112 Knowl. Org. 31(2004)No.
2
Book Reviews
Book Reviews
Edited by Michèle Hudon
Book Review Editor
Dewey Decimal Classification and Relative index. acquisition of DDC by OCLC has also inaugurated
22nd ed. Edited by Joan S. Mitchell [Link]. Dublin, OH. an era of new products and services, along with or-
: OCLC, 2003. 4v (1xxvii, 731 p;xvi, 1250 p.;1074 p; ganized marketing. DDC21 (1996) was a product of
934 p) ISBN 0-910608-0-9 (Hb). high IT, and the 22nd edition can safely be termed a
child of network technology. It is indeed the first
With nearly 130 years of eventful and checkered his- edition produced in the web environment. To stay
tory, the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) is abreast of current developments on knowledge prac-
the oldest living yet thriving modern library classifi- tices, the editors relied on the Internet and electronic
cation. Having undergone 21 revisions, it is the most databases for new topics and terms. Editors and pol-
applied library classification structure all over the icy makers got constant feedback and suggestions via
world. Apart from its use in libraries in more than the Internet to add new features and to achieve accu-
135 countries across six continents, many national racy and efficiency. In addition to the feedback and
and trade bibliographies use it for content organiza- expert advice, this edition, as usual, is based on actual
tion. Furthermore, it is now making successful for- classification of three quarters of a million current
ays into the world of electronic documents and net- books in the Decimal Classification Division of the
worked information. Library of Congress since 1996.
The print version of the 22nd edition was released WebDewey (2003) and Abridged WebDewey
in September 2003, two months later than the sched- (2004) are now only available on the Internet to li-
uled time of July 2003, and two months after the re- censed users. WebDewey is an enhanced version of
lease of the electronic version, WebDewey. The pe- the Dewey database of terms and numbers available
riod between print editions now seems settled to in the print edition. Updated quarterly, it is only ac-
seven years as a matter of policy. As WebDewey, on cessible via the Internet on an annual subscription
the other hand, is updated on a quarterly basis, what basis. It provides much more facilities including key
really constitutes a new edition is problematic; edi- words navigation. Annotation feature allows classifi-
tion is rolling, always in a flux without much fixity. ers to add and share notes about local classification
The last half century, and more specifically the changes. WebDewey is available within the full
tenure of Benjamin A. Custer as editor (1956-1980; OCLC cataloguing services environment. It provides
Editions 16-19), has been an era of structural many access points with many search and browse in-
changes in the DDC, backed by professional man- dexes. It makes the location of Dewey numbers an
agement and organizational planning. Custer was in- “easy” game.
strumental in not only resuscitating the system, but The annually updated Dewey for Windows on CD
also in putting DDC back on the path of progress. ceased publication in 2001; this decision may hurt
His able successor, Dr. John P. Comaromi, edited the libraries in developing countries where the Inter-
the 20th edition (1989) and ushered in a period of net, due to poor telecommunication infrastructure
simplification and consolidation. Following the ac- and unreliable services, is not easily accessible.
quisition of Forest Press by OCLC in 1988, much
more research has gone into making new editions of Organization of the system
the DDC. The OCLC Office of Research has in-
volved itself in classification research, especially in The print DDC22 in four volumes containing a total
the harmonization of various knowledge classifica- of 4076 pages has been divided into eleven sections
tion systems and mapping of DDC numbers to sub- marked A/K as follows:
ject headings, above all to make DDC capable of or-
ganizing electronic information of every sort. The
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Knowl. Org. 31(2004)No.2 113
Book Reviews
Volume 1 Sections A/G systems and parties, languages, literatures and histori-
A xi-xxxvi Prefatory text, notes and new features. cal periods. It is a healthy trend to involve inter alia
B xxxvii-1xiii Introduction to the DDC system. De- experts from other knowledge organization systems,
scribes the theory and practical proce- e.g. Professor I.C. McIlwaine (UDC) and Dr. Joseph
dures for number building. In a nut-
Miller (Sears List) in the revision and review process.
shell, it is a concise operational manual
for using the DDC. A few areas were pre-tested in some U.S. and foreign
C lxv-lxxiv Glossary: Brief definitions of terms libraries. Concern for user convenience has contin-
used in the theory and practice of the ued, though no new special or user-friendly device
DDC. appears to have been incorporated, with the possible
D 1xxv-1xxvii Index to the terms and concepts intro- exception of an increase in the number of multilevel
duced in sections A/C.
summaries; this facilitates the scanning and subse-
E 1-181 Manual: A guide to the interpretation
and comprehension of some ambiguous
quent location of numbers without undue scurry.
numbers. Compares and contrasts ana-
logous or seemingly similar subjects in Changes
the schedules and tables. Epitomizes
the policies of the Decimal Classifica- DDC22 is the second edition prepared by Joan S.
tion Division of the Library of Con- Mitchell who took over as editor in 1993. It carries
gress.
forward the policies and improvements started in
F 183-713 Six tables with their subdivisions.
G 715-731 Equivalence table of relocated and re- DDC21, especially the onslaught on the Christian
used numbers from the previous edi- and western cultural bias in the schedules and tables.
tion. The plan for reducing Christian bias in 200 Religion,
Volume 2 Sections H & I initiated in DDC21, has now been completed, with
some additional provisions in 296 and 297.
H v-xvi Three main summaries.
