Don’t places like the Library of Congress and New York Public Library (and maybe archives like the NRLF) store the stacks to make efficient use of space? I thought I’d heard something like this, which would require another index into physical location.
I always liked LOC classification better, as it’s easier to confine browsing to the exact subject section – I can just look up one book and easily find others near it. Bothering to memorize strings of numbers is useless to me.
The Library of Congress classification section states the Political Science is listed under “I” (eye). I believe it should be “J” (jay).
I’m trying to imagine. It’s not hard. Same problem as when a fiction title is acquired in a modern library, and has to be organized by author, without regard to subject, surely?
Organizing books by title might make it difficult to find a book unless you know exactly what you’re looking for, but I don’t see that acquisitions would be a problem.
So far as I know, the only public library system using the Library of Congress system is the city of Inglewood. This is where computerized card catalogs are a must–for people brought up to use the Dewey Decimal system. But that system has a quirk or two–for example: 92 (not 092) is individual biographies.
Since the library at El Camino College converted to the LOC system, I’ve had to use the computerized catalog to locate books I used to find via DDS.
In an English textbook I used in junior-high school, a cartoon character used in the book is in the fiction section of his library. He looks at the spine of a book and says “Hmmm…no numbers…these must be miscellaneous.” The chapter then explains how to use the DDS and why fiction isn’t part of it.
Few library schools require students to take classes in cataloging anymore, let alone a course in classification. And a lot of library students don’t learn how to do reference interviews either, the art of getting someone to tell you that their original question “I need a book on Roosevelt” is actually a question about the study of growing U.S imperialism at the outset of the 20th Century.
But the new librarians are really good at HTML!
Whoopee. :rolleyes:
I went to library school in 1987-88. I was taught how to program in PASCAL.
That’s been very useful in my career.
Yes, well, I live with a woman who has a Masters in Library Science; she has whapped me aside the head about 813, et alia. :smack: Honestly, I just assumed…
The whole “P” category in the Library of Congress classification scheme is very very interesting. It also includes Linguistics, IIRC, as well as all the foreign language works, literature included. The whole B basement at UofR was “P”; it was the biggest floor of stacks in the Library.
28 posts and no one mentions the beswt Dewey Decimal system related quote ever?
“Pathetic human race. Arranging their knowledge by category just made it easier to absorb. Dewey, you fool! Your decimal system has played right into my hands!”
OK, I’ll bite. Where is this from? I want to use it.
You’re sh*tting us.
:eek: :eek: :eek:
Ain’t ya?
:eek: :eek: :eek:
According to this site http://www.laughinglibrarian.com/sigliby.htm it’s from “Futurama”.
You know what I love about this message board, truly? The fact that when I hear a muscular, scantily-clad, heavily-armed, seven-foot librarian growling at a man who can’t find a book on astronomy, I know I am not alone 
I was just reading a book called Brand Name Bullies about bizzare disputes over trademark and copyrights. OCLC claims that they hold a trademark on the phrase “Dewey Decimal Classification” and that the system is copyrighted by them. Official Dewey website
The Boston Public Library definitely uses those funny non-decimal call numbers (for non-fiction anyway. Fiction is by author.)
There is no doubt that the current DDC is owned by OCLC; the system is updated every few years.
There was a silly incident involving this in I believe Atlanta a couple of years ago. A restaurant/bar rented a building that was once a Carnegie Library and still had the name engraved on the stone. They wanted to call it “The Library” and have DDC numbers for their meals and drinks and the like. (As memory serves they also had a few rooms they were going to make into a small exclusive hotel and carry the theme there as well.) OCLC filed an injunction against them, making most librarians just shake their heads with a “has this become a problem…” irritation. Most of us thought it was cool that somebody wanted to do something like this for a “hip” establishment, but they ended up going with something else.
There was a reference in the book to a Library Hotel in New York which settled with the OCLC. Whether or not this is the same one, I am unsure.
Well, the DDS does it that way, too; but some libraries, and some bookstores (including the landmark bookstore Acres of Books in Long Beach, CA) separates fiction so that there are separate stacks for westerns, mysteries, short stories, and children’s fiction.)
I see that it is not the same one, as Atlanta is nowhere near New York City.