Dewey Vs. Genrefication by Corrie Ball https://padlet.com/corrie_ball/1p8mxyba2c2a Thoughts from the articles en-us 2017-10-17 20:22:04 UTC 2025-12-06 14:08:04 UTC hello@padlet.com Carolyn Delby cdelby https://padlet.com/corrie_ball/1p8mxyba2c2a/wish/198048745 This article was written from the point of view that the Dewey Decimal System is helpful for the patrons of the library.  The author stated that even though there are books that can fall under multiple categories, you can "compromise and identify the lowest common denominator."  The author also said that when creating this system, Dewey followed the question: "What BIG question of life does this information fundamentally answer?  Using this as a guide, Dewey was able to create the 10 categories, and then arrange the books into them, so that his system made sense. I agree, the DDC is a common starting point and using it can help the patron locate the answers they are looking for.]]> 2017-10-17 23:08:19 UTC https://padlet.com/corrie_ball/1p8mxyba2c2a/wish/198048745 Chrissy Ensign https://padlet.com/corrie_ball/1p8mxyba2c2a/wish/198048779 Well I am officially overwhelmed. I think in part because I'm torn. Harris makes several good points supporting the generification of school libraries: more accessible to students, 1st graders can't read decimals, it's an old system, etc. He points out that the DDC is an old classification system that was used before the invention of online catalogs. We weed our collection to get rid of old books, shouldn't we do the same with the system in which they are organized? Point taken...but the thought of reorganizing my whole library if daunting. Even when I teach the kids where things are, they still ask. I'm not sure that generification would help. Then I think about common language. In a school where we have a higher population of FRL students, we talk a lot about common academic language from year to year. If the library changed, would I be robbing the students of this type of vocabulary that they might encounter later in life? Does it matter? More questions than answers I'm afraid.]]> 2017-10-17 23:08:41 UTC https://padlet.com/corrie_ball/1p8mxyba2c2a/wish/198048779 Barb Hobe https://padlet.com/corrie_ball/1p8mxyba2c2a/wish/198048916 Simplifying Dewey makes sense. Struggling to process this information. Okay, looking a classification differently does make sense but how drastic should the changes be and for what reasons. I get that Harris says times are a changin and we need to adjust the antiquated 137 year old system but in 2020 how antiquated with the "new" system be?

]]> 2017-10-17 23:10:00 UTC https://padlet.com/corrie_ball/1p8mxyba2c2a/wish/198048916 Becky Freehauf missbeckyf https://padlet.com/corrie_ball/1p8mxyba2c2a/wish/198048935 Books in 26 categories?! That seems like so much work. I guess I can see both sides of the argument. I think students would be able to find things faster, or find books they wouldn't have read before with genrefying. However, I can't imagine the hassle it would be to re-catalog or shelve these items! I did like that they asked for student input, though. I also liked the point of "using items" vs. "finding items"]]> 2017-10-17 23:10:13 UTC https://padlet.com/corrie_ball/1p8mxyba2c2a/wish/198048935 JACKIE Child centered/browsable and flexible. These are so important and what I see as the most frustrating thing my students go through when walking into the library and looking for a book. They go straight to the computer and then when/if they find the book they ask me where it is. Even the 8th graders have a frail grasp on dewey. I connected to the line about the kids spending too much time FINDING/LOOKING and not enough time doing or anything else for that matter. OUr students find a book and then leave immediately to their next class. They only check out in between periods or before/after school. I love this article and all the problems it reveals to be solving, but can there be a middle? Can't you have a dewey system but pull out various sections with the types of categories they made? https://padlet.com/corrie_ball/1p8mxyba2c2a/wish/198049059 2017-10-17 23:11:09 UTC https://padlet.com/corrie_ball/1p8mxyba2c2a/wish/198049059 Joann This is a very interesting article. Gibson talks about Cathy Magowan a teacher-librarian from Janet Lee Elementary School who wanted to redo her non-fiction section and dump Dewey. She did dump Dewey in favor of Sur~F and it really sounds like a good idea. I think it would work in my library! She came up with 22 broad topics and subtopics like Animals, Things that Go and People of the past. This does sound better and it has been very successful! https://padlet.com/corrie_ball/1p8mxyba2c2a/wish/198049253 2017-10-17 23:12:48 UTC https://padlet.com/corrie_ball/1p8mxyba2c2a/wish/198049253 Rachel Amadio rachel_amadio1 https://padlet.com/corrie_ball/1p8mxyba2c2a/wish/198049572 The 26 main categories seemed easier to navigate. Once they rearranged, they boosted their circulation with books that wouldn't normally be checked out. I'm curious what their spine labels look like? With such long labels, I wonder how it all fits on a skinnier book? I also liked the idea of mixing fiction with non-fiction. It reminded me of the read-alikes we discussed in class.]]> 2017-10-17 23:14:51 UTC https://padlet.com/corrie_ball/1p8mxyba2c2a/wish/198049572