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20 August 2020

What makes the DDC so powerful; or, How do I build a number about using astrology to determine the best care for kittens? An explainer

Because I’ve been sequestered at home for far too long, I've been rereading the classic history of the DDC, The Eighteen Editions of the Dewey Decimal Classification by John P. Comaromi. Comaromi was the editor in chief of Dewey from 1980 to 1991, and he describes the history of the classification in technical critiques of decisions made as well as describing the personalities involved. Reading his book is a great way to recognize all the multiple points at which the development of the DDC might have gone in different directions, if not for personality quirks or external pressures.

Since I'm at the part of the book where he's talking about one of my favorite things about the DDC, I'll take that as an opportunity to talk about add instructions. Add instructions were formerly referred to as "divide like" notes; the concept itself has been present since Edition 1 of the DDC back in 1876. Add instructions are absolutely the best thing about Dewey! But they're also an aspect that non-catalogers don't necessarily know about, since they can be challenging or impossible to spot without guidance provided by the schedules.

There are a few different types of add instructions that appear in Dewey. One of the most frequent is adding from one of the six Dewey tables. For example, at the number 737.49 Coins of specific countries, a note tells you to "Add to base number 737.49 notation […] from Table 2." So a work about Chinese coins would be classed at 737.4951 (that is, the base number 737.49 + the Table 2 number for China, 51).

A slightly different type of add instructions tells you to add one part of a number to another base number. For example, the number for astronomical works about moons is 523.98 Satellites and rings. At that number, you'll find the note "Add to base number 523.98 the numbers following 523.4 in 523.43-523.48." That's a little tricky to parse, but it's easier when you can look over at the 523.4 hierarchy and see that that's where the numbers for non-Earth planets in our solar system are found. Once you know that, for example, the number for Mars is 523.43, you can follow the instructions given above: Add to base number 523.98 the numbers following 523.4 in 523.43, that is, 3. So the class number for the moons of Mars is 523.98 + 3, that is, 523.983.

And my very favorite thing in Dewey is when you get the chance to add notation 001-999. That means that, at certain numbers, you can add the whole set of Dewey numbers (like, all of them, from 001 all the way to 999) to a base number! Let's see what that looks like in practice with the example 133.58 Application of astrology to specific topics. The add note there says "Add to base number 133.58 notation 001-999." That means that you can add any Dewey number to the base number to reflect what the astrology of that subject is. Do you have a book about astrology and crime? Just take the base number 133.58 and add the number for crime, 364.1, and smash 'em together, so the number for the application of astrology to crime is 133.583641. A book on the astrology of making pizza? 133.58 + 641.8248 = 133.586418248! A book on the astrology of caring for kittens? 133.58636807!

It may just be my isolation-addled brain saying this, but if that kind of number building isn't fun, I don't know what is!!

Galaxycat"Cosmic kitten" by Nicolas Raymond is licensed under CC BY 3.0.

Posted by at 10:39 AM in DDC in history | | Comments (0)

17 August 2020

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.

Posted by at 02:03 PM in 600-699 Technology | | Comments (0)

12 August 2020

It’s all a conspiracy!

Are you seeing more literature about conspiracy theories? Scholars who study them have seen them proliferate in the internet’s decentralized media landscape. You may have encountered them yourself on social media.

In the DDC, works on conspiracy theories have long gone in the hierarchy of 001.9 Controversial knowledge, though subject to the scatter class-elsewhere note instructing you to class controversial knowledge concerning a specific subject with the subject.

One of our partners at the Library of Congress alerted us to growing literature about conspiracy theories, so we created an exhibit to propose a new number for them. EPC approved it in their July electronic meeting, so let’s welcome the newest Dewey number: 001.98 Conspiracy theories!

The new class has a similar scatter note to the one at 001.9, to reiterate that works on conspiracy theories concerning a subject still go with a subject. The new class is perfect for works about conspiracy theories themselves, and those that deal with a variety of conspiracy theories across disciplines, such as Are conspiracy theories valid? It may also be appropriate for works on a single conspiracy theory with wide-ranging scope (e.g., Ancient aliens and the Illuminati, though don’t overlook 366 Secret associations and societies for works about the Illuminati).

When classifying such works, don’t forget about the first-of-two rule. Works on conspiracy theories may well have overlap with other topics at 001.9. For example, a work positing a conspiracy covering up the existence of the Loch Ness monster would class at 001.944 Monsters and related phenomena.

