Week 4
We’re moving along and our excitement is building. We’ve since completed Weddings and Sports & Recreation. Our biography collection is currently integrated into the regular non-fiction collection, but we decided to separate biography into its own entity, with the exception of US presidents, others TBD.
I’m a fan of specific instructions. For those of you who also appreciate specifics, I’d like to mention a few lessons we’ve learned and outline our process.
We began with the decision to make the switch. This decision was made before I had the pleasure of joining the library and had me excited from the start. I think this idea of making the decision is worth noting. I feel it’s important to establish Dewey- Free as a commitment. This process isn’t easy, but knowing that everyone truly believes in making the switch solidifies and strengthens our commitment.
We established a basic structure of categories and subcategories. This was done by looking at the groups used by BISAC, various controlled vocabulary sets, and our collection. We felt that at the heart of this project, we must be true to our collections and our user base. “What will a user ask for?” has become a bit of a Mantra.
Next we developed a system of abbreviations for the categories. We decided to have 4 lines on each label. The first being HNF to establish that it is Non –Fiction, the next two lines establish the Category and Subcategory, and the fourth (bottom) line is the “cutter.” We’ve been using the Author or Editor’s last name. This is simply to establish shelf order. This fourth line is open to change depending on the situation.
On to the Catalog. Sharon has changed the record to show the “call number” as well as specific location information, and the old Dewey number. This allows users to search the OPAC using the Dewey number if that’s what they’re used to. She’s tackling this one section at a time. So far, the sections (or categories) have been pretty small so when she’s done, we’re able to re-shelve the items in a new temporary location (with plenty of signs).
We’re up to our fourth revision of the categories. I’ve learned that page numbers help, as well as dating the revision. Also, having a white board handy is highly suggested. Many of the categories require a great deal of collaboration and flexibility.