UPDATED: Is Dewey Done? See What These 26 Sites Have to Say and Then Decide

Ever since bookstores have been selling books, they have shelved them by subject area. When patrons go to any subject section, they can usually find the book they are looking for by the last name of the author. This includes fiction and nonfiction books. Those of us who were taught to use the Dewey Decimal System are used to using decimals for the ten nonfiction sections from 000-999. When a student asks me to find a particular book, all I need is the call number to get to the exact location of that book. How would the bookstore model do in a school library? Some elementary school librarians like the idea because nonfiction books could be easier for young kids to locate. Judge for yourself.

Adams County Libraries Shelving Dewey- Denver, Colorado school libraries

Are the Dewey Decimal System's Days Numbered?- interesting article


The Demise of the Dewey Decimal System- Canadian librarian has incorporated the bookstore model in her school library

Dewey? At This Library With a Very Different Outlook, They Don't- New York Times article about the 15-branch Maricopa County Library District in Arizona. Here's a link to the NPR broadcast about the changes.

Dewey Decimal, Redone

The Dewey Dilemma- from the Library Journal

Dewey's Not Dead

Ditching Dewey from Tiffany Whitehead

Ditching Dewey: Hot Topic in Hartford | AASL- article from School Library Journal


Ditching Dewey: Making the Move- blog post from Tiffany Whitehead, The Mighty Little Librarian

Ditching Dewey...and Other Cool Improvements Coming to the Library

Do We Dewey?-New York Times article from 2008

Has the Dewey Decimal system Finally Outlived its Usefulness?- blog post by librarian Roger Green

Red Hawk Elementary Scraps Dewey Decimal System  for Bookstore Model

Reorganizing Non-Fiction: A Dewey Hybrid Model- from the Official Blog of the Association for Library Service for Children (ALSC)

Saying Goodbye to the Dewey Decimal System- article about five Albany public libraries

So We Ditched Dewey...What Comes Next For Our Books and Shelves?- from teacher-librarian Shannon McClintock Miller

Students Not Fazed By Dewey-less Library- Gilbert, AZ

Three Benefits of the Dewey Decimal System- from eHow

What's So Great About Dewey? 

Why I Won't Ditch Dewey- from elementary librarian Jocelyn Sams

Will 21st Century Libraries Use the Dewey Decimal System?

Will Dewey Still Do?- Massachusetts librarian airs her opinion about Dewey

Who's Killing the Dewey Decimal System?- article about the Gail Borden Public Library District in Elgin, IL

Would Your Elementary Library Work Better if You Scrapped the Dewey Decimal System?- from School Library Monthly's blog