Karen Lindquist
ILS 506 S70
Assignment 3
Dewey Classification of the Web
November 24, 2009
Karen Lindquist
ILS 506 S70
Assignment 3
Horticulture, like any science, has a dynamic history on the web. There are abundant, authoritative
sources of information for a professional horticulturalist; the focus group for this set of internet resources.
Its fortuitous this assignment came along to force me to organize some of my favorites and add some new
sites to round out the subject. When not attending classes, I am tending gardens and greenhouses.
It is important to stay abreast of new varieties of plants, new and recurring pathologies like the ‘late
blight’ which hit tomatoes this past season or staying on top of the invasive species list for our area.
Sometimes you just need to recall one of the million botanical names you have forgotten over the years.
580.7 In8
Internet directory for botany / edited by Anthony R. Brach. -- Boston : Harvard, 2009.
http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/idb-alpha/bot-bc.html#b
580.73747 B78
Brooklyn Botanic Garden. -- Brooklyn, New York, 2009.
http://www.bbg.org/index.html
580.73747 N42
The New York Botanical Garden. -- Bronx, New York, 2009.
http://www.nybg.org
580.75 C74
Connecticut Botanical Society / edited by Janet Novak. -- New Haven, 2008.
http://ct-botanical-society.org
630 C74
Connecticut Cooperative Extension System / University of Connecticut College of Agriculture
and Natural Resources. -- Storrs, Conn., 2009.
http://www.extension.uconn.edu
630 N19
National Agricultural Library / United States Department of Agriculture. -- Washington D.C,
2009.
http://www.nal.usda.gov
631.583 G79
Greenhouse crops and floriculture / University of Massachusetts Amherst. -- Amherst, Mass.,
2009.
http://www.umass.edu/umext/floriculture/fact_sheets/greenhouse_management.html
632 P69
Plant disease diagnostic clinic / Cornell University. -- Ithica, New York, 2009.
http://plantclinic.cornell.edu
632.5 In8
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Invasive and noxious weeds / Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States
Department of Agriculture. -- Washington D.C., 2009.
http://plants.usda.gov/java/noxious?rptType=State&statefips=09
635 N19
National Gardening Association. -- South Burlington, Vermont, 2009.
http://www.garden.org/home
635.7 G94
A guide to medicinal and aromatic plants / Purdue University. -- 2000.
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/med-aro
635.9 P69
Plantfiles: The Dave’s Garden plants database. -- 2009.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf
635.9525 H66
The succulent plant page / R.J. Hodgkiss. -- 2009.
http://www.succulent-plant.com/home.html
635.93395 Af8
The African Violet Society of America. -- 2009.
http://www.avsa.org
635.9344 Am3
American Orchid Society. -- Delray Beach, Flor. 2008.
http://www.aos.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home
635.9523 L82
Logee’s Tropical Plants. -- Danielson, Conn., 2009.
http://www.logees.com/default.asp
635.965 Ev1
Houseplants / Erv Evans. -- North Carolina State University, 2008.
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/hortinternet/houseplants.html
635.9674 W29
The Water Garden. -- Chattanooga, Tenn., 2009.
http://watergarden.com
635.97 B73
Plant database of trees, shrubs and vines / M. Brand. -- University of Connecticut, Storrs Conn.,
2009.
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants
635.9772 L32
The Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. --2009.
http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/plants/bonsai/intro.html
778.943 S
Flowerphoto / Carol Sharp. -- 2009.
http://www.flowerphotos.com/home.php
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This second set of internet sources is of personal interest to me and is aimed at the amateur yoga
enthusiast interested in the physical as well as spiritual benefits of the practice. I have tried to incorporate
different schools of yoga along with some Hindu and Buddhist teachings to complement its true Indian
culture. I am curious to see what happens when a Western classification system goes up against an
Eastern philosophy.
