Librarian Thought for the Day
Have you ever wondered why fiction is cataloged differently than
non-fiction? It actually isn't supposed to be! Here's an interesting
explanation from the library list-serve this morning:
"The Dewey Decimal System started to catalog ALL books, fiction and
non-fiction. That's why you have the fairy tales in 398, and all Literature
(novels, plays, short stories, etc...)
<http://dewey.info/class/8/e23/2012-10-24/about.en> in the 800s.
non-fiction. That's why you have the fairy tales in 398, and all Literature
(novels, plays, short stories, etc...)
<http://dewey.info/class/8/e23/2012-10-24/about.en> in the 800s.
Most libraries choose to not catalog their Fiction in the 800s, because the
section would be overwhelming. They also decide this so that they can
re-organize Fiction by authors' last names and/or genres,, which is an
easier way to browse, from a patron's point of view, compared to the
Dewey's organization (by language then by format)."
section would be overwhelming. They also decide this so that they can
re-organize Fiction by authors' last names and/or genres,, which is an
easier way to browse, from a patron's point of view, compared to the
Dewey's organization (by language then by format)."
