Q&A

Changing Classification Systems

Posted by Laura Dallas on July 2, 2010 at 11:47

I am new to this ning network and to my job as a church librarian, although I have worked in public libraries for several years. Our library has been classified according to a staff-created classification system based on accession numbers and subject headings. I am planning on converting our system to Dewey. Until then, the resources are shelved according to audience (Children, Youth, Adult), media type (video, book), and then by title.

 

Has anyone re-classified their library?  Do you have any tips on how to do this?  I am mostly confused about how to shelve some items that are Dewey and some that are not while the re-classification is in progress.

 

Does your library have a Youth section or do you think these resources should be mixed in with the Adult section because of resources that cross this boundary?  If you shelve them together, do you use spine labels to designate resources specified for use with Youth?

 

Thank you so much for any advice!

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Tags: audience, classification, shelving, youth
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          • Laura Dallas > Gene Cahall July 6, 2010 9:55
            Hi Gene, Thanks for the advice. The open source ILS systems I mentioned do not need to be built. They have already been designed and are continuously improved as they are used; however, they do provide a wide degree of flexibility which I prefer. I am currently reviewing demos of the two systems and find that they meet most of our needs so far and can be customized beyond that. My library is at the conference level so that volunteers are not responsible for circulation, and my training in library science leaves me wanting a more powerful system than the church library software I have demo'd so far. I really want a system that can grow and change with the times adding new functionality faster and cheaper than buying a new system or upgrade. Another major decision factor is the cost. I have dreams of putting all of our conference church libraries on the same system many years down the road, and an open source system would eliminate the cost issue for churches that cannot afford it. I plan on spending more hours reviewing the demos and consulting with the companies that provide the software before making any final decisions.
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