181.45 An1
Ananda Marga. -- 2006.
http://www.anandamarga.org
181.45 B62
Blue Mountain Center of Meditation / Eknath Easwaran. -- Tomalex, Cal., 2009
http://www.easwaran.org/page/220
181.45 C76
Context Institute / Robert Gilman, Diane Gilman. -- Langley, Wash., 2000.
http://www.context.org/index.html
181.45 In8
International Sivananda Yoga Centres. -- 2007.
http://www.sivananda.org/teachings/meditation/meditation.html
181.45 On5
Online yoga magazine / Christophe Mouze. -- 2008.
http://www.yoga-magazine.net
181.45 Si1
Siddha yoga path / SYDA Foundation. -- South Fallsburg, New York, 2009.
http://www.siddhayoga.org
181.45 Y7
Yoga journal. -- California: Cruz Bay, 2009.
http://www.yogajournal.com
204.3 Y7
Yoga and meditation society for the scientific study of spirituality. -- 2008.
http://external.oneonta.edu/yoga/events.asp
204.35 C33
The center for contemplative mind in society. -- Northampton, Mass., 2008.
http://www.contemplativemind.org/practices/?gclid=CIzMqLqdiJ4CFQRM5QodEjWEq
g
294.344 F86
Yoga and Buddhism / David Frawley.
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Assignment 3
http://www.purifymind.com/YogaBudd.htm
294.5436 H58l
Hindu Wisdom / Sushama Londhe. -- 2009.
http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Yoga_and_Hindu_Philosophy.htm
294.5436 H58
Hinduism: Yoga &Meditation.
http://hinduism.about.com/od/meditationyoga/Yoga_Meditation.htm
613.7046 Y7o
Yoga. / Ohio State University Medical Center. -- Columbus, Ohio, 2009.
http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/patientcare/healthcare_services/integrative_medicine/integra
tive_medicine_services/yoga/Pages/index.aspx
613.7046 Y7r
Yoga relaxation pose meditation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JerhK0_XLZk
613.7046 Y7s
Yoga postures: step by step. -- 2009.
http://www.santosha.com/asanas
Alternative energy is a hot topic on the internet right now. To narrow the focus somewhat, I chose sites
pertaining to DIY projects in alternative energy for homeowners in hopes of helping our little town meet
the goal of 100% carbon free electricity by 2018.
333.79 En2
Energy efficiency & renewable energy / U.S. Department of Energy. -- Washington D.C., 2009.
http://www.alternative-energy-news.info
333.7923 P26
Passive solar design: thermal mass / El Paso Solar Energy Association. -- 2007.
http://www.epsea.org/mass.html
333.7923 P43
Personalizing solar power. National Public Radio transcript.-- 2009.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120613254&ft=1&f=1019
333.794 Al7n
Alternative energy news. -- 2009.
http://www.alternative-energy-news.info
333.794 Al7v
Alternative energy resource network: video index.-- 2009.
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http://www.alternate-energy.net/vids_diy08.html
333.794 Al7r
Alternative energy resources. -- 2008.
http://www.alternative-energy-news.info
333.794 M85
Mother earth news. -- Topeka, Kansas: Ogden Publications, 2009.
http://www.motherearthnews.com
628.142 In7
Instructables: rain water collection/filtration/storage system how to. 2009.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Rain-water-collection-filtration-storage-syste
333.9116 W28
Graywater reuse and rainwater harvesting / R. Waskom, J Kallenberger. -- Fort Collins, Col.:
Colorado State University Cooperative Extension, 2009.
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/natres/06702.html
333.88 Us2
Use the natural warmth of the earth… / Geo Thermal : Alliant Energy, 2009.
http://www.alliantenergygeothermal.com/index.htm
333.88 G29
Geothermal education office. -- Tiburon, Cal., 2008.
http://geothermal.marin.org
621.042In7
Instructables: alternative energy DIY. 2009.
http://www.instructables.com/group/alternativeenergy
621.042L57
Alternative energy DIY instruction manuals / Levy-Smith, A. (2009). Retrieved November 21,
2009, from http://ezinearticles.com/?Alternative-Energy-DIY--Instruction-Manuals&id=2793975
Introduction
Melvil Dewey liked simplicity and the joy of taking something as complex as a library
and simplifying its organization into tidy subject packages. My son caught a glimpse of my DDC
set and spent an hour perusing it, only to declare it “intensely scary stuff”, my response being
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“and to think he was younger than you when he developed it”(OCLC, 2009). It is somewhat
mind bending for the unorganized among us.
