oh my God. What an excellent idea. I'm going to ask my librarians about this, though I doubt they will do it. They could always put one up until they got complaints, but the freaking right wing Southern U.S. loves to attack everything that helps others.
@agturcz Thats the reason why book burnings and book banning is one of the first things facist do; Braindrain and creating (more) helplessness through information scarcity.
@breakin @cynthiarose @karb @hj It startles me sometimes when I bump up against generational differences like this. I just took it for granted that everyone would know exactly what they were looking at. I thought the original question was made in jest at first. But with the internet, so few people go to libraries anymore that it doesn't make sense to expect that people would know this. It's no longer cultural background knowledge.
@karb @hj Hi! I’m a librarian’s kid. Those numbers are the locations of the books in the library using the Dewey Decimal System. This way you can find whatever you need without having to say a word to anyone.
@lritter I can attest that work at a #library & we do have an endcap sign with that information posted. I believe many #libraries do... but adding hashtags in case someone hasn't gotten the memo
@PeachMcD @lritter That sign's probably not in TN libraries - not while the Stalinist purges are in full swing. I had the thought that my act of resistance could be buying a few dozen copies of banned "DEI" books and quietly restocking these libraries. popular.info/p/tennessee-publi…
One hundred and eighty-one public libraries in Tennessee are reviewing their children’s collections after Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett (R) ordered them to remove books with LGBTQ themes or characters.
@MaierAmsden @lritter Libraries have their own ways of dealing with adding to their collection. A book with no shelf tag would probably get removed quickly. Maybe add those books to a 'little library'? Either your own or a neighbor's?
If it had a shelf tag, would it still get noticed? (Not actually going to do this. Just wondering how it works. I never really thought about it before.)
@hosford42 @MaierAmsden @lritter The shelf tags are standardized within each library system. It might take time for the absence to be noticed, but meanwhile, a person trying to check out the donation would be stymied.
They'd probably bring it to the circulation desk, where whoever was working there would probably understand quickly what was going on.
@baardhaveland @MargaretSefton definite maybe. there are local variations in classification rules, and many other schemes for assigning shelfmarks. also dewey can be problematic: it's highly US & anglophone centric, and rather slow to be updated (and it takes time and money to implement any such changes in each library even after they're published).
It's 2025 and we still can't get the FSF to walk away from RMS, can you imagine how bad Dewey must have been to be sanctioned in 1905?
He was also, quite openly, incredibly antisemitic, anti-black, and presumably every other flavour of racist. USians in, again, 1905, found Dewey excessively racist.
he was largely responsible for feminising the profession, not because he believed in equality or educating women or anything like that, but so that what he saw as the increasing clerical workload could be given to lower-paid women and allow the male librarians to focus on the "real" work
I basically grew up in a library but I never was exposed to the Dewey Decimal system (although I've heard of it). Instead we just went by authors lastname and then different shelves based on the theme (HCE) etc. I am sure the libraries used some other system though. But the bible verses guess was a joke from my side 😀
@ScriptFanix Leaders - hidden under every library is a secret underground base full of books about lichen, racks of frog costumes and recipes for very tasty cakes.
Kim Possible
in reply to Natasha 🇪🇺 • • •Agnieszka R. Turczyńska
in reply to Natasha 🇪🇺 • • •Dexruus
in reply to Agnieszka R. Turczyńska • • •Aaron
Unknown parent • • •It startles me sometimes when I bump up against generational differences like this. I just took it for granted that everyone would know exactly what they were looking at. I thought the original question was made in jest at first. But with the internet, so few people go to libraries anymore that it doesn't make sense to expect that people would know this. It's no longer cultural background knowledge.
Anders Lindqvist
Unknown parent • • •cynthia rose is desirable
Unknown parent • • •Hi! I’m a librarian’s kid. Those numbers are the locations of the books in the library using the Dewey Decimal System. This way you can find whatever you need without having to say a word to anyone.