I 1-1250 Schedules of classes 000-599. An outstanding change has been the abrogation of
Table 7 Persons. The functions of Table 7 are now
Volume 3 Section J filled by using T1-08 and whatever notation is ap-
J 1-1074 Schedules of classes 600-999. propriate from 011-999. There are at least six places
Volume 4 Section K in the tables and 12 places in the schedules where the
K 1-928 Relative index: Alphabetical and struc- use of T7 was prescribed; what good the abolition of
tural index of subjects and topics listed T7 has produced is not clear. In fact, it does make
in the context of disciplines and their number building in some cases a bit circuitous, espe-
corresponding numbers in schedules cially while using Table 3C. It has also resulted in the
and tables. reuse of many DDC 21 numbers with new meanings
as in e.g.:
The new edition reflects the current thinking in
knowledge mapping and the emergence of new ter- Title DDC 21 DDC 22
minology. Progress made in understanding the user Artworks 704+5(T7)=704.5 704.08+8 (from
approaches in accessing information and users’ expec- by T1 088) +5 (001-
tations from a classification structure has been the fo- scientists 999) = 704.0885
Collection 821.0080352344 821.008035208834
cus of the new edition. The revision process has re-
of English
ceived considerable input from a commissioned sur- poetry
vey, conducted by George D’Elia (of the State Uni- about
versity of New York (SUNY), at Buffalo, of DDC lawyers
users within the USA, Canada, UK and Australia, In
addition to D’Elia’s survey, the Editorial Policy However, some numbers remain the same e.g., Social
Committee (DCEPC), both a recommendatory and customs of artists 390.47 (both in DDC21 and
supervising committee, and an apex body continued DDC22). A few numbers have also become shorter
to associate outside experts, institutions and associa- in length.
tions for suggestions on national and cultural issues, In compliance with the recommendations of
with a view to reducing inherent biases. The interna- D’Elia’s survey, all works relating to directories of
tional survey has led to improvement in geographic travel facilities such as hotels, lodges, motels, inns,
areas, as well as in the representation of law, political have been shifted to 910.46 and to 913/919 whereas
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114 Knowl. Org. 31(2004)No.2
Book Reviews
647.94 continues to be in place for general informa- However, all these changes are not those projected as
tion about hotels. slated changes for DDC22 in the DDC21 (1996),
A common practice in previous editions, that is namely in 520 Astronomy, 355-359 Military science,
full class or extensive revisions (phoenix schedules), 636-639 Animal husbandry and 690 Buildings. Obvi-
appear to have been discontinued in the preparation ously the switch over to the DDC 22 will put less
of DDC22. But minor changes are numerous. There strain on libraries.
are more than one thousand relocations and discon- There has been considerable improvement in the
tiuations of class numbers. Some 40 numbers have manual, now shifted to volume 1 of the print edition
been reused. Routine revisions involving expansions, (pp. 1-182). Notes in the manual have been short-
reductions, deletions and relocations are outlined in ened by removing redundant information and by di-
the table below: viding them into smaller sections. Some information
from the manual has been transferred to the sched-
004-006 Data processing and computer science. ules and tables, in the form of notes. The manual is
New topics accommodated, but general now clearer and easier to read. Flow charts, built-in
structure the same. numbers, and see also references should help classifi-
200 Further work on the removal of Christian ers achieve greater consistency.
bias and expansion of 296 and 297. Con- The relative index has been beefed up. With its
tents of 291 Comparative religion distrib- 928 pages, it is 333 pages longer than the previous
uted to 200-209 with obviously brief
one, including new built-in numbers and many addi-
numbers, and more space for expansions.
For example, 291 has been shifted to 200, tional terms. The entry vocabulary is wide-based and
and so 291.1 becomes 201. There are more current.
than sixty relocations in religion of which DDC 22, the first edition of this millennium, has
more than half are from 291 to 201-209. kept pace with the fast changing information envi-
As a result, standard subdivisions of 200 ronment to map and organize it squarely. To quote
have been shifted to 200.1-.9. Advantages
our friends at OCLC: knowledge is a big world, and
for the representation of non-Christian
religions are obvious. they have organized it.
340 Law. 341 International law has become
Law of nations with new numbers for hu- M.P. Satija
man rights and inter governmental organi-
zations. Major relocations in 341.7 Inter- Prof. M.P. Satija, GND University, Amritsar 143 005
national economic and social laws. India. E-mail: satija_mp@[Link]
510 Mathematics (completely revised in
DDC18 [1971]) substantially updated.
Numerical analysis, formerly a part of 515,
upgraded and shifted to 518, a vacant sec-
tion.
543 All aspects of Analytical chemistry, for-
JÖRGENSEN, Corinne. Image retrieval: theory
merly dispersed, have been brought back
to 543.1-543.8. and research. Lanham, MD : Scarecrow Press, 2003.
610 Reworded as “Medicine and health”. Im-
xii, 340 p. ISBN 0-8108-4734-5.
proved indexing of medical topics.
640 Now titled “Home and family manage- Professor Corinne Jörgensen’s book will be useful to
ment” with some topics transferred to 910 researchers, practitioners, and graduate students
Travel. working in the area of the management of collections
930-990 Historical periods updated. About 280 re- of still images. The book is a fine piece of scholarship
locations in this section alone. that is thoroughly researched and nicely written. It
T2 Area table updated for geographic areas, integrates information from a number of perspec-
historical periods and persons. About 280 tives, including cognitive psychology and computer
relocations in this table alone. science, into an information science text. This work
T5 and T6 Table 5 renamed “National and ethnic is timely, since images and other nontextual informa-
groups”. tion are forming an ever larger part of the mass of in-
Tables expanded to make provisions for formation available to us. Indeed, in the long history
American native people and languages. of recorded information on our planet, images “were
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