​SHELVING
DEWEY?
Life after Dewey? Discover what's involved when deciding to go Dewey-less. Look at both sides of the debate, think about users' needs, discover other classification possibilities, and explore libraries that have ditched Dewey.
THE YAY-SAYERS: DITCH DEWEY
CONS OF DEWEY:
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Complicated decimal system
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Made for librarians and not the general public
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The world has changed since 1876
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Most students aren't familiar with Dewey categories and subcategories
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Barrier to student access to materials
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Navigating Dewey system takes extensive time to teach-- students are spending time learning how to find materials instead of actually finding the materials
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Can seem intimidating
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Extra work to translate between subjects and call numbers
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Students avoid hassle of finding print materials in favor of all electronic sources
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Doesn't work well for fiction collection
PROS OF REORGANIZATION:
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Leaving Dewey doesn't mean leaving organization or the card catalog
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More intuitive for students to use
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Promotes self-directed information seeking and learning
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Helps ESOL students make use of library
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Browsing subject areas allows for discovery of similar items
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Librarians better able to direct students and staff to resources
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"Power Shelving" is appealing to users
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Increased circulation-- numbers and variety
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Greater flexibility as curriculum and interests changes
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More time for librarians to teach research instead of teaching Dewey
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Many libraries already separate Fiction collections
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Classification can be customized to meet different schools' and districts' needs