LR
in reply to Natasha 🇪🇺 • • •PeachMcD
in reply to LR • • •I can attest that work at a #library & we do have an endcap sign with that information posted. I believe many #libraries do... but adding hashtags in case someone hasn't gotten the memo
Maier Amsden
in reply to PeachMcD • • •popular.info/p/tennessee-publi…
Tennessee public libraries close for Trump-inspired book purge
Rebecca Crosby (Popular Information)PeachMcD
in reply to Maier Amsden • • •Libraries have their own ways of dealing with adding to their collection. A book with no shelf tag would probably get removed quickly. Maybe add those books to a 'little library'? Either your own or a neighbor's?
Aaron
in reply to PeachMcD • • •@PeachMcD
If it had a shelf tag, would it still get noticed? (Not actually going to do this. Just wondering how it works. I never really thought about it before.)
@MaierAmsden @lritter @Natasha_Jay
PeachMcD
in reply to Aaron • • •@hosford42 @MaierAmsden @lritter
The shelf tags are standardized within each library system. It might take time for the absence to be noticed, but meanwhile, a person trying to check out the donation would be stymied.
They'd probably bring it to the circulation desk, where whoever was working there would probably understand quickly what was going on.
Stanley Q Woodvine
in reply to Natasha 🇪🇺 • • •Margaret Moonshadow
in reply to Natasha 🇪🇺 • • •Bård H. (lvl 48 🇳🇴)
in reply to Margaret Moonshadow • • •@MargaretSefton
Dewey was the name I was looking for!
And it's internationally accepted, right?
So... in theory, anyone curious about these topics can just grab the list and check with their local library... =)
Jez 🍞🌹
in reply to Bård H. (lvl 48 🇳🇴) • • •Jez 🍞🌹
in reply to Jez 🍞🌹 • • •Sensitive content
@baardhaveland @MargaretSefton
for instance, since it was added in 1932, "homosexuality" has variously been found under:
132 mental derangements
159.9 abnormal psychology
301.424 the study of sexes in society
363.49 social problems
306.7 sexual relations (current)
in addition, Christianity covers 200-289, with all the world's other religions squeezed into the 290s
zbrown
in reply to Jez 🍞🌹 • • •Sensitive content
@petrichor @baardhaveland @MargaretSefton also Dewey got forced out of his own organisation for being horrific to women *in 1905*.
It's 2025 and we still can't get the FSF to walk away from RMS, can you imagine how bad Dewey must have been to be sanctioned in 1905?
He was also, quite openly, incredibly antisemitic, anti-black, and presumably every other flavour of racist. USians in, again, 1905, found Dewey excessively racist.
Aaron
in reply to zbrown • • •Sensitive content
@zbrown
That is some serious racism and misogyny.
@petrichor @baardhaveland @MargaretSefton @Natasha_Jay
Jez 🍞🌹
in reply to Aaron • • •Sensitive content
@hosford42
yup 🤬
he was largely responsible for feminising the profession, not because he believed in equality or educating women or anything like that, but so that what he saw as the increasing clerical workload could be given to lower-paid women and allow the male librarians to focus on the "real" work
@zbrown @baardhaveland @MargaretSefton @Natasha_Jay
Aaron
in reply to Jez 🍞🌹 • • •Sensitive content
@petrichor
"Women's work"
Gross.
@zbrown @baardhaveland @MargaretSefton @Natasha_Jay
Shredd Tone
in reply to Natasha 🇪🇺 • • •'There is no knowledge that is not power.'
:- Mortal Kombat (Arcade Machine)
Anders Lindqvist
in reply to Aaron • • •Paul
in reply to Natasha 🇪🇺 • • •ScriptFanix💍⏚ ⸫
in reply to Paul • • •@Natasha_Jay
Paul
in reply to ScriptFanix💍⏚ ⸫ • • •Unus Nemo
in reply to ScriptFanix💍⏚ ⸫ • •@ScriptFanix💍⏚ ⸫
A shepherd protects sheep from wolves but who protects the sheep from the shepherd that eventually eats it?
ScriptFanix💍⏚ ⸫ likes this.
ScriptFanix💍⏚ ⸫
in reply to Unus Nemo • • •Librarians are vegan I guess 😁
Unus Nemo likes this.
Su_G
in reply to Natasha 🇪🇺 • • •