Yet, I wonder if Dewey ever dreamed of information moving beyond a world of books?
Maybe, if his imagination was as vivid as his sense of organization. Dewey understood the
hierarchies of subject organization as do search engine developers today, thus creating the big
library experiment of the last decade -- are Dewey and the web compatible?
Horticulture
The levels of classification within the DDC really shine in the sciences, as if it was
designed just for them. It is as comfortable with broad sweeping areas of knowledge as with
exacting minutia of data. This comfort comes with the ability to build numbers to satisfy the
level of detail found in the subject matter. Most of the websites in the above list are either of the
broad, sweeping nature or something only slightly more specialized. If, however, an online paper
were to be added entitled “Scarifying Options for Olive Tree Propagation from Seed”, a number
could be built accordingly. This makes the Dewey Decimal System easily applicable to the
Web; it can handle the divergence of complexity.
If you took the traditional spider web analogy that web technicians use for retrieving
information; Dewey becomes the concentric circles of web, each circle becoming a more specific
classification number as they radiate out. Yet they are all connected by the rays of webbing
which make up the World Wide Web. Through hyperlinks, we can travel all over that spider
web. Currently the web resembles that neglected cobweb in the corner of my office;
asymmetrical with gaping holes and loose threads picking up anything that floats its way.
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Assignment 3
Symmetrical webs are much more attractive and orderly, with a tight, strong weave capable of
handling a larger scale than appropriate.
Because Horticulture is an agricultural science and is an attempt to imitate nature, it does
not fall neatly into one spider web - Botany 579 - 590 or Horticulture - 635. Sometimes you need
to know how a plant thrives in the wild before you can get it to thrive in a garden. Today, the
majority of that research has been done for us already and resides in Horticulture, but the bridge
needs to remain for various ecological reasons. This is why there are a few sites in the list, which
hold true to their roots.
Every library needs a good reference department with general and subject encyclopedias
for research. The web is akin to this concept; it offers a multitude of general knowledge sources
to use as a jumping off point in research. These are represented by the 630 DDC numbers above
and represent the general agricultural reference tools all horticulturalists should go to for staying
abreast of new information. As we move down the list the sites become more specific in DDC
number and therefore selective in information. At the end of the list we moved out of
Horticulture entirely and into Nature and Still Life Photography; all gardeners need eye candy
for inspiration.
Yoga
There is no better place to introduce the linear versus non-linear discussion than in a section on
Yoga, which espouses a non-linear approach to life.
We saw that Horticulture did not fit neatly into one group of numbers; the same holds true for
Yoga. This time it fell into four sets of numbers, depending on religious affiliation and whether it was a
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Assignment 3
spiritual philosophy or a physical practice. There is nothing inherently wrong with such an exacting
breakdown; it would be expected in a theological library, but it seems to lose relevance and effectiveness
with internet sources
M. Chau and A. Foster are two social scientists studying the cataloging possibilities of the
internet from different ends of the social science spectrum. The problem arises when “The World Wide
Web (WWW) has a decentralized information environment and a non-linear (hypertext) information
structure “(Chau, 1997) and as humans our thinking patterns are now realized to be more “non-linear,
dynamic, holistic, and flowing” (Foster, 2005) than first believed.
Could the linear structure of the DDC be adapted to fit a non-linear world like the web? And,
should it be adapted; would it even be recognizable as the Dewey Decimal Classification? These are the
same questions public librarians are currently grappling with in the attempt to make their stacks more
browsable. ‘Mashup’ solutions which combine Dewey and bookstore classification are now being tried
and receiving kudos from users (Fister, 2009). There is a clear need to have basic classes of information;
the argument is in the details.
Browsing is a large part of the internet experience; and whether we are inherent browsers or this
is a learned behavior, it doesn’t matter because it is here to stay. If a particular site is designated by a
DDC number, we can’t assume all the links on that site fall under the same number. A couple links in
and you could be in a totally different subject range. This is similar to cross-referencing; but as librarians,
we control cross referencing in the book world. Would we to be comfortable giving up control of cross
referencing the web?
