Dewey? Or Do We Not?

The Dewey Decimal system, though widely known of (if not actually widely known itself-- quick, anyone know the code for theodicy?  Didn't think so*) is far from the only classification system used by libraries.

Melvil Dewey himself was not an absolutist about his system, and in fact helped encourage a contemporary, one Charles Cutter, to develop an alternative called (somewhat unimaginatively) the Cutter Expansive Classification System.

At the time, Cutter was serving as a librarian for the Boston Athenaeum, a rather well-regarded institution as such things go.  It was specifically designed as a response to those who found earlier systems (some of Cutter's included) a little bit too complicated and unwieldy.  Rather than create an elaborate scheme that would include all possible subjects (a noble although clearly flawed endeavor-- after all, where did Dewey expect to classify all of the books on quantum computing?  Or, for that matter, urban fantasy featuring tough but sensitive women who like to pose with their backs to the audience holding a weapon in an outfit that does not quite reveal a tattoo?), Cutter created an "expandable" system, that could be adjusted based on the requirements of the library.

For example, a small local library might only need use the First Classification, which just groups books into A) Reference works and Other; B) Philosophy and Religion; E) Biography; F) History and Geography;
H) Social sciences; L) Natural sciences and Arts; Y) Language and Literature; and YF) Fiction.  Some of the libraries near me clearly still use this system as I have just realized while typing this paragraph, as it reveals that some of the books I had been somewhat surprised to find labeled "Youth Fiction" actually weren't.  Oops.  As the library size increases, other categories can be added as needed-- such as C) for Judeo-Christian matter.  Eventually, all of the letters are used.

Following the major classification codes, it gets a bit more complicated.  But basically, after that first class mark letter, you might see one or more secondary characters indicating a subclass.  Then you'll see a punctuation mark that indicates the size of the book.  Then there'll be another set of characters that are usually derived from the name of the author and the title of the book, although these are often converted to something called Cutter Numbers which I don't even but basically just serve to help fit all this information onto a book spine.

For example-- QA 76.76 H94 M88 breaks down as follows:  Before the punctuation, we have the category codes.  The first Q indicates science.  QA 76 is a subcategory; computer science.  The period indicates a normal sized book.  76 H94 indicate further subspecialties (Automation, HTML), and the final group indicates the author's name (Musciano).

So as you can see, at the top level, there's just as much possibility for complexity as the Dewey system.  But only if you need it-- otherwise, you might just see "YF.But StFr" (Jim Butcher's Storm Front).


*Knowing my friends, one of you will probably chime in with the correct number just to be a wiseacre.  That's ok, I don't mind.