[Publib] It's a fiction that there's fiction in Dewey

[Peter Bromberg, SJRLC]

It's a fiction that there's no fiction in Dewey, and that's a fact.  (Or
should I say it's a non-fiction...?)
 
Anyhoo, according to the OCLC Dewey Summaries posted at:
http://www.oclc.org/dewey/resources/summaries/deweysummaries.pdf, 813 is
reserved for "American fiction in English".
 
Furthermore, in the Wikipedia article on Dewey, it is written:  "It is a
common misconception that all books in the DDC are non-fiction. The DDC has
a number for all books, including those that generally become their own
section of fiction. If DDC rules are strictly followed, American fiction is
classified in 813. Most libraries create a separate fiction section because
of the space that would be taken up in the 800s."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewey_Decimal_Classification)

So there you have it. Fiction is in a separate section because --wait for
it-- librarians refuse to strictly follow the rules. :-)

-Peter

Peter Bromberg, Assistant Director
South Jersey Regional Library Cooperative (SJRLC)
10 Foster Avenue, Suite F-3 Gibbsboro, NJ 08026
Phone: 856 346-1222  Fax: 856 346-2839
Email: bromberg at sjrlc.org
IM: peterbromberg (aim/gtalk/meebo); peterjbromberg (yahoo)

Web: http://www.sjrlc.org 
Work Blog: http://sjrlc.typepad.com
Personal blog: http://librarygarden.blogspot.com 
QandANJ: http://www.qandanj.org
Social Security # 152-62- ...wait, that's TMI...


 
 
 

________________________________

From: Adri Edwards-Johnson [mailto:adri at pls.lib.ok.us] 
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 4:26 PM
To: 'Michele Haytko'; 'publib'
Subject: RE: [Publib] Smarter than a 5th grader and the show's producers



At the university where I use to work we put our fiction in the 800s - why?
Because all the literature we had was of the fiction variety.  

--

 

 

From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org]
On Behalf Of Michele Haytko
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 3:13 PM
To: publib
Subject: Re: [Publib] Smarter than a 5th grader and the show's producers

 

I was always taught that the 800s were not for fiction, but for literature,
which is different.  

 

Michele

 

On 01/03/07, Susan Dennis <sdennis0 at yahoo.com> wrote: 

I was flipping channels last night and stopped on Are you smarter than a 5th
grader. The question was true/false: There are Dewey numbers for fiction.

 

All the kids and the contestant put false and were told it was right.


I was yelling at my TV "what about the 800s." Granted not a lot of libraries
use the 800s for fiction, but they could.

 

Perhaps we should inundate Fox with complaints. Their news division would
probably not take kindly to it, since they probably believe we are terrorist
sympathizes because we aren't fond of the PATRIOT act. Perhaps silence is
the best policy. 



Susan Dennis 

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