What are some alternates to the Dewey Decimal System?

Question

What are some cataloging / book locating systems that make it easy to find books other than the Dewey Decimal System?

Answer 1

These systems are known as "classification systems." Dewey Decimal Classification is most often found in public libraries. Some smaller public libraries have elected to use BISAC, a classification system designed for bookstores instead; see this article for more information and example libraries.

Academic libraries typically use the much more detailed Library of Congress Classification. Medical libraries often use NLM Classification.

Old-school librarians talk in hushed voices of Ranganathan's Colon Classification, a very early faceted-classification system. No one today actually uses it that I'm aware, but the general faceting approach can be seen in many library catalogs today -- look for limit options in sidebars!

Answer 2

A main alternative to the Dewey Decimal system (especially in English speaking countries) is the Library of Congress classification system. It is commonly used in research and academic libraries.

As the Library of Congress website explains:

The system divides all knowledge into twenty-one basic classes, each identified by a single letter of the alphabet. Most of these alphabetical classes are further divided into more specific subclasses, identified by two-letter, or occasionally three-letter, combinations. For example, class N, Art, has subclasses NA, Architecture; NB, Sculpture, ND, Painting; as well as several other subclasses. Each subclass includes a loosely hierarchical arrangement of the topics pertinent to the subclass, going from the general to the more specific. Individual topics are often broken down by specific places, time periods, or bibliographic forms (such as periodicals, biographies, etc.). Each topic (often referred to as a caption) is assigned a single number or a span of numbers. Whole numbers used in LCC may range from one to four digits in length, and may be further extended by the use of decimal numbers. Some subtopics appear in alphabetical, rather than hierarchical, lists and are represented by decimal numbers that combine a letter of the alphabet with a numeral , e.g. .B72 or .K535. Relationships among topics in LCC are shown not by the numbers that are assigned to them, but by indenting subtopics under the larger topics that they are a part of, much like an outline.

There is also the NLM classification that is used more often in medical libraries.

The NLM Classification covers the field of medicine and related sciences. The scheme is a system of classification intended to be used for the shelf arrangement of all library materials, regardless of format. Designed as a broad classification, it is suitable for both large and small library collections and may be adapted to handle specialized collections of any size.

The NLM Classification is a system of mixed notation patterned after the Library of Congress (LC) Classification where alphabetical letters which denote broad subject categories are further subdivided by numbers. The NLM Classification utilizes schedules QS-QZ and W-WZ, permanently excluded from the LC Classification Schedules and is intended to be used with the LC schedules which supplement the NLM Classification for subjects bordering on medicine and for general reference materials. The LC schedules for Human Anatomy (QM), Microbiology (QR), and Medicine (R) are not used at all by the National Library of Medicine since they overlap the NLM Classification.

There is also the BISAC system, which is used mainly for booksellers, but also has been adapted for library use.

The BISAC Subject Headings List, also known as the BISAC Subject Codes List, is a standard used by many companies throughout the supply chain to categorize books based on topical content. The Subject Heading applied to a book can determine where the work is shelved in a brick and mortar store or the genre(s) under which it can be searched for in an internal database.

Another option is the Universal Decimal Classification system.

The Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) is the world's foremost multilingual classification scheme for all fields of knowledge, a sophisticated indexing and retrieval tool. It was adapted by Paul Otlet (Rayward's Otlet page; Wikipedia entry ) and Nobel Prizewinner Henri La Fontaine from the Decimal Classification of Melvil Dewey, and first published (in French) between 1904 and 1907. Since then, it has been extensively revised and developed, and has become a highly flexible and effective system for organizing bibliographic records for all kinds of information in any medium (it is well suited to multi-media information collections). It is structured in such a way that new developments and new fields of knowledge can be readily incorporated. The code itself is independent of any particular language or script (consisting of arabic numerals and common punctuation marks), and the accompanying class descriptions have appeared in many translated versions. UDC is in worldwide use, and has been published in whole or in part in 40 different languages.

There are also various classification systems in other languages, such as Chinese Library Classification, and the Russian BBK Classification System.

Answer 3

What we are using at my library is that books are still coded with Dewey (I think), but the books are arranged in something called the GLADES. This means the non-fiction collection is sorted by broad topics like Play, Life (biographies), Travel and Home. Then in Home, the collection is broken in these large sections like cooking books. Then when you go look in the cooking section, the books are arranged by their Dewey call number.

Answer 4

The English Wikipedia article on library classifications lists some examples but the overview is not very practical. I contributed to the German article, which lists the classification schemes most used in German libraries. The systems are divided between public libraries and academic libraries, I don't know whether this is also common in other languages. Several large university libraries, manage their own classifications, at least in Germany. These custom schemes often derive from each other, but unfortunately there is no revision control system.