025.431 DEW

Classification is like Marmite: you either hate it or love it. I am in the latter camp. I feel as though I’m working my way through a mystery by trying to deduce the classmark hidden in Dewey’s four weighty tomes.

This week I upgraded the library’s classification system from DDC22 to DDC23. Moving to DDC23 was something I’d both looked forward to and dreaded, but in the end it was painless. In our manuals there are hand-written annotations relating to various subjects and it took an entire day to transfer these over to the new manuals, checking that each note was still relevant on the catalogue. Doing this brought back memories of when I assisted with an upgrade from Dewey 17 to DDC 20. There were various problematic differences between these editions, but by upgrading to the next published edition we should avoid any such mishaps this time. I’ve worked in three different libraries and my journey down Memory Lane led me to think of the various editions I’ve used so far:

When I worked in a secondary school we used Abridged 12. I hadn't heard of the Abridged editions before but they are aimed specifically at libraries with less than 20,000 texts. Using this meant that classification was a far simplier process but I was worried I would forget how to use Dewey in any great depth. When I started my current role last year, masses and masses of classification awaited me (I think they'd been stock-piling it for my arrival!) but I needn't have worried and was soon in the swing of it. (I really ought to have more belief in my own abilities sometimes.)

Dewey is sometimes like wading through mud, so in order to improve the usability of the system I follow it only as much as it meets my needs. There is no Dewey Police Force to throw me in prison if I use an incorrect number so - as a classifier - I am free to adjust classmarks to suit our library. I allocate classmarks where the books are most likely to be found by the learners who need them, irrespective of the book’s ‘true’ classmark. I’ve often created my own classmarks too, if there hasn’t been one I’ve felt suited my needs, and I avoid creating overly long classmarks. What good would this do? Yes, it would demonstrate my superhuman ability to implement hardcore classification, but it would also confuse and complicate matters for the learners.

Am I alone in my thinking here? Does anybody rigorously keep to the manuals in order to implement a pure DDC system? Or does anyone do as I do and assign classmarks you feel suit your particular book stock? The key to a successful classification system is ease of use for learners, and that is the mantra I stick to, regardless of what Dewey tells me.

*Added this column to the table because I like to visualise the different manuals when writing about them.