Roe v. Wade

A question was raised about the difference between 342.73084, 342.73085, 344.7304192 for books about Roe v. Wade. So, here's the breakdown:

342 (Constitutional and administrative law)
+ 7 (North America)
+ 3 (United States)
+ 084 (Abortion) vs. + 085 (Rights and activities of individuals)

344 (Labor, social service, education, cultural law)
+ 7 (North America)
+ 3 (United States)
+ 04 (Miscellaneous social problems and services)
+ 1 (Medical personnel and their activities)
+ 9 (Problems in medical practice)
+ 2 (Abortion) - Class comprehensive works in 342.084

West Indian Americans and Dominican Americans

In trying to determine numbers for some Mount Miguel books about 1) West Indian Americans and 2) Dominican Americans, we looked at some numbers previously used at El Capitan:

Cuban Americans = 973.04687291
Puerto-Rican Americans = 973.04687295

Here is a breakdown of these numbers:
973 (United States)
+ 04 (Ethnic and national groups v. 3, p. 858)
+ 68 (Spanish Americans, v. 1, p. 666)
+ 7291 (Cuba, v. 1, p. 422) / 7295 (Puerto Rico, v. 1, p. 424)

Following this logic, some possible numbers are:
West Indian Americans = 973.0468729
Dominican Americans = 973.04687293

Slavery

Looking at the difference between Dewey numbers for slavery: 306.362 vs. 326...

300 (Social Sciences) + 6 (Economic institutions) + .3 (Economic institutions) + .36 (Systems of labor) + .362 (Slavery)

306.362 - Class here slaves [formerly 305.567], interdisciplinary works on slave trade - For a specific aspect of the slave trade, see the aspect, e.g., economic aspects of slave trade 381.44.

300 (Social Sciences) + 20 (Political science - Politics and government) + 6 (Slavery and emancipation)

326 - Standard subdivisions are added for slavery and emancipation together, for slavery alone. Class interdisciplinary works on slavery in 306.362

The number in the DDC22 index for both "Slavery" and "Slaves" is 306.362, so perhaps this is the more general number used. And while 306 is labeled "economic institutions," it is described in the DDC manual as referring to "social institutions." 326 appears to be used for slavery with particular focus on the politics of slavery. A logically related topic is emancipation, which is assigned the number 326.8.

The Black Death

In processing The Black Death (from the "Pivotal Moments in History" series) by Diane Zahler (082259076X) for MVHS, I noticed that there is a mix of call numbers currently being used for The Black Death. Understandably, books may differ in emphasis from more scientific to more historical. Nonetheless, I figured it's a good topic to look into. Here are the numbers that are currently being used:

• 362.1969 = 362 Social welfare problems and services + .1 Physical illness + .19 Services to patients with specific conditions + .196 Specific conditions + .1969 Other diseases
• 614.45732 = 614.4 Incidence of and public measures to prevent specific diseases and kinds + .45 = Patient isolation + ?
• 614.4/9/4 = 614.4 Incidence of and public measures to prevent specific diseases and kinds + .49 History of epidemics + 614.494 Europe
• 614.5/732 = 614.5 Incidence and public measures to prevent specific disease and kinds of diseases + 614.57 Bacterial diseases + .573 Bacterial diseases + .923 Pasteurella infections, yersinia infections, chlamydia infections, tularemia + .5732 Plague
• 616.9232 = 616 Diseases + .9 Other Diseases + .92 Bacterial diseases + .923 Pasteurella infections, yersinia infections, chlamydia infections, tularemia + .9232 Plague
• 940.14 = 940 History of Europe + .1 Early history to 1453 + .14 Age of feudalism, 800-1099
• 940.1/92 = 940 History of Europe + .1 Early history to 1453 + .19 1300-1453 + .192 1300-1399 (Including period of Black Death)
• 942.038 = 942 England and Wales + .03 Period of House of Plantagenet, 1154-1399 + .038 Reign of Richard II, 1377-1399

Yet again, every book may have a specific slant that explains placement in one number over another. It just seems like many of them may have enough in common to be grouped more closely together. 940.192 makes a lot of sense for a historical number since it specifically includes the period of Black Death. These other numbers also seem very valid: 614.494 614.5732, and 616.9262! I think any of these 4 could be good matches and so I guess I'll stick to the recommended number for the book: 614.5732. This may be a good area for people to check in their own collections, though.

Sexual Orientation

When processing the book Outing Yourself: How to Come Out as Lesbian or Gay to Your Family, Friends, and Coworkers by Michelangelo Signorile (0684826178), the recommended number was 305.90664. This, however, is an old number. The correct number to use is now 306.76 for "Sexual orientation." This includes men by sexual orientation (formerly 305.38966), women by sexual orientation (formerly 305.48966), and persons by sexual orientation (formerly 305.9066). See the DDC book for how 306.76 is further broken down. Check your 305s for outdated numbers.

