[Web4lib] Re: [lita-l] Re: Innovation: NYT article on Dewey-less Arizona public library

[Karen Coyle]

Bernie, I think some people think that all libraries have to do 
everything alike -- therefore if this is seen as a success then they may 
be "forced" to do it themselves. It seems clear that this may work well 
in one library but not in another, and that threatens the "all the same" 
world view.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned how this method of ordering the 
books might interact with RFID. If you don't have a set shelf location 
for a book, or if the shelf location is less obvious than a Dewey 
number, RFID and an inventory wand can help you find a particular item 
without having a precise shelf location. No, you wouldn't want to hunt 
the entire library for it, but it should be easy enough to check a tier 
or two of shelves for something that can't be found visually. If your 
library is such that looking for particular items is more occasional 
than browsing, this might be a good enough solution.

kc

B.G. Sloan wrote:
>
> I've been following this thread with a lot of interest. I'd originally 
> just passed it along as an FYI, but it seems like it's taken on a life 
> of its own.
>
> Two reactions to the discussion:
>
> 1. Several people have taken issue with the use of the word 
> "innovation", i.e., trying to dismiss the Arizona experiment by saying 
> it's not an innovation. I think the experiment qualifies as an 
> incremental innovation, building on something used for another 
> purpose...taking a bookstore collection organization model and 
> applying it to a library. Using BISAC (or other schemes not used in a 
> library) to organize a bookstore collection is not an innovation, but 
> trying it out in a library setting is an incremental innovation.
>
> 2. I don't understand the big outcry against this project in some 
> quarters. I think we should encourage people to experiment like this. 
> They may fail, but everyone might learn by their failure. And they 
> might well come up with a model that would offer an improvement in 
> customer service for some sectors of the library world.
>
> Bernie Sloan
>
> */"B.G. Sloan" <bgsloan2 at yahoo.com>/* wrote:
>
>
>     There was a discussion of innovation on this list recently...
>
>     I think the Dewey-less public library branch in Gilbert Arizona
>     might have been mentioned during the innovation discussion, but I
>     wanted to point out an article from yesterday's (July 14) NY
>     Times. It's listed as the fourth most e-mailed article:
>
>     http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/14/us/14dewey.html
>
>     Librarians in general seem to come off as fuddy-duddies resistant
>     to change and innovation, e.g., "On Web sites where librarians
>     frequently post, the abandonment of Dewey has not been welcome.
>     One blogger titled her entry 'Heresy!' Another called the Perry
>     Branch’s approach 'idiotic.'"
>
>     Bernie Sloan
>     Sick sense of humor? Visit Yahoo! TV's Comedy with an Edge
>     <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=47093/*http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/222>to
>     see what's on, when. 
>
>
> Pinpoint customers 
> <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=48250/*http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/arp/sponsoredsearch_v9.php?o=US2226&cmp=Yahoo&ctv=AprNI&s=Y&s2=EM&b=50>who 
> are looking for what you sell. 

-- 
-----------------------------------
Karen Coyle / Digital Library Consultant
kcoyle at kcoyle.net http://www.kcoyle.net
ph.: 510-540-7596   skype: kcoylenet
fx.: 510-848-3913
mo.: 510-435-8234
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