Initial Thoughts About Information Organization

As I have progressed through my Teacher Librarianship degree I have been wondering, “So, when will I be learning about the Dewey decimal system?” Since starting this course and sharing with others that I have an ambition of becoming a librarian I have felt some degree of embarrassment when I continue to search for resources either by scanning shelves until I find something that resembles what I am looking for, or when I surreptitiously peek at the cartoonish Dewey decimal system posters on the side of the library shelves. 

As an adult library user who still has some trouble finding what I need in the library, I am left wondering what would help all users of the library have a better understanding of the way materials are organized? During library time I do not see my students browsing the shelves or displays when searching for books to check out like I do when I am looking for something to spark my interest. My students quickly pick a book on display or go to a shelf where popular series or genres are housed. A few leave the library with no books, or when pressed to choose something pick up a familiar book that they have read many times. 

In a previous subject I came upon the term “genrefication” and I was very interested in this system, as it is what I use when organizing my classroom library. Organizing books into baskets according to genres and grouping these baskets to try and tempt students into picking up something new related to their current interest is something I really enjoy doing. I am also a natural organizer and I take great satisfaction in organizing just about anything.

I have heard that genrefication is organizing libraries like bookstores, to encourage users to browse and find books associated with topics of interest because they are shelved near each other. I had a brief encounter with a library set up this way on a visit to my hometown. My mother was annoyed by the system because she looks up recommended titles for her grandchildren and then has trouble finding them with this new system. The organization of information should take into account the user it is trying to satisfy. In the case of this library, having books organized by genres was meant to encourage users to browse. Perhaps if you just have a specific title you are looking for, the Dewey decimal system works best. I wonder how libraries can satisfy both groups of users?

I understand the argument that if you don’t know how the Dewey decimal system works you would be disadvantaged in finding books in a typical library. Having one system for organization makes a lot of sense, so users don’t need a manual every time they enter a library. However there is no worldwide system for organizing supermarkets that I am aware of, but we mostly find what we need by looking for labels and relying on logical organization of items. And if we can’t find it, we ask for help. Isn’t genrefication like this? Additionally, this human interaction seems especially important in libraries, where the librarian will help you find that specific book but could also help steer you towards other books you might enjoy. Without having to ask for help, you wouldn’t be engaging with the librarian. 

Even more complex is the issue of organizing digital materials. I have found myself frustrated by the practice of “tagging” and have avoided using this feature when organizing my own resources. My objection is that the tags users choose will vary, so I might tag something as “map skills” while someone else might tag it as “geography.” Deciding on a system of terms for tags would be effective for one person but not if digital materials are shared. I prefer an organization system that is consistent, and using tags seems very haphazard. 

I’m also interested in learning more about searching for items in the library catalog. We are all so used to the Google search, which will correct your spelling and turn up thousands, if not millions of related links based on past patterns of searching and other less-useful metrics like sites that pay to be promoted. The care we had to take 20 years ago in using specific search terms is completely unnecessary now. However, in my experiences with library catalog searching, the exact spelling and subject term is still necessary. This might turn users off from attempting to search for digital materials in the library system versus just completing an easy Google search. How can libraries both organize digital materials in such specific systems that it even requires a specialized degree, and make these materials easily accessible for the typical user?

While the content of this subject seems a bit dry compared to other teacher librarianship courses that are easily applied directly to my daily responsibilities as a classroom teacher, I am hoping it will appeal to my passion for organization. Also this is the first subject I have taken since getting hired as the next Library Media Specialist at my current school, so the need to understand why and how information is organized in libraries takes on a high level of importance. Through learning about systems of information organization, I hope to be better able to help library users successfully navigate these systems in order to make the library (and its catalog) the first stop in an information search.

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