Going Green

In processing some "green" books for West Hills, I noticed that there are many different numbers being used for this topic. I understand that there may be differences depending on the particular focus of the book, but it seems like there is too much variation and that it may be better to group the books more closely. Here are the numbers being used:

• 304.2 = 304 Factors affecting social behavior + .2 Human ecology
• 320.58 = 320 Political science + .5 Political ideologies + Environmentalist political ideologies
• 333.7052 = 333 Economics of land and energy + 7 Land, recreational and wilderness areas, energy + ?
• 333.72 = 333 Economics of land and energy + 7 Land, recreational and wilderness areas, energy + .72 Conservation and protection, class here environmentalism
• 333.7315 = 333 Economics of land and energy + 7 Land, recreational and wilderness areas, energy + .73 Land + .7315 Development
• 363.70525 = 363 Other social problems and services + .7 Environmental problems + 05 Social action +25 Action within established social framework
• 363.738 = 363 Other social problems and services + .7 Environmental problems + .73 Pollution + .738 Pollutants
• 613.5 = 613 Personal health and safety + .5 Artificial environments
• 621.042 = 621 Applied physics + .042 Energy engineering
• 640/.73 = Home and family management + .73 Evaluation and purchasing guides

The most popular numbers currently in use in our system are 333.72 and 640. After looking more closely at these books with Pam, we decided that a 333 number is best for books that deal with "green" books that deal with energy issues like solar energy. But, 640.73 is best for books that are about proactive ways to live green, what to buy, etc.

Mormon Fundamentalists

Pam raised the question over what Dewey number to use for the book Escape by Carolyn Jessop (0767927567). The book is already at 2 schools in our district and they have used 921 since it is biographical and 289.3092. 289.3 is a general number for Mormons and adding 092 indicates that it is biographical. This seems like an appropriate number, although if you want to separate it from the general Mormon number the main option that I see is to use 289.33 for "specific branches" of Mormons and then optionally add 092. In looking around at other libraries, it looks like 289.33 has indeed been used for books relating to Mormon Fundamentalism.

Navajo

Inspired by the ECVHS book A Rainbow at Night: The World in Words and Pictures by Navajo Children by Bruce Hucko (0811812944). The publisher assigned number is 973'.04972, but this number seems to be mostly unused in our district.

Instead, Native American books seem to have been given some of the following numbers:

• A general 970 number for "History of North America." This seems much too broad to me.
• 970.004 for "Ethnic and national groups" in general in North America. This still seems a little broad to me.
• 970.00497 for "general history and civilization of North American native peoples in North America." This number has the specificity of native peoples and would be be good for Native Americans in general, but doesn't seem to be right if you want to distinguish specific groups. Plus, it violates the "no more than 4 digits right of the decimal" rule that some schools use.
• 970.1, which is an optional number for "North American native peoples"
• 970.3, which is an optional number for "Specific native peoples"

They are all slight variations and the DDC guide seems to draw distinctions in number usage based on how specific books are with regard to particular group, time period, and location. So, for now I guess I'll go with what seems to be most commonly used in our district: 970.3.

Antidepressants

In processing Antidepressants by William Dudley (1601520417) for ECVHS, I noticed some antidepressant books are in 615.78 for "Drugs affecting nervous system" and some are under 616.8527 for "Depressive disorder." Some others yet are under 362.29 for "Substance abuse." It would be hard to tell if there really were a problem or not with these numbers without looking at the books to see if the emphasis is what has determined their placement, but it's yet another topic to check.

Genetic Engineering

For an "Opposing Viewpoints" book Genetic Engineering (073773857X), I saw that we have some "genetic engineering" books in the following places:

• 174.2 for occupational ethics related to medical professions
• 174.28 for occupational ethics more specifically related to "experimentation" within medical professions
• 174.957 for bioethics
• 174.9574 ?
• 174.966 for ethics related to chemical engineering and related technologies
• 303.483 for "Development of science and technology" under social science "social processes"
• 306.46 for "technology" under social science "culture and institutions"
• 660.65 for "genetic engineering" as a part of biotechnology under chemical engineering and related technologies

There are even more! The most common numbers seem to be 660.65 and 174.957. It would seem to me that books that are simply descriptive would fall under 660.65 and that books like this one that are aimed at "pro/con" discussions would go in 174.957 and so I'm using 174.957. Having said that, I think this topic is pretty messy across the board.