#15 Classifying Books, Classifying People

Library Bytegeist

The Dewey Decimal System is the most popular library classification system in the world. It was created by a man, named Melvil Dewey, in the late 1870's. And Dewey's system of classifying knowledge reflects his worldview as a white man living in the late 19th century. In this episode of Library Bytegeist, we break down the Dewey Decimal System and talk frankly about the power and pitfalls of classifying. We'll visit the Bard High School Early College in Queens to find out about how students there are planning to rebel from the Dewey Decimal System, and talk to Greg Cotton (Cornell College), Barbara Fister (Gustavus Adolphus College), and Dorothy Berry (Umbra Search Project). Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cnCgQFM3HYqN_EnZ8SV5TwP_-czrYtZAoqwKUDUC3dk/edit?usp=sharing Hosted and Produced by Molly Schwartz Editing help from the Metropolitan New York Library Council staff and Peter Balonon-Rosen Audio Mastering by Dalton Harts Music and Soundtracks: Opening track: “Magic” by Otis MacDonald from the YouTube Audio Library “Library Ambiance” by morosopher from freesound.org “Bookshelf, findbooks.wav” by Ryding from freesound.org "The Music Room" by WMRhapsodies from the Free Music Archive Closing track: "Red Hair, Blue Sky" by Monplaisir from the Free Music Archive Tools used to record this podcast: The audio booth at METRO: bit.ly/MetroAudio RE20 microphone: https://www.electrovoice.com/product.php?id=91 AT8035 shotgun microphone: https://www.audio-technica.com/cms/wired_mics/0576da91f00c03db/ Zoom H5 recorder: https://www.zoom-na.com/products/field-video-recording/field-recording/zoom-h5-handy-recorder oTranscribe: http://otranscribe.com/ Reaper: www.reaper.fm/ Izotope: www.izotope.com/en/products/repai…plug-in-pack.html