All Over Albany

I thought all bookstores used the Dewey Decimal System. Every time I go to Barnes & Noble and ask if they have a book, I invariably watch as they call over a manager and ask, "Hey, Dewey have this book in our store? Dewey?

... said Chuck Miller on Oct 7, 2009 at 3:34 PM | link

So... by topic then author?
I've no idea how I'd find anything.

I

... said DH on Oct 7, 2009 at 3:37 PM | link

You mean the branches will be organized differently than the main library? Now that is going to be confusing for those of us who use the main library and the branches.

... said chrisck on Oct 7, 2009 at 4:10 PM | link

You know what, that's B.S. I'm not a huge fan of the Dewey system myself but to organize it like a bookstore leaves way too much room for personal opinion. I'm still fuming over when the main branch re-did the movies from alphabetical order to their own subjective genre-based system. Now I got to check four different sections to find Fargo cause I don’t know if the person who categorized it saw the movie, just read the box, or has a different sense of humor than me? And you don’t get to tell me that Back to the Future is a science fiction film when I know that at its essence it’s a dramatic and poignant social commentary! If the Albany Public Library thinks they have the right to categorizes books as they see fit then I reserve the right to recategorize them as I deem appropriate.

... said Jackers on Oct 7, 2009 at 4:22 PM | link

Jackers--I agree with you. And the fiction is also partially categorized by type--mystery, romances, classic, and then African American writers are "separate but equal." I guess the idea is that browsers will able to nose around within a genre, but people who are looking for a specific book or film have to play a guessing game as to where it might be shelved.

... said chrisck on Oct 7, 2009 at 5:17 PM | link

Uh bookstore organization has me fighting every urge to pull every non-fiction book off the shelf and start over. How do you find the book you're looking for with the bookstore system?

... said Carrie on Oct 7, 2009 at 7:40 PM | link

it's funny, I was in borders a couple of weeks ago thinking about how much I'd prefer it if bookstores used the dewey decimal system.

roflz

... said ticka on Oct 8, 2009 at 12:17 AM | link

Yes, we are going Dewey free at Albany’s branch libraries. In an effort to be more user friendly, we’re organizing our books by words instead of numbers -- just like your neighborhood bookstore. More than 80 percent of our customers are browsers. Using a subject-based organization system makes it so much easier for browsers to look through the collection and find a great book to take home. Other libraries that have gone Dewey free have seen great success in terms of increased circulation and customer satisfaction. We expect that our regular patrons are going to love their new Dewey-free branch libraries. Albany's first renovated branch -- the Pine Hills Branch Library at 517 Western Avenue -- is having a grand opening party on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 1 to 5 p.m. Come check it out and see how great a Dewey-free library can be!

... said Stephanie Simon on Oct 8, 2009 at 1:24 PM | link

Oh, HELL no.

... said LB on Oct 8, 2009 at 2:32 PM | link

Now that I can jettison the Dewey system from my long-term memory, can anyone suggest something new to learn to occupy those laid-off neurons?

(Simpson's quotes, DOOM cheat codes, and the St. Crispin Day speech are already covered by the place formerly occupied by high school French, thank you.)

... said Sandor on Oct 8, 2009 at 2:55 PM | link