This is the third offering in the “Essential” group. Bowman produced Essential cataloguing and his colleague, Vanda Broughton, wrote the excellent Essential classification. The current volume carries the “essential” word in the title and is similar in cover layout to its companion volumes.
Bowman is to be congratulated in compressing the range of Dewey highways and bye ways into such a compact volume – however such sveltness has come at a price in terms of the aesthetics of lay out. There is a frantic lack of white space in this volume.
The volume is purposeful, and consequently lacks the more intriguing, if apocryphal stuff about the foibles of the young, and the not so young Dewey. We are given a brief background and history in seven pages, then move on to an outline of the classification, this is followed by instructions for dealing with simple subjects. We then have two chapters on number building, firstly using standard subdivisions and then other methods. Preference order is considered before moving on to a range of exceptions and options. The longest chapter (chapter 8 some 40 pages) deals in schedule order with special subjects, the final chapter on practical classification deals with compound subjects. The volume is rounded off with a helpfully brief chapter on WebDewey.
Let us not beat about the bush, the pedigree of the author to produce such a work is exemplary. He has spent considerable time teaching Dewey to students – a laudable pursuit that I wish more of those in “organisations formerly known as Library Schools” would undertake. This is crowned by his involvement with the CILIP Dewey Decimal Classification Committee (CILIP DDC) since 1985. CILIP DDC is the engine that powers up and focuses the UK input to the DDC Editorial Committee in the States, and has been the source of many of the major changes that have put DDC back in lead position as a general classification. This man knows his Dewey in a very practical way, and communicates like a master craftsman, requiring focus from the reader as he leads us securely through some of the more labyrinthine highways and bye ways of the classification.
You will need a copy of DDC edition 22 (DDC22) by your side to use this volume to best advantage. After working through the chapters you need place this book by the side of your DDC 22 to act as mentor, encourager so that you can start becoming a little more adventurous in your use of the classification and engage in the process securely!
I was not happy with the approach in chapter 8, where the author takes us on a whistle stop tour of the schedule pointing out anomalies and “local customs”. My problem with this was the use I was making of the book – reading it from cover to cover to review. This chapter actually provides a very useful “drop in” service for puzzled cataloguers attempting to fathom the less obvious foibles of this classification. My other concern was the lay out of the volume that does not do justice to the author's excellent work. I found the Answers to exercises section (pp. 127‐144) too cramped. When complex number building is being described it is useful to set the steps in the solution out on separate lines so that the reader is clear where each step leads. When this is presented as a linear narrative it is harder for the reader to readily follow the steps involved. The simple process of aligning the steps in a table form helps clