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Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 12:37 pm Post subject: "Drury Non-Decimal Library Classification" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reposted here is George Drury's text of how he came up with the cataloging system Kalmbach Publishing used in its library, and may still be using today: Drury Non-Decimal Library Classification The David P. Morgan Library is so specialized that it would be able to use only a small portion of the Dewey Decimal or Library of Congress classification systems. The classification system is based on the collection itself and the way it is used. When I made it up I tried to be mnemonic (those words in brackets in the list below) and also follow the instructions I got: “Keep things where they have always been so we can still find them, but make it better.” Items are shelved by major class, then by “cutter,” usually author or date. For example, Bill Middleton’s recent book on Penn Station is coded S Penn for specific railroad, Pennsylvania. His book The Railroad Scene, a collection of photos covering most of North America, is R Mi for railroads, general, Middleton. If Middleton were to write a biography of Frank J. Sprague, it would be B Sp for biography, Sprague. The 1940 Car Builder's Cyclopedia is CC 1940 Other cutters appear in parentheses in the list below. Oversize books have a Z prefixing the code the books would normally get. They are shelved on the top shelf more or less above where they would be if they were smaller. An underscored code indicates the item is in a shelf file box (pamphlets and other small items that would get lost on the shelf). A yellow tag indicates the item is not owned by the library, and the catalog record is so noted. ..................deleted................MK Crafts MM Military MO Other modeling MP Plastic techniques MR Radio control MT Tools and techniques MW Boats [Water] MY Model-building reference N Toy trains NA American Flyer NC Catalogs NG LGB NL Lionel NM Märklin NT Toys other than trains NX Marx O Official Guides and timetables OE Employee timetables ...............deleted......................
I hope the comment was made in jest but in case it wasn't as one who got to be very, very familiar with the DPM Library I'll offer --The listing for George's system is "N" as the letter ( that the book would be filed under in the card catalog and that would be printed on the label stuck on the spine of the book) and the heading "Toy Trains" refers to the general category of toy trains - NA is American Flyer; NL is Lionel. Actually, George's system made perfect sense once you figured it out and I've used it for my personal book and magazine and photo/slide library.Marty
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Topic: Why N Scale is a problem at Kalmbach. (Read 2205 times)