Posted by at 11:00 AM in 000-099 Computer science, information & general works, Current Affairs | | Comments (0)

10 August 2020

Revisions to witchcraft and Wicca

Editorial Policy Committee meeting 142B wrapped up at the end of July, with six proposals considered and approved. One of those proposals was on the topic of witchcraft, a frequently critiqued topic in the DDC, so I wanted to take this opportunity to elaborate on the changes approved, now available in WebDewey.

There are three primary areas where books about modern Western witchcraft are classed:

  • 133.43 Magic and witchcraft and 133.44 Spells, curses, charms
  • 203.3 Witchcraft
  • 299.94 Religions based on modern revivals of witchcraft [caption prior to revision]

The most prominent complaint about the treatment of witchcraft was that most works were ending up in the 133.4 hierarchy, a class focused on occultism. This was especially a problem with works about spells and charms—since the 130s were the only area that had an explicit place for spells, nearly all works about spells were being classed there, even if they had titles naming a religious practice, such as The only book of Wiccan spells you'll ever need. The Manual note 130 vs. 200 directed catalogers to use the 200s for religious works, but then went on to tell catalogers to prefer the 130s if they weren't sure if a work was religious or not; since there is still a significant cultural stigma surrounding witchcraft in many areas, this meant catalogers were not recognizing when these works should be classed in the 200s. How could we revise the DDC to direct attention to the fact that a significant number of these works are religious/spiritually based, and thus should be classed in the 200s?

The proposal text has more information about the multiple approaches I considered, in consultation with people who practice various forms of witchcraft and Paganism (you can view the full 8-page proposal). The final proposal which was approved has a mix of new numbers, new notes, and new manual instructions to help classifiers find the best place for these works.

New numbers include 203.32 Spells, curses, charms for works that are not based in a specific cultural tradition of witchcraft, and 299.942 Wicca. With the add instructions given at 299.942, numbers can now be built for works about Wicca spells (299.942332) and, for example, therapeutic Wicca spells (299.9423326). (This new spells number can also be used with other religions with "Add as instructed under 290" notation, such as Santería.)

A new note at 203.3 Witchcraft helps clarify what should not be classed in that number. This note, what we call a scatter class-elsewhere, now reads "Class specific cultural traditions of witchcraft with the tradition, e.g., witchcraft as practiced in African religions in 299.6133, religions based on modern revivals of witchcraft in the Western world in 299.94". So what should be classed at 203.3? A new class-here note reads "Class here interdisciplinary works on witchcraft". Works about comparative studies of witchcraft should be classed in 203.3 when they don't focus on a specific cultural tradition.

Finally, what I consider the most significant change: instead of a manual note that directs catalogers to place works in the 130s if in doubt, the manual note, now renamed 200 vs. 130, directs catalogers who are not sure if a work is religious/spiritual to prefer a number in the 200s. This helps ensure that even when catalogers are not as familiar with witchcraft as they are more widely practiced religions, they should take time to discern where a specific work should be classed and not default to the 130s. My hope is these changes, taken together, result in more appropriate placement of works about witchcraft, and more of those works being classed in the 200s.

Thank you to everyone who gave feedback on this proposal, including Jane Cothron (Lincoln County Library District), Helen Imre (Franklin Township Public Library), and Rebecca DeLio (Denver Public Library), as well as others, including both witchcraft practitioners and library workers. Their feedback was incredibly helpful in making these revisions happen.

Posted by at 11:35 AM in 100-199 Philosophy & psychology, 200-299 Religion | | Comments (0)

06 August 2020

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.

Posted by at 03:23 PM in 000-099 Computer science, information & general works, 200-299 Religion, 300-399 Social sciences, 600-699 Technology, 700-799 Arts & recreation, DDC editorial projects | | Comments (0)

03 August 2020

Victims of crimes and victims of war

Guest post by Julianne Beall

We have recently expanded the social welfare provisions for crime victims, providing numbers for victims of specific crimes under 362.88 Victims of crimes. Here are examples of works previously classed in 362.88 that can now be classed in more specific numbers.

We have relocated social welfare for victims of war from 362.88 to 363.3498 War (previously, there was dual provision, with the same topic being classed in both places). Victims of war crimes, however, are now classed in an extension of 362.88: 362.88938 War crimes.

We have also separated the Table 1 provisions for victims of crimes and victims of war. Victims of crimes continue to be classed in T1—086949 Victims of crimes, but victims of war are now classed in a new number, T1—086948 Victims of war.

Posted by at 02:50 PM in 300-399 Social sciences | | Comments (0)

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