My wife and I are at the library, mainly looking for books on tape to listen to while dealing with the joy that is Atlanta traffic. I have the thought that I want to start reading a book of significance/historical fame/importance once every couple of weeks just for grins. At this point, I have done things like “The Red Badge of Courage”, “The Odyssey”, “Animal Farm”, etc. During our most recent trip, I decided to read a book that was assigned during high school but we only read part of. Yes, I am reading Beowulf. I really liked the story and wanted to read the whole darn thing.
Needless to say, my wife was taken aback that I am actually choosing to read this book. Granted, it might be an odd choice, but it seems like a pretty good tale. Unfortunately I seem to have shattered my illusion of coolness and am now classified as a “big old dork” according to my beloved. So much for improving my cultured literacy. I guess I’ll just stick with Sports Illustrated.
You don’t reach “big old dork” status until you insist on reading the classics in their original language.
You: “Translation, shmanslation. Whoever did it probably screwed it up and put all kinds of wrong stuff in there!”
Adoring wife: “Your a big old dork, dear.”
[thread hyjack]I REALLY think the phrase “Dewey Decimel Antics” would make a GREAT band name.[/thread hyjack]
**You MUST keep a good bookmark. **
I suggest the kind that slip over the page like a flat paperclip, showing the exact line you stopped at.
Why? Because Beowulf was a chanted verse taught from person to person. Some people obviously lost their ways.
You will find there are long passages that repeat earlier sections, almost verbatum.
You go mad wondering if you are that stupid to lose your place.
Then you are that stupid.
Then you are that mad.
Then you foam.
Warn your family, so they know what to tell the paramedics.
[hijack]
Damn! With a name like “Dewey Decimal Antics” I thought I was finally going to get to play a game that used my librarian credentials.
My ex-wife and I would actually play a game where we would take numbers from our life and (from memory) say the subject of a book with that as a Dewey Decimal number.
Our phone number at the time: 396.0979
Dewey Subject Heading: Women’s rights - United States
With area code: 510.3960979
Dewey Subject Heading: If I remember correctly (been a long time since I worked with Dewey) this would be a mathematical dictionary in a specific African language - the final two digits (79) are probably superfluous, but if not it would be a certain dialect of that language.
Something like “The Southern Swahili Mathematical Dictionary”
[/hijack]
But I guess I don’t get to play librarian games after all. Maybe I should submit this to the “How boring can you be” thread.
obfusciatrist, I think that’s pretty funny! It probably even deserves its own thread.
Is there a place online to look up Dewey Subject Headings?
Arnold -
Believe it or not, the Dewey Decimal System is a proprietary classification scheme (unlike Library of Congress Subject Headings). I doubt you would be able to find the complete schedule anywhere online for free.
For more information that you ever wanted on the Dewey Decimal System you can check at OCLC, the current owners.
Your local library should have a complete schedule of DDC, but trying to use it can be a bit of a chore, though not so bad if you are trying to find the subject heading for a specific number rather than trying to develop a number for a subject heading.
Your best bet without going to the library would be to find a large library collection with an online catalog that uses DDC. Unfortunately, relatively few LARGE collections use DDC. Both because it is proprietary and because it isn’t well suited to gigantic or specialized collections.
Most of the DDC call numbers you have likely seen are only about extended to about 4 digits past the decimal. In most cases this is not the actual complete call number but rather a truncation that allows the call number to fit on the spine of the book. I remember that on a test for one my classes in lib. school I had to produce a DDC call number that extended to about 12 decimal places.
More call numbers:
Last four digits of my SSN: Ethnobotany(581.6)
Street address: Maritime Trade (387)
Street addess and unit: Ports - Europe (387.109)
Employee ID number: Religions - United States - 18th Century - Colorado (277.88)
Ok, I just looked up that last one. God, I need a hobby.
I think it has to be said. Obfusciatrist, you are a big old dork.
Fondly,
Laura
Actually, I’m pretty young. But I have the soul of an old dork so I can understand your confusion.
But I must say, I did pass my DDC midterm with flying colors.
Depite what you’ve read in this thread I am a very well-rounded person. But I’ve started running again so hopefully that will taken care of.