Dewey Decimal System

Nonfiction Library books are ordered in DDC

The Dewy Decimal System is an antiquated yet traditional system of ordering books in a school library. Recent 21st-century Library Science examines the DDC through a critical race theory lens and questions the origins of the system itself. Critics have called the DDC racist, sexist, homophobic, and xenophobic. The DDC was created in 1876 and the world was very different then. Is it any wonder the point of view would be different from today? Should we maintain the status quo or should we question it? Here are some thoughts from Teacher-Librarian guru, Kelsey Bogan who has really paved the way to Genrefying the school library.

Why would we change the way the library is set up?

Ditching Dewey #1: Dear Dewey, It’s Not Me, Its YouThe Dewey Decimal System (DDC). Oh how you plague me. I despise the DDC and have essentially ditched it at my high school library. GASP!! I know, I know, I know. I know all of the arguments that pe…

Ditching Dewey Pt 2: Out W. The Old, In W. The NewThis is the second post in my Ditching Dewey series. Read Ditching Dewey Pt 1: Dear Dewey, It’s Not Me, It’s You I discuss in my previous post the reasons WHY Dewey isn’t working …

Dewey Ditch #3: Trying a BISAC HybridThis picture shows the spine labels, you can see that I assigned a color to each “neighborhood group” and that I use labels with that color underneath the spine label to assist shelvers…

10 steps to genre-fy your library!I just finished genre-fying our high school library! I know a lot of librarians struggle with the “should I or shouldn’t I?” conundrum when it comes to genre-fication. I thought I…

Examining DDC through Depth & Complexity

What is the origin of the DDC?

Whose point of view is represented in the DDC?

What PATTERNS & RULES can be found in the DDC and how does that impact the STRUCTURE?

References:

DDC timeline. OCLC. (2023). https://www.oclc.org/en/dewey/resources/timeline.html

GARDEN GROVE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT Office of K-12 Educational Services Department of Gifted and Talented Education. (2017, October 24). Content imperatives parents - ggusd.us. https://www.ggusd.us/assets/files/departments/gate/dac/content-imperatives-for-parents-english.pdf

J Taylor Education. (2023, October 16). Home - the center for depth and complexity. The Center For Depth and Complexity - J Taylor Education. https://depthcomplexity.com/

Wayne. (n.d.). Dewey Decimal poster set 10 printable Dewey Decimal System. Etsy. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1137297717/dewey-decimal-poster-set-10-printable

Posted October 21, 2023