Int. Libr. Rev.(1971) 3 ,343-347

Classification of Children's Books in the Toronto Public Libraries

D O R I S SCOTT]"

" I t was Bacon who first m a d e a systematic a t t empt at the exhaustive enumera t ion of facts, a n d it has cont inued in l ibrary classifications down to our own day . . . Systems of classification do not arise empirically, merely as a pract ica l convenience, like shelving the most-used books near the door. They arise as reflections of the state of scientific and philo- sophical t hough t in any age, b r ing ing together those par ts of the field of knowledge t h a t are seen to be closely related, to l ink up wi th each o the r . " l

When the classification scheme used for children's books in the Toronto Public Libraries first came into being 40 years ago, it was concerned with this concept and with the situations extant then and which continue to be expressed in articles over the years.

Time and again articles in library journals which refer to numerous schemes indicate dissatisfaction with one or another. Reviews of books and articles in Library Science Abstracts show a continuing concern with theories of classification. Besides different systems for classification in general that have developed in various parts of the world, systems have been evolved for use in special areas where existing systems did not fill the need, for example in the fields of Medicine, Law, Music, Agriculture, Business, and for such specialties as Polar libraries and Metallurgy.

Some mention the flexibility of Library of Congress and the fact that it is not so "subject to drastic periodical revision as is Dewey with its parade of new editions".

One library, after due consideration, chose to adopt the "thoroughly tested Detroit Plan" as a method

" to give less focus to the scholar . . . to all who are used to digging out thei r mater ia l no ma t t e r wha t the effort a n d wi th indiv idual assistance

-~ Librarian, Boys and Girls House, Toronto Public Libraries, 40 St George Street, Toronto 181, Ontario, Canada.

1 D. J. Foskett. Library classification and the field of knowledge. Library Association Occasional Paper No. 1.

z H. R. Downey (1964). Dewey or L.C., which is best for universities? Libr. 07. 89, 2292-2293.

344 D. SCOTT

from the l ibrary s t a ~ - - a n d to cater to the casual, unbookish elements of the library's basic and potcndal clicntclc. This involves taking the reader's nose out of the catalogue and directing it through some less mysterious method to the books themselves". 1

Jean Perreault of the School of Library and Information Services, University of Maryland, voices somewhat the same view in reporting on a project conducted for the State:

"I t has been found [in public libraries] that a far higher proport ion of their patrons expect the shelf-arrangement to assist them than do those of other types of libraries who seek assistance through the catalogue."

One school library system evolved a compromise with existing schemes referred to "by its accepted code name of Mulligan Stew" based on the fact that the elementary school curriculum is unique unto itself and the users approach materials on a simple subject basis, thus bringing to- gether all subject material, fact and fiction. No justification could be found in

"making materials harder to find simply in order to give students practice. Mull igan Stew is designed to facilitate finding a book by subject. The steps via the card catalogue to find a part icular book . . . are not altered. ' '3

Another writer regrets time spent "attempting to improve on Dewey's classification. A simpler, less time-consuming system of organization is needed . . ."4 Some library systems have followed this trend. Children's books in certain areas of content combine aspects of a subject which, in an adult collection, would be treated separately and therefore could be in separate places. For example transportation is of little interest to children so far as detailed economic study is concerned. That is, the books generally fall into the 600's in Dewey rather than the 300's. An interesting and thoughtful study of this was made in the Berkshire School Library service in England. 5 Keeping in mind the content and approach to subject in children's books, Miss Peggy Heeks Proceeds to analyse class by class the overlap within subject matter, indicating how the original scheme (Dewey) was adapted to meet the demands of book content by dropping unnecessary classes. Numerous other cases are noted and bear out the concept as stated in the preface to the Toronto Public Library scheme first adopted in 1931 :

C. Joyce (1959). Readers' interest classification in the small public library. Libr. o7. 84, 705-707.

~J. M. Perreault. Reclassification: some warnings and a proposal. University of Illinois Graduate School of Library Science Occasional Papers No. 87.

s R. C. Potter (1960). Abridged Dewey for elementary schools. Libr. ft. 85, 1633-1637. 4 G. R. Cole (1960). Classification for the non-librarlan. Libr..7. 85, 1637-1638. 5 p. Heeks (1963). Classification. School Librarian I1, 482-492.

CttILDR]~N~S BOOK CLASSIFICATION 345

"The classification highlights both the broad and specific categories which have significance for the intended reader and which have some relation to what has been written for that reader. ''1

In an article on National Library Week entitled "It 's all there, It's too much", Kathrine Whitehorn of London Observer Service refers to the mass of information that must be recorded and retrieved by a librarian or a computer who understands the cataloguing

"most of which reads like higher mathematics even for ordinary books-- you're lucky if you've more letters in the title than digits in the cata- logue number."

