Nine Years Ago, I Speculated that Dewey’s Days Were Numbered. How Far Have We Come? | Opinion

SLJ(School Library Journal) ^ | 9/9/21 | Tali Babas

[DallasBiff]

I was vilified for criticizing the Dewey Decimal system. We librarians need to stop perpetuating its systemic racism in our libraries.

Almost a decade ago, my colleagues and I wrote an article for SLJ entitled “Are Dewey’s Days Numbered?” in which we made the argument that the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system had lost its relevance. We took a bold stance, and the backlash was swift. Fellow librarians would wait outside the rooms I was speaking in at conferences, backing me into corners to demand that I stop talking about alternative systems.

[DallasBiff]

I know from 3 years ago, but how is the Dewey Decimal System racist?

Is it because one needs to know basic math?

Anyway the Dewey Decimal System went out like wall hanging phone land lines, due to technology.

It's sad but brick and mortar libraries aren't really needed today, since one can get e-books or other historical information online.

I remember my first ever field trip in first grade was to the local public library.

[Bishop_Malachi]

“...how is the Dewey Decimal System racist?”

________________________________________________

...because mentally-ill Leftists are saying they are.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

So I looked up "Dewey Decimal System racist" and the very first article says:

"Even in his day, people were appalled at his antisemitism. He literally opened his own social club just to exclude Jews, including many of his own colleagues."

Well, tarnation! In other words, he is the perfect 2024 Democrat. So the Dems should love the guy and make him the Dean of Columbia University.

[T.B. Yoits]

The Dewey Decimal System was doomed with the advent of computers. Numeral systems are more limited and have more complications that Alphanumeric Systems, starting with the simple character count.

In a numeric system 0-9 give you a choice of 10 characters. (With restrictions on leading zeros which cause problems. For example: "5" and "005" are not recognized as the same unless the software is written to).

In an alphanumeric system, A-Z and 0-9 give you a choice of 36 characters.

Computer programs can query and sort with alphanumeric systems in ways a simple numeric system can't.

[goodnesswins]

“It is time to imagine a new future in our libraries, one that truly supports and incorporates our values of intellectual freedom, equality, and social justice.”

Intellectual freedom????? Yeah, right...

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Mentally ill leftist:

Tali Balas is the lower school librarian at Convent of the Sacred Heart in
New York City. She has been working in school libraries for half of her life.

This is exactly what you'd expect this arsehole to look like:

Anyone want to guess if she is Jewish and was raised by red diaper doper
babies in Brooklyn? Woody Allen used to poke holes in them.

[Pontiac]

Intellectual freedom and social justice are diametrically opposed.

Social Justice seeks to eliminate Intellectual Freedom.

[UnwashedPeasant]

The new Wokey Decimal System for permitted books:
000-099: Microaggressions
100-199: Intersectionality
200-299: Cultural Appropriation
300-399: Privilege
400-499: Social Scoring
500-599: Safe Spaces and Trigger Warnings
600-699: Far Right-Wing Extremism and Wrongthink
700-799: Organic, Vegan, Gluten-Free Living
800-899: Gender and Pronouns
900-999: Deconstructing the Patriarchy
Books are further classified by their “Awareness Level” from 1-10, with 1 being Problematic and 10 being Enlightened. Misclassifications must be reported to the Literary Justice Committee.

[Conan the Librarian]

I was a student worker then a MLS Librarian for almost 40 years. The Dewey System is as close to the Perfect classification system for books that there is.

Anything else would just be madness.

[Romulus]

Brick and mortar libraries are needed now more than ever. Unless you like the idea of having all your information controlled by a gatekeeper with a mouse in his hand.

[nopardons]

BTTT

[Carry_Okie]

It's sad but brick and mortar libraries aren't really needed today, since one can get e-books or other historical information online.

That "memory hole" is working perfectly between your ears. My research demands paper books frequently simply because of the selectivity in choosing what gets scanned.

[larrytown]

Brick and mortar libraries are needed now more than ever. Unless you like the idea of having all your information controlled by a gatekeeper with a mouse in his hand.

THIS!

[larrytown]

Brick and mortar libraries are needed now more than ever. Unless you like the idea of having all your information controlled by a gatekeeper with a mouse in his hand.

THIS!

[rdl6989]

This person belongs in a rubber room. I remember going to a university library that used the Library of Congress system. I was clueless.

[DallasBiff]

Ask anybody under 30 today what is a card catalog, and you will get blank stares.

[P.O.E.]

Maybe the Babylonians had it right with their base-60 number system.

https://www.historymath.com/the-babylonian-number-system/

[Jamestown1630]

I worked in public and academic libraries for half of my adult life. I started out with Dewey, and then moved to LC.

I didn’t see that one was really much better than the other. If one has any advantage, LC is a little easier to memorize.

[DallasBiff]

LOL! It’s funny because it is true.

[scrabblehack]

It’s better than Library of Congress?
XY234786 - Nonexistent President’s Book of Secrets

I can work with either one.

Maybe they should do ISBN’s (just kidding).