r/coolguides • u/yumyumbumblebee • May 16 '19
This library hung a Dewey Decimal reference sign for “everything you want to know, but don’t really want to ask”
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u/celestialfillestan May 16 '19
can every library do this
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u/tothesource May 16 '19 edited May 17 '19
Considering the Dewey decimal system is universal, yes.
EDIT: I UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE LOC NOW. YOU NERDS CAN STOP TELLING ME ABOUT IT
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u/noneofmybusinessbutt May 16 '19
Sex with aliens.............420.69
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May 17 '19
being a single dimensional index system, adjacent numbers should have related sex topics, or related alien topics
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May 16 '19
Oh, it's not. Some libraries use the Library of Congress system (LCC). I know the university I work at does, as well as most university/research institutions.
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u/737900ER May 17 '19
Most public libraries use Dewey system, but there are some that use Library of Congress.
I know Boston Public Library uses Library of Congress.
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May 17 '19
I've always thought it came down to size of library. Small town public library or itty bitty college might use Dewy, but Boston Public is going to be LOC.
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u/omicron8 May 16 '19
Doesn't every library have a shitty old computer with an electronic catalogue where you can type your search?
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u/grubas May 17 '19
Are you kidding me? If you are doing research at some of the larger libraries like universities and others you have to go into the card catalogue.
I have to give my grad students a crash course in card catalogues since we haven’t fully digitized. One paper I needed for my thesis was literally in an unlit corner of a basement filing cabinet.
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May 17 '19
Those old terminal based catalogs were awesome in terms of speed and the ability to combine multiple searches from with your session's search history. I miss the old terminal catalogs.
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u/omicron8 May 17 '19
Exactly. This picture seems like a poor substitute and who is gonna be staring at it and go "oh yeah suicide that's what I came here for, thanks librarian"
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u/Homunculus_I_am_ill May 17 '19
I tell you, as someone who learned to search things based on card catalogues first, I'll take the old computer with an electronic catalogue any day.
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u/verdango May 17 '19
I just forwarded this to my coworker who’s the school librarian. She’s putting a poster together now.
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u/just-a-basic-human May 17 '19
Pretty sure you can just google the Dewey decimal system to get this info
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u/straws May 17 '19
A lot of people that use the public library either don't have smartphones or don't want to use the computer. There's nothing wrong with providing more access to information even if easier access exists.
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u/just-a-basic-human May 17 '19
Why would they not want to use the computer? That’s what they’re there for
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u/straws May 17 '19
Sometimes they're taken. Sometimes people aren't as comfortable with technology as we are. Or even more applicable to the post, sometimes it's a situation in which the person doesn't want to talk to anyone. In lots of libraries you have to sign up for computer access, or maybe you don't but you don't know that so you'd have to ask someone to find out.
Again, this is a simple poster that allows anyone walking by to access the information with little to no barrier.
Even better, it can reach people not actively seeking out that info. But if a self harming teen or suicidal person walks by it and it peaks their interest in finding support resources then the poster was worth its weight in gold.
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u/Frank_Bigelow May 17 '19
Why would anyone not want to use credit cards? Why would anyone not want to fly on an airplane? Why would anyone not want to eat meat?
It doesn't matter. They don't want to, and the library accommodating their preference doesn't even inconvenience you in the slightest.
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u/HoodUnnies May 17 '19
Cool, but no one would judge you if you looked this stuff up. People would just figure you were doing research or a project or something. Any normal human would just use the internet if they were in trouble and needed the peripheral research.
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u/celestialfillestan May 17 '19
no i mean the classified thing, at my library there's posters above the sections with genre names and that's how you find what you're looking for
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May 17 '19
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u/LaMaupindAubigny May 17 '19
Unless they don’t have a computer at home, or someone (like a parent) is monitoring their internet access and/or blocking access to sites on subjects like drug use or sex.
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u/RareHotdogEnthusiast May 16 '19
I'm not sure why I was reading the numbers associated with each topic rather than just the topics themselves.
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u/Big__Baby__Jesus May 16 '19
If you read the numbers you notice that Sex is 613.9 and Drugs are 613.8. That's the party section, apparently.
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u/Alcohol_Intolerant May 16 '19 edited May 17 '19
~610 is general health, mental health, physical health, and medicine., physiology, etc. So it also includes debbie downer subjects like STDs, addiction, fertility issues, etc.
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u/WindrunnerReborn May 17 '19
Meanwhile, the Debbie uppers, relaxants and stimulants can be found at 362.29 and 613.8
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u/EAgamezz May 17 '19
600 General technology
610 Medical sciences and medicine
613 Promotion of health
613.8 Substance abuse (Drug abuse), smoking
613.9 Birth control and sex hygiene
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u/grubas May 17 '19
610s is medical/medical sciences. Like 150 is Psychology, but that’s more theory and history of. As 100s is Philosophy and they just sort of shoved Psych in there.
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u/kurburux May 16 '19
It's nice they included "self-esteem" as well.
