It's Not About Dewey

More than a decade ago, when big box bookstores were sprouting up all over, we were inundated with articles telling us to run libraries more like bookstores, including one in LJ titled “B&N: The New College Bookstore” (LJ 2/1/98). Most of us took the advice in stride, incorporating what we thought was good from the bookstore model—comfy chairs, cafés, displays at checkout—if we hadn't done so already. The articles also triggered reminders of what bookstores had picked up from libraries, like free story hours for kids, book groups for adults, and, as Crain's New York Business's Alair Townsend pointed out, “library-like anonymity” for patrons (6/24/96). There seemed to be a consensus that we could learn from each other.

Now, as librarians discuss the possibility of ditching Dewey, we're hearing again about importing the bookstore model into libraries. It's not about Dewey, however, nor is it about mimicking bookstores. Rather, librarians have set out to adopt what is good from others, whether they are bookstores or libraries. Barbara Fister laid out the case for change (and some of the pitfalls) in “The Dewey Dilemma” (LJ 10/1/09, p. 22–25), emphasizing not the anti-Dewey argument so much as the goal of easy browsability and user-friendly language by those reinventing Dewey.

The question isn't “Dewey or don't we” but what makes the most sense for our users. It's almost a cliché in the library field that “users want to find, librarians want to search.” The shift toward a Dewey/BISAC (Book Industry Standard) mashup in public libraries, or, as Fister suggested in LJ Academic Newswire (10/8/09; bit.ly/sUTPp), even Dewey instead of LC (Library of Congress) in academic libraries, is all about making it easy for users to head straight to a shelf and find what they want.

Simplifying Dewey isn't so revolutionary. Even before places like Maricopa County Library District, AZ, and Rangeview Library District, CO, began using BISAC-based classification (think A–Z subject categories for nonfiction, as in a bookstore), librarians have been adding signage to the end panels of shelf ranges and identifying sections not just by Dewey number but by subject. The subjects may not be as granular as they are in bookstores (e.g., personal finance, investing), but they give users a sense of where to go.

The library is certainly as good as the bookstore, or better, at breaking down fiction with labels and sections for every type of genre. And while many bookstores have only recently given audiobooks, DVDs, and CDs significant floor space, libraries have been doing that for years.

As both a library borrower and bookstore customer, I decided to compare the new Barnes & Noble in my New York neighborhood with some of the libraries I've been to recently. The store spans two floors below ground (no window displays to entice me), with lots of open spaces, few places to sit down other than the café (but what a huge number of tables and chairs there), and poor signage. There is no indication that fiction and literature are down two levels; in fact, there are few directional signs at all. Gone are the checkout displays to lure impulse buyers, though there are randomly organized book tables scattered all around.

There's no doubt that the library trumps the bookstore, not to mention that its services are free, paid for by our taxes. Nevertheless, as one of the commenters on Fister's story—a bookseller-turned-librarian—wrote, “I...think I can see the strong and weak points of each system [of organization]. At our library [West Palm Beach PL, FL], I believe we have the best of both. You can walk in the door and go right to the section of your choice and enjoy browsing...Food and Wine, Guys Read, Go Green.... You can also use the computer catalog or the assistance of a friendly library employee to find the exact book that you want” (bit.ly/1NNvaz).

When “The Dewey Dilemma” came out, we asked our readers, in a pop poll at LibraryJournal.com, “Is Dewey Dead?” About 90 percent of respondents clicked on “Not in my library.” The remainder said they either had their own “non-Dewey mix” or planned to move away from Dewey. In the end, it's not so much about Dewey or about what librarians have done in the past. It's about creating a user-responsive environment now.