Alternative Energy
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Karen Lindquist
ILS 506 S70
Assignment 3
Alternative Energy has become a catch-all phrase in the recent past to encompass any
resource saving or cost cutting measure outside the norm of fossil fuel or coal produced
electricity. In this regard, DDC has some catching up to do. The engineering of the resource and
the sociology of the resource are inextricably entwined. Alternative energy is the energy of the
masses, to separate philosophy from process would be sacrilege on or off the shelf. To this end, I
have included water conservation sites to encompass all aspects of alternative resources.
The elusive nature of the production and authority of websites has made the bibliographic
process unbalanced, some exactingly citable others barely citable; thus making the cataloging of
websites difficult. The style manuals can’t even agree on a uniform approach. Until this
happens, cataloging the internet will remain haphazard. The authoritative nature of libraries,
publishing and copyright does not mix well with the open, accessible and social forums
becoming increasingly used on the internet.
How important is it to have a unique call number to identify a work, when you already
have a unique URL? When the main entry becomes the title of the page, due to a lack of
authorship, there ends up being duplicate main entries. This happened with the yoga sites and
again with alternative energy. To cutter the way through “alternative energy” to get to a unique
indentifying character is silly. The rule is to add the first letter of the author’s last name as the
unique identifier, but when author or publisher are absent as in this case another pertinent letter
must be chosen.
Evaluation
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Karen Lindquist
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Assignment 3
The question which begs to be asked is not whether the Dewey Decimal Classification
System is responsive to internet users’ needs, but is it responsive to all library users’ needs in
general? The time has come to take a stance. For whatever we do with books we should do with
internet also; consistency is the driving force keeping it all together, otherwise we run the risk of
losing patronage to apathy via confusion. A flexible system is needed like DDC, where general
subject areas can be employed by all and in depth numbers used by some.
The general public is beginning to see the importance of cataloging the internet with the
development of social bookmarking sites, which act like little personal databases. The library
science profession needs to lead the way and give patrons a solid jumping off point for their
searching. The exponential increase of information on the internet is growing so rapidly that
search terms are becoming meaningless, intricate Boolean searches are required to narrow down
possibilities to a manageable number. With that kind of effort required, understanding a few
Dewey Decimal numbers to get us started in our search will seem like child’s play.
The DDC is strictly subject based, there are few limitations placed on type of work,
ethnicity or language, making it international in scope and devoid of ethnocentricity for the
global network we are acquiring. In a virtual catalog, where language translation is a radio button
away, a Japanese blog should be able to sit next to a Spanish podcast, which is next to a German
book, which is next to an English transcript, etc; all in true “mashup” style. The one thing they
share is the subject number.
My stance is; stick with Dewey. The Dewey Decimal Classification System is not a
perfect reflection of the modern world, but that is O.K. There is a certain amount of “tweeking”
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which has to happen for both librarians and users to feel comfortable. I’d be worried about
stagnation as a society if we didn’t have to “tweek” Dewey. It would mean Melvil Dewey was
frightfully ahead of his time or society has been wasting its time. Luckily, it is neither. We may
not get to see the depth at which the DDC can penetrate a subject, as internet sites are becoming
broader rather than narrower, but if linear librarians can learn to live hyperlinks and the
socializing of information, all will be right with Dewey.
References
Finding order in a chaotic world: a model for organized research using the World Wide Web Citation
Only Available By: Chau, M Y. Internet Reference Services Quarterly, 1997, Vol. 2 Issue 2/3,
p37-53, 17p; (AN ISTA3204057) Database: Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts
Fister, B. 2009. The Dewey dilemma. Library Journal, 22-25.
Melvil Dewey Biography. OCLC 2009. http://www.oclc.org/dewey/resources/biography/
A non-linear model of information seeking behavior. Citation Only Available By: Foster, Allen.
Information Research, Jan2005, Vol. 10 Issue 2, p1-1, 1p; (AN 16754089) Database: Library,
Information Science & Technology Abstracts
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