The introduction to the Toronto Public Library Boys and Girls Book Classification as presently revised and in use states in part:

"In libraries where collections are designed for special groups of readers as in Music, Law and Medicine, it has been necessary to develop systems to suit these demands. Schemes have had to be devised to meet the needs of readers in these specialized fields, since none of the conventional sys- tems of classification filled their particular requirements. It is apparent that no one of the main classification theorists has undertaken to develop a classification scheme for children's books nor have any of these theorists given consideration to the special problems that arise in classifying children's books. The present Toronto Public Libraries classification plan puts into practice the theories these specialists expound, in that it is 'based on and derived from an examination of the literature of the field' and on a 'consideration of the intended reader'. ''z

An arrangement was devised which would encompass the reading interests of children rather than force children's books into an adult- oriented scheme. An outline of the main divisions used will indicate its scope :

X Picture Books. Books in which text and picture~ are mutually important. Nursery rhyme books.

Z Informational Picture Books. Including controlled vocabulary titles.

A Folk and Fairy Tales. Folk-lore and fables and the stories of H. C. Andersen.

C Myths. Stories from various sources derived from the religions of early races.

D Epic and Romance. Stories of the great legendary heroes retold from epic literature and mediaeval romance (this may be marked "Hero stories" on the shelf label).

F Famous People. Biography and autobiography. G History. H Lands and People. Geographies, description and travel, voyages

and expeditions.

1 A Guide to the Children's Book Collection (1966). Toronto : Toronto Public Library. 2 K. Whitehorn (1969). Globe and Mail 13 March. It's all there, It's too much. z A Guide to the Children's Book Collection (1966). Toronto : Toronto Public Library.

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K L N O P q R

S T V

D. SCOTT

Natural History. Botany and zoology. Pure Science. Applied Science. Things to do. Books on handicrafts and hobbies, games. Art. Music. Plays. Including retellings such as Lamb's Tales from Shake-

speare. Poetry. Including prose retellings such as Chaucer. World Religions. High Days and Holidays.

Reference. Fiction.

Provision is made for breakdown within these by 10's. The main div- isions alone can be used; in fact, it is all that is required in a small library although some subdivisions were allowed for in the original scheme of 1931. With the re-assessment of the scheme and subsequent publication in its present form in 1966, attention was given to further expansion in order to provide for increasing numbers of books in specialized fields of children's literature, especially for use in larger libraries. The break- downs allow for subdividing when occasion requires by adding two figures. The letter may be used for classifying all myths, or it may be subdivided using C10 for Greek and Roman myths, C20 for Norse and so on. The division by tens permits a broad expansion which can be made even greater by using the numbers between these. At the most, no more than a letter and two numbers are required.

This scheme has been found through the years to be flexible and less time-consuming in processing than was formerly the case when Dewey was used. It also has solved some of the problems mentioned earlier in attempting to bring like things together in a way that will cover sub- jects as they are dealt with in children's books as well as the children's interests themselves. A few examples will show areas where there are differences from other established schemes. Besides the more obvious one of the picture book group, these differences occur mainly in the sec- tions of hero stories, natural and practical sciences and "things to do". The arrangement of epics, myths and legends allows the reader of hero stories to find similar kinds of stories together rather than scattered in other sections of literature. In natural history, books on animals, wild and domestic, are brought together under one classification symbol, whereas in the Dewey system they are separated by books on medicine, aeronautics, radio and television and other forms of engineering. The "things to do" division also brings together all those books which are just what the heading suggests--games and sports, making things, col- lecting, cooking, keeping pets, photography and other hobbies.

C H I L D R E N ' S BOOK C L A S S I F I C A T I O N 347

Similarities will be noted among the many schemes but this does not preclude that only one is right. We have seen variations on the theme of Dewey Decimal and other unrelated schemes. The relationship between the notation on the catalogue card and on the book remains the same no matter what schemes are offered to the borrower. Any scheme which groups books logically should not hinder the children's use of any other classification scheme as they grow older for children's minds are flexible. One librarian involved in a letter scheme when questioned on this point said, "seventh and eighth grade students use two collections and two classifications simultaneously, without incident. ' ' i

Visitors to Boys and Girls House voice their interest in the Toronto Public Library scheme noting with special approval those areas where like things have been brought together. In reply to inquiries about this system and requests for more information, A guide to the children's book collections: arranged under headings representing the reading interests of Boys and Girls has been prepared by the Boys and Girls Services and is available from the Publications Office, Toronto Public Libraries.

i L. K. M. Gorski (1963). The ABC classification for children. School Libr.J. 10, 29-32.