[Evergreen-catalogers] Volume Information: Classification Scheme

[Ben Shum]

Hi Sarah, etc.

I changed most all of our call number classifications in our Evergreen 
system to use Dewey for our catalogers after we realized that we had a 
mix of schemes employed across our consortium and it was affecting the 
sorting for the call number shelf browser.

 From a data perspective, a call number with a generic classification 
type usually has a label sortkey value largely unchanged from the actual 
displayed label.  But employing Dewey or Library of Congress types 
changed our sortkeys to include additional paddings for sort accuracy.  
An example from our system looked like was a label like "791.457 
SWEENEY", which had a sortkey value of "791_457000000000000_SWEENEY" 
actually used for sorting.  I think before that we had cases where 
something like 791 came after 791.457 because the decimal values ended 
up before the non-decimal ones.  But this may have been only the case in 
earlier versions of Evergreen, prior to 2.0.

For consistency, once we ran database update queries to change all the 
classification types to Dewey in our copies, we also implemented a 
library setting to make Dewey classification the default used by the 
entire consortium.  The library setting involved was called "Default 
Classification Scheme" and we set ours to a value of "2" for Dewey.  
Your system administrators may want to configure that option so that 
your cataloging process automatically applies the "correct" scheme and 
then catalogers can largely skip over / avoid that choice when creating 
copies.

-- Ben

On 05/04/2012 01:05 PM, sarahc at zionsville.lib.in.us wrote:
> Hello, Everyone.
> I'm working on updating our local cataloging documentation and I'm
> wondering what people can tell me about the Classification
> drop-down list in the volume information.  We've just been
> ignoring it.
>
> I've dug around in the General list archives, and from what I can
> tell this setting is intended to aid in sorting based on call
> number.
>
> I think currently we're satisfied with the way things are sorting.
>   What is the advantage to using this?  And would any advantage be
> nullified by the fact that all of our previous volumes don't have
> a classification scheme applied?  Has anyone else started using
> this function mid-stream?
>
> Ours is defaulting to General right now. We use a mix of local
> call number schemes and Dewey (as do most of the libraries in the
> consortium, although the State Library uses a lot of things for
> various collections, including LOC).
>
> If I change the default to Dewey for our library, will the system
> pull the Dewey call number instead of LOC for the call number
> input box?  But would I then need to set General for all of my
> non-Dewey call numbers?
>
>
>
> Sarah Childs
> Senior Cataloger
> Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library
> 250 North Fifth Street
> Zionsville, IN 46077
> 317-873-3149 x13330
> sarahc at zionsville.lib.in.us
>
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>

-- 
Benjamin Shum
Open Source Software Coordinator
Bibliomation, Inc.
32 Crest Road
Middlebury, CT 06762
203-577-4070, ext. 113