643 or 747?

Where to classify books and magazines about designs of kitchens and other rooms? Interior decorating 747 or housing & household equipment 643? It was easy enough for magazines whose focus leaned definitely to decorative elements but what about when the focus is as much style/decoration (colours/accessories) as overall practical structure for household function as for building or renovating?

I'm torn, there doesn't feel like enough difference between the sets of numbers. Seems cataloguers are too: eg: for kitchen designing: Libraries Australia have over 300 at 643.3 over 200 in 747.797 What do you do?

Classifying: permaculture home garden

Librarythinging still: grateful to Libraries Australia for sharing records.

So, tonight I shelve indoor plants at 635.915 having checked that is the number for indoor plant cultivation; only to see that I had shelved
The permaculture home garden by Linda Woodrow at 635.987 (as given by Libraries Australia)... hm but a 30 seconds ago I was reading that 635.9 was floriculture.

Clearly when I checked it the first time I went straight to that number in the schedules, read "organic gardening" and didn't even read a little upwards, or I would have seen that .98 is "special methods of cultivation in floriculture" - not the subject of this book. So, I read backwards a little further... ah there is a .04 *Cultivation, harvesting, related topics to which I may add as instructed under 633-635... like with 84 organic farming.

Yes I like that better 635.0484, and I'm not the only one: Libraries Australia tells me that is its DDC at Armidale Dumaresq Council War Memorial Library, Clarence Regional Library, TAFE SA O'Halloran Hill Campus Library and University of Adelaide Roseworthy Campus. Of the other libraries who show their DDC most have 635.987, although some have 631.58, 631.5825 (neither of which I would use because this book is specifically for the home garden, not a work on permaculture in larger-scale agriculture like Graham Bell's The Permaculture Garden).

Aside: just because I learned from it: Libraries Australia listed the book at Rockdale City Library with DDC: 636.987 which is not a valid number (the closest being 636.9865 or 636.988 baboons as pets or great apes as pets respectively). I wonder why they don't appear to have the book anymore was it weeded as never having been borrowed?

:inner screams of joy: I love this!

Now that I think about it I'll have to see whether I took any photos of the garden I made back in 1999ish following this book.

Royal English history

Some time ago I shelved A Royal Family : Charles I and his family and swore to borrow it when my other reading was finished. Sure enough I've been reading it slowly since (mostly toilet reading :D ), finding it a little interesting (I've never been particularly interested in English history, it was the family angle that caught my interest) and a little horrifying (just like modern history as to the horrible and stupid things that people do to each other).

But that's not why I'm posting. Tonight I caught Monarchy (Dr David Starkey tells the stories of the reigns of William and Mary and Queen Anne as well as other key players.) on ABC - I missed the last episode. Right from the start I was pleased that I could recognise where the monarchs of this episode fit in thanks to Patrick Morrah's biography. The video program was quicker than reading a biography, probably not as detailed, but interesting all the same.

And hm, another classification learning opportunity: SMB has classified the book at 941.062 (I would put it at 941.06) yet the record from Libraries Australia has 929.72. Oh, I see 929 is genealogy names, insignia... oh there is .2 family histories and .7 is Royal houses, peerage etc BUT the class notes say:

...
Class family histories of the nobility and gentry in 929.2; class histories of a royal family that include general historical events or biographies of members of the royal family in 930-990.

Got to go, Son #1 is demanding I see whether there is a new episode up at:



Ask Dr. Eldritch.

Cataloguing ... typos in source

I'm adding the RACV's Victoria State Map First Edition, map 4053 to my Library Thing, and the information about publication reads:

MAP 4053 (c) RACV 1096
PUBLISHED BY THE ROYAL AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF VICTORIA (RACV) LTD,
550 PRINCES HIGHWAY, NOBLE PARK 3174, (ACN 004060833)

At first I read 1096 as 1996, a copyright date. If it is not the date (with typographical error) what other number could it be?

According to Libraries Australia: Monash University Library has a copy on-order with a publication date [1993] and a note quoting "Map 4503 0993". So perhaps my map which declares itself as First edition wasn't published in 1996?

While I recall that a title is to be transcribed exactly from the chief source including typographical errors, does the same apply to date of publication? I'll be looking that one up.

Can you see why cataloguing my own library is so much fun? No sarcasm, I'm serious - I love this.

Cataloguing ... Derrida

I'm puzzled. A week ago I was to shelve Derrida (the movie) at MPOW, the call number: 801.95092.


Hm, I wondered, isn't 801 something to do with philosophy of literature? But the cover seems to suggest this Derrida (whose name I've only ever seen on a work in the area of art criticism) is a philosopher about everything. DDC: 801.95 'theory, technique, history of literary criticism'. (& I know 092 is persons standard subdivision).

Clearly I don't know enough so I borrowed it to watch for myself. I'm still puzzled. The DVD really seemed to be about the philosopher - a partial biography of sorts, with snippets of explanation about the area of philosophy that he spawned: deconstruction.

So... google 'deconstruction':
wisegeek "Deconstruction is a philosophy applied to literary criticism, as well as to criticism of the other arts"
... okay so maybe deconstruction is principally a philosophy of literary criticism?... No:

Wikipedia says: "Deconstruction is a term in contemporary philosophy, literary criticism, and the social sciences, denoting a process by which the texts and languages of Western philosophy (in particular) appear to shift and complicate in meaning when read in light of the assumptions and absences they reveal within themselves."
... which rather suggests, as do the movie and its cover, that this process applies to more than criticism of literature.

I'd be classifying it at 194 (persons treatment in modern philosophy, France) or 149 (deconstruction, modern philosophies).

Maybe the work was obtained (in this TAFE library) for use in the context of literary criticism?

Maybe I'll ask the cataloguers, they've not minded me asking in the past, but I don't want to be a pest.

Exploring classifying while shelving: Rip Curl

About to reshelve Creating an Australian Icon [videorecording] : The Rip Curl Logo : a graphic communication case study, the DDC on the spine reads 796.1 - but I think ?sporting? what the...? What is the number where logos go? a design number? maybe 741.6?

Last couple of times I had questions for cataloguing their responses were helpful and kind, so I sent this one in too. And once again, a grateful and cheerful note came back: it had been re-classified (although my guess was off) 658.827

What tickled me most about the note though was that Paul challenged me to see why it had been given that DDC number. Grinning with delight that my desire to learn was recognised and encouraged I set out, thinking 658 sounds like a management number... hmmm?... Opening the enticing green, chunky code manual DDC22... sure enough: Management of marketing / Sales promotion / Use of brands and trademarks.

Taking another look at the DVD cover, the jacket did indeed refer specifically to the marketing context over and above the graphic design aspect:

"Provides a unique case study of the marketing achievements of a highly successful, all Australian business. Uses concise interviews, computer graphics, and attractive visual overlay, including excerpts from Rip Curl's own surfing films. Traces the evolution of the company's marketing images, and the important role played by Rip Curl's graphic design team."

I became curious: Which LCSH would apply to such an item? SMB & Libraries Australia agree only on:
Ripcurl. and
Surfing -- Australia -- Management.

Otherwise, at SMB LCSH:
Brand name products -- Australia.
Logography.

and at Libraries Australia LCSH:
Graphic arts -- Australia -- Case studies.
Marketing -- Australia -- Case studies.

So cool, I do love to learn.