How do you decide where a book goes on the shelf?
Answer
Subjects are used to assign call numbers so that items on similar topics are grouped together in the Dewey Decimal System. An item will have only one call number, but it can have multiple subjects. We use several authoritative organizations to help us systematically organize materials. That being said, we recognize bias and a need for better subject classifications and are working to develop a critical cataloging approach. We do our best to align the cataloged subject with similar items in our collection but occasionally will make the call to catalog it differently if we think it'll be better represented in the collection or its metadata. Our fiction section is classified into genres and generally organized alphabetically by an author's last name.
For more information on subjects and cataloging check out our linked resources.