July 13, 2007

Dropping Dewey

Melvil Dewey and Marshall Shore

This is too interesting to pass up. In a move sure to polarize progressive librarians and curmudgeonly taxonomists, Phoenix Public Library Maricopa County Library District is dropping Dewey as its classification scheme. Hear the podcast (.mp3) courtesy of KJZZ.

From KJZZ:
Maricopa County Library District’s Marshall Shore led the charge to arrange the Perry Branch collection like a megachain bookstore… The nation’s first Dewey Decimal-less library celebrated its grand opening on Tuesday in Gilbert… Librarians hope the move lures back readers drawn away by chains like Barnes & Noble and Borders.

Image credits: Wikipedia (Melvil Dewey, left) and Marcos Najera (Marshall Shore, right)

  • Thanks for the catch Audrey. As a newly minted Phoenician, I considered both Maricopa and Phoenix to be one and the same. Must be the heat getting to me.
  • Just wanted to let you know that the wrong library was mentioned in your Dropping Dewey piece. It is Maricopa County Library District that dropped Dewey from its new Perry Branch Library--not the Phoenix Public Library.
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