Ditch Dewey? Seekonk did in REF; BISAC categories---Mind/Body/SOUL - religion, health, spirituality, wellness---HEALTH + Dewey (color coded); WORLD = History and Travel (each section will be color-coded)
Connecticut - Dewey 100 - 900 but sub-areas called "glades"; works best ??for non-fiction???- what about graphic novels?? X-Men vs particular superheroes or particular series (Night Fall); manga/anime/G=novels are NOT the same
Due the major changes, weed FIRST, then change spine labels; BIOGRAPHIES - sports is HOME for some athletes but Lou Gehrig - no?; politicians; entertainment celebrities; Can't browse for an athlete in BIOS; only RANDOM uncategorized BIOS without another major HOME (but all the same individual together even then);
Cutter numbers are now insane in Dewey; non-fiction in Children's (Burrillville)--quick interest topic signs (volcanos!); major cat (Dewey) but then stick-out browsing signs for "quilting" / "yoga"; NOT going to drop all Dewey, but the topper signs direct people visually
Users want to be able to scan for what they want (Should we ask McNaughton to do FICTION or categories rather than all LC?)
What about oversized? Shelving in BISAC is hard so you need to keep SOME Dewey to ensure continued organization
-Do a good weeding before changing the categories and labeling in your collection. This will give you the opportunity to know your collection well and will help in organizing the grouping of materials.
-Many libraries are contemplating doing away with Dewey and LC. Some libraries will use a hybrid system, but must decide what would work best for their patron community.
-Color coding your collection so that all health and wellness, all sports, etc have a unique color label on the spine makes it some much easier to browse. This empowers the patron and allows them to find what they are looking for with minimal or no assistance.
-BISAC model, bookstore model; categories in plain English, highlight collection with displays
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