is 362.1962414. The number for incidence of and public measures to prevent viral pneumonia in humans (including COVID-19) is 614.592414.