Mr. Dewey in Scotland or how a general schema is forced to organize the National Museums Scotland’s new Research Library Reclassification Project 1.0 EDUG 2012 Symposium Ines Castellano 26 April 2012 Assistant Librarian

A library in the National Museums Scotland? Working at the heart of an institution comprising six museums spreading east and west on the Scottish Central Belt … mostly. The Library initially provided a service for Museum staff only. Now open to all for reference. Three public Library service points, two “departmental Libraries”. Over 300,000 items in the collection Around 160,000 monographs

Two museums, two Libraries and the birth of the National Museums Scotland Royal Museum Library: Heavily modified UDC schema ca. 1970s. National Museum of Antiquities Library: Modified LC schema ca. 1970s.

Schemas in use Modified UDC schema ca. 1970s Modified LC schema ca. 1970s. Edinburgh City Libraries LC index, 1949 ed. Standard UDC 1961 abridged ed. Standard unabridged UDC 1993 edition. Ministry of Defence schema for our Scottish Regimental histories.

Why reclassify? Simplification of procedures : training new staff, too many variations on the schemas used. Standardization of schemas for collaboration and updating: LC Scheme & UDC Scheme last updated 1970s! Copy cataloguing/classification options now available Free staff time to further the services offered by the Library on reopening. Opportunity: the Library is closed to the public : 3 years window

LC vs UDC vs DDC Consultation process: Users: simpler notation … in a special library? LCNB 466 UDC 731(41:18) (069) DDC Neighbouring libraries: LC, by size, Home made, DDC Other professionals’ suggestions: DDC, LC, UDC, Bisal, home made… Library staff: DDC, UDC, LC Most OCLC records have DDC nos, can we use them? No knowledge of DDC within the Library staff

DDC is

The target Reclassify to Dewey all the material to be housed in the new National Museums Scotland Research Library due to open in the summer Minus the journals. Approximately 48,000 titles on: Reference Scottish history Museology Exploration Ethnography Decorative arts European Archaeology (north of the Alps)

The Library is partially closed Summer 2008

The Library … mostly

Lets start

Challenges arrive, finding out how DDC works is not the only problem

Librarians don’t give up easily LC subject assignation is dropped We reduce some of the library’s services Revisit library procedures to “produce” time Reassign reclassification tasks Conversion tables are compiled to minimize book moves, speed up classification and improve consistency between classifiers…

Translation table Iron age Scotland

What is coming to us? Can we cope with Dewey? Collection to be split for the first time in 150 years … or more: –Ethnography 39(7):7 North American Indian art 39(94):8 Traditional Aboriginal stories –Archaeology, south of the Alps 7(3:32):3 Egypt, social life –Archaeology, north of the Alps CC 941 Iron age, dwelling sites CC 942 Iron age, burials CC 945 Iron age, art and objects

How is DDC collocating our topics? Any mayor problems? What on our collection on ceramic? –771(41).8 Wed. Pottery factories WED –771(41).9 Hor Potters HOR Art metalwork? –782 Gold and silver & –Bracelets, necklaces, earrings all to Scottish history –DA 750 Scottish diaspora to Ethnography? –39(708)Nav.:76 Navajo textiles –39(68): Marriage in Africa –39(669)Yor. The Yoruba YOR

The challenge that is DDC’s 930s Prehistoric forts, brochs (roundhouses), prehistoric metallurgy, prehistoric tools, prehistoric art … they cannot be kept in the archaeology section How do we class sites? is Orkney! … SKA for Skara Brae (plus author’s initial) Scottish prehistory : we have 240 titles English prehistory to : 432 titles Germanic Regions prehistory : 344 titles Scandinavian prehistory : 372 titles

Good bye to standard Dewey 012 palaeolithic 013 mesolithic 014 neolithic 015 bronze age 016 iron age Sweden Norway Finland

EDUG 930 Working Group Post Roman and Medieval archaeology have to be sent to the historical section : A report of the Sutton Hoo excavation : The early history of Suffolk Should we dare to use the proposed -073 subdivision? Iron age brooches vs Metallurgy : / / Mining / / Metalwork / / Prehistoric tools /

The value of collaboration EDUG 930 Working Group (2) DDC 23 rd ed. implemented a year before publication DDC 24 th ed. implemented, hopefully, a few years in advance Museum’s Archaeology Department supplied up to date time periods to be applied to Scottish and British archaeology for submission to the Working Group. Library staff provided places of prime archaeological importance to be included in table 2 of the schema. Some were accepted and included in the 23 rd ed.: Hadrian’s Wall, Britannia (Roman Province), Antonine Wall and Skara Brae.

This is phase 1! Over 30,000 titles reclassified to DDC –Reference –Ethnography –Scottish history –Exploration –Museology except conservation –Decorative arts: tribal art, ceramics and metalwork –European archaeology (north of the Alps) 90% of our new acquisitions are now classify to Dewey.

Done!!

Reclassification Project 2.0 Convert all remaining LC material to DDC Approximately 10,000 titles: –Scottish approach on the social sciences, Numismatics, agriculture. Small coverage of subjects Will we be able to do copy classification, outsource classification? Slower process We are now fully open and busy Internal users’ survey of the new Research Library due by end of May

The Research Library is open to all! Long live libraries!! Questions