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u/TheAdAgency May 17 '19
Librarian: I'm sorry we loaned those books out to someone more important than you
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u/WindrunnerReborn May 17 '19
Person XYZ: Hi, where can I find the books on Suicide?
Librarian: Fuck off, I'm not telling you that.
Person XYZ: But why?
Librarian : Because you won't bring it back!
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u/gamermanh May 16 '19
But is there a sign to teach people how that system works? My school went over it like once and it's a skill I've used literally 0 times myself. Would not be able to find shit on this list
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u/Alcohol_Intolerant May 16 '19
So a quick run-down of the Dewey Decimal System (DDS for short.)
Subjects are numbered and organized 0-999. They are in numerical order. If you have the number for a subject, then you have its relative location. You still might ask a librarian where the non-fiction section starts, or where the 500s start if it's a big library, but if you can see a number, you can figure out what section you're in pretty fast.
Start simple. We want books on coding and computer programs. I look it up and the system says one or two of those books are in "005". That's lucky. I just go to the start of the non-fiction section and walk until I hit 5. And so on in numerical order. Once you're there, you can either find the exact item you were looking for, or you can browse the section knowing all the items there are of a related topic.
Don't bother trying to remember/match subject headings to numbers unless its your job. I work at a library and I rarely remember the actual numbers for low-circulating sections. I just remember physical locations instead.
Also, any librarian ever would just walk all over themselves if you asked how to use dewey decimal. We love patrons learning to help themselves.
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u/gamermanh May 17 '19
I'd love to learn it more thoroughly honestly but there's one massive reason I never have:
Libraries are useless to me, kinda always have been. Preferred to buy books and nowadays the internet has epubs for everything or audible for extra fun you know?
DDS would be fucking great for other systems though. Grocery stores could probably get it helping them somehow
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u/Alcohol_Intolerant May 17 '19
If you like owning lots of books, then yeah, most libraries wouldn't really float your boat. It's great for "try before you buy" though :)
Many also have digital libraries available, including audio books online. That's usually city libraries for good selection though. If you're in the country it won't be as good.
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u/MrPringles23 May 17 '19
I'm kinda lucky, I learned about it in grade 2 just before nobody really wanted to use our library anymore before we got computers.
Previously we had these old shitty macs that you if you wanted to select something from a taskbar you had to hold down the click and release it at the option you wanted, instead of clicking and clicking again (these were probably made in the 80's).
Anyway the year after we finally get ~12 computers with 95' and Creative Writer and Encarta.
Suddenly, no kid has any need for any of these old books that have been around since 1960.
The only ones that were touched were the newer fiction ones, like Captain Underpants and the "Just" series (Just Crazy etc). Also the Guinness Book of Records.
So much so, that they were literally giving away books a few years later to make space for more PC's.
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u/grubas May 17 '19
Until I had to dig up old journals and studies during grad school I never had a need since everything was digital.
Plus a lot of libraries let you use your card number to rent digital copies for a week or two.
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u/DecidedlyUnnecessary May 16 '19
Librarians are underrated.
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u/My_Thursday_Account May 17 '19
Also underpaid and underappreciated and overworked !
Just like teachers!
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u/DecidedlyUnnecessary May 17 '19
Yep! I’m a teacher and my buddy is the librarian at our school. We know too well.
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u/DefNotGelodicus May 17 '19
this goes for most professions...
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u/My_Thursday_Account May 17 '19
That's true but I don't really want to get into a pissing contest about who's the most underappreciated.
We as a society have decided that a person who literally plays video games or dresses up as an anime girl and shoves things inside of themselves on camera for a living has more value than a person who performs life-saving surgical operations on your heart or brain or teaches your children how to be functional human beings with at least a base level of knowledge.
On some level we have made this bed. We're obviously not totally blame for the imbalance but we're not exactly innocent either.
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u/DirkBabypunch May 17 '19
What do librarians even do? Surely it's more than just inventory and organization, if you can get a degree in it.
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u/toomuchwork May 17 '19
You should check our your library to see what’s happening there. Public libraries are evolving quickly and it’s awesome! Librarians don’t just make purchasing decisions for books and catalog them. I’m a librarian and I’ve worn many hats. I’ve taught tech classes with up to 45 adult attendees, ran crafting programs for teens and adults, managed the libraries 3d printers and makerspace, helped people apply for jobs or write resumes, been trained on administering narcan (fortunately never had to use that training), and much more. I do still buy books though, but I also buy movies, video games and board games.
It’s a job where you’re expected to be an expert at everything. Many times I’ve had to tell people to talk to their doctor if they want expert information. A lot of folks come to the library when they don’t know where else to go to get help. This especially applies to older adults that never really learned computers.
I could go on. I’m passionate about my career choice and believe that you need to have some of that passion to be able to do the job and not get burnt out with the low pay.
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u/krrcjr121612 May 17 '19
This is a really great idea.
When I was in middle school my mom's boyfriend got really drunk and tried to touch me and made me watch porn with him. I knew it was wrong and I hated him but he didn't actually touch me so I didn't tell anyone.
About 6 months pass and an episode of law and order SVU shows a guy getting convicted for making his child watch porn with him
I got ready curious about if what happened to me was actually as bad as I felt it was.
So I went to the library and got a book on child abuse. Making a child watch porn with you is still sexual abuse.
When I turned the book back in the librarian asked me if I needed to talk to anyone.
It was a split second thought but I ended up saying yes.
After talking to the principal, the cops, the school counselor, my mom, and my mom's boyfriend... They finally broke up about 6 months later.
I really appreciate that the library makes things like this because a child who wants to know if their step dad did indeed do bad things usually doesn't want to ask about it.
But she still cared enough to check in with me, which really changed my life
Thank you Mrs Brooks.
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u/confessionsofadoll May 17 '19
This really moved me. I hadn’t thought about the role of librarians in terms of psychological/emotional support or advice giving. I like to think that any and every librarian who encounters a child or youth with this book would offer to simply listen to them or provide advice. Warms my heart that you were able to deal with the problem more or less at the time rather than feel or face even worse psychological effects or issues in your later teens and adulthood. Sadly, it might be more difficult for this sort of thing to happen due to the internet.
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u/krrcjr121612 May 17 '19
I'm really happy to read this. It makes me feel more comfortable with sharing this information.
I agree that it might be more difficult with the internet. Hopefully when people Google these types of things, the RAINN website comes up.
I still think libraries are a great resource!
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u/Guffawmatey May 17 '19
Three sections for anxiety, oh dear. Which one do I pick?
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u/thatcatlibrarian May 17 '19
152.46 - Emotions 155.5 - Psychology of young people ages 12 to 20 616.85 - Diseases of nervous system and mental disorders
Dewey is oddly specific in some ways, and not nearly specific enough in others.
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May 16 '19
What if I need an adult
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u/an_adult_on_reddit May 16 '19
I'll be here for you.
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u/ineedanewaccountpls May 17 '19
You can tell you're older because you still used underscores in your UN.
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u/malten_sage May 16 '19
Saving this. I just bought a book on the Dewey Decimal System with an index on just about everything. I’ll see if this stuff is in there. If not, I’ll add them in there for future reference.
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u/eyehate May 17 '19
I hate Al Yankovic. Every time I see Dewey Decimal I hear Arnold Schwarzenegger saying it.
Fuck you, Al.
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May 16 '19
On one hand I think it's great that a library is concious enough of it's readers to implement this but also sad that it has to be implemented in the first place.
None of this should be taboo or embarrassing, these topics are all part of the human experience and something we all can relate to or at the least empathize with.
I wish the world was more understanding.
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u/muntabun May 16 '19
Agree that the topics shouldn’t be taboo, but some people are just private people who don’t want to interact with someone at a vulnerable point in their lives or they have social anxiety of some kind and feel they can’t approach a human about these issues. Doesn’t preclude someone from asking if they want to.
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May 16 '19
I agree but the point is all those reasons listed generally arise from the fact that it's taboo to discuss.
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u/Alcohol_Intolerant May 16 '19
I agree, but everyone has different situations. I work at a library and recently had an interesting experience with a woman looking for divorce books. She came up to me with a child in tow and asked,
"Where do you keep your books on D-I-V-O-R-C-E?"
"D-I-V..Oh you mean Divo--OH. Right this way ma'am."
And the child knew NOTHING.
Sign would have done the same thing, but without the risk of me almost creating a situation.
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May 17 '19
Geez, how old was the child? I know I'm an outlier, but I would have had that down by five, maybe four - and my siblings would have picked up on it before the age of six, easy.
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u/Alcohol_Intolerant May 17 '19
She was probably between 3 or 4. The mom was very fast when spelling.
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u/grubas May 17 '19
Or you work in the field and you may or may not have an angry university librarian waiting in the 610s to demand books back.
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May 16 '19
Honestly I'm really emotionally on edge right now, but I'm actually sobbing at the kindness and compassion of this sign. It's so thoughtful and lovely and we really don't deserve librarians.
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u/FB-22 May 17 '19
Hope you feel better
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May 17 '19
Thanks! I'm a teacher and we're moving in to state tests plus shifting to new standards, so I've worked 12 hours at the building everyday this week. Then last night the closing date on our new house got moved after we'd booked movers, appliance deliveries, utilities, etc. And the final kicker was coming home at 9 last night, only to realize the sandwich shop where I wanted to grab dinner had already closed.
But I've been reading and drinking wine and am going to bed early tonight, so my stress levels are back to normal and I'm feel much better :)
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u/dagenj May 16 '19
Sad to see so many of my google searches on that list.
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u/TheGritGuy May 16 '19
This has got to be one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen...I can already feel my anxiety lifting, love the last part “as librarians were here to help not to judge”
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u/AxumArc May 17 '19
It's awesome you make yourselves available for people in need. Y'all are rad! I'd love to work there someday :)
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u/yumyumbumblebee May 16 '19
aw man my title didn't stick.... it's my first post/crosspost title was supposed to be "the dewey decimal system itself is already a cool guide"