Just read the article at http://www.slj.com/2012/09/librarians/are-deweys-days-numbered-libraries-across-the-country-are-giving-the-old-classification-system-the-heave-ho-heres-one-schools-story/
which was from an issue of SLJ last year.
I am curious if anyone has transitioned away from Dewey in the libraries or if they know of some that have. The librarians in my district have talked about it but haven't jumped on it yet - mainly because of the huge time commitment. A district about an hour from us made the switch this summer. I will be able to see one of those schools in early November at our Maine Association of School Librarians meeting.
Thought? Comment?
I have seen some school libraries that have decided not to shelve according to Dewey, although most chose to keep the Dewey designations on the labeling inside the books in order to provide that classification information to their students. These libraries simply arranged materials by interests and disciplines rather than by Dewey number.
ReplyDeleteThe investment of time is huge though and even working all summer, many of them will be working on completing this project in their libraries for a year or two. That being said, the pay off has been tremendous. Circulation of previously "lost" materials increased substantially. The "finadability factor" was the goal and student input was used along with teachers' to decide on "storefront style" book displays and collection placement. If the goal is to get materials in the hands of students and increase use of the library, they were very successful.