The Lewis Cooper Junior Memorial Library has a problem. The librarians want to organize the unofficial genealogical section according to the Dewey Decimal Classification. The genealogists who use those books want them to be organized alphabetically. This is a dispute over organizational preference.
The Lewis Cooper Junior Memorial Library is located in the city of Opelika in Alabama. There is a feud going on between the librarians and the members of the East Alabama Genealogical Society. This dispute is about a difference of opinion that the two groups have over how to organize the books that are in the unofficial genealogical section of the library. The section includes 5,000 books.
The books that are now in the genealogical section had not been catalogued by the library until 2006. Previous to that year, it was an unofficial section of the library. Members of the East Alabama Genealogical Society organized those books in a way that made sense to genealogists. They had the books alphabetically organized, and separated by state and county.
This worked for the genealogists because it enabled them to quickly find the resources they needed. All they had to do is work their way down the alphabet to locate books on the state they wanted to do research in. Books about separate counties within that state would be nearby.
In 2006, the library finally catalogued the books in the now official genealogical section. They organized it according to the Dewey Decimal Classification. This system was designed by Melvil Dewey in 1876. It is a numerical system of classification that is used in all libraries.
The librarians, if I had to guess, want the genealogical section to be organized the same way as the rest of the books in the library. They may also feel that since the Dewey Decimal Classification system is widely used, and taught in schools, that this is a better way to organize the books.
The genealogists, however, want the books put back the way that they used to be. The librarians aren’t going to do that with the books. The genealogists have suggested that the genealogical section be organized by the system that the Library of Congress uses, which is alphanumerical.
The librarians have started offering a satisfaction survey to patrons, to find out their opinion about if the library is meeting their needs. They believe that most users of the library are happy with the Dewey Decimal Classification system.
Image by Valerie’s Genealogy Photos on Flickr