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The Amherst Method

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Reference:

Wiegand, Wayne A. 1998. 'The "Amherst Method": The Origins of the Dewey Decimal Classification Scheme'. Libraries & Culture 3.2: 175-194.

Introduction

  • Covers the history of the Dewey Decimal, why?
    • There is much debate of its efficacy

  • We will better understand Melvil Dewey's thinking

    • Which by doing so we understand the contextual forces that influenced his decisions

  • Had a euerka moment,

    • To get absolute simplicity by breaking it down to numerals as decimals
    • Supplemented by the next simplest symbols (abc) Despite the genius of his quote, it provided no origin where historians enter

Conclusion

  • Dewey calls his own Classification system the "Amherst method" which didn't stick
  • The most important ideas that he pulled from are
  • the St. Louis Public School Library classification system and
  • Amherst College
  • Utilizing the classification systems from these two locations, through his genius he established a simple and easy to adopt system that
    • helps people from anywhere understand a globalized system
    • Saved millions dollars and countless hours of time from libraries, librarians and it's users