[Publib] RE: Good-bye to Dewey

[Strong,Angela]

Have we considered how many patrons have actually been able to find the materials they want by using the Dewey System? And what value that has added to society over the many years since its inception? I suspect that millions of library items are accessed and borrowed yearly from public and school libraries without the need for library staff intervention to assist the patron in locating the items sought. I can't imagine fielding the additional volume of requests for research assistance if the system wasn't working at some significant level.  Perhaps the "I can't figure out all those numbers" complaints are from a vocal minority, and perhaps once again, we are jumping through irrational hoops to satisfy a relatively small percentage of the library user population.  If Dewey was so obstructive to accessing materials, it would have been superceded by some other method long ago.  I agree that "natural language" signage should be used to the assist patrons in their search process.  Isn't that, after all, the main visual tool used in bookstores?  There are definitely some positive aspects to bookselling that libraries and their patrons might benefit by using, but a library and a bookstore are two separate organizations with two distinct roles in a community.  
 
btw--It would be helpful, if not downright civilized, if members of the library community would refrain from referring to other members in derogatory and demeaning language.  
 
Angela Strong
 
Reference Librarian
Schenectady County Public Library
Schenectady, NY
astrong at sals.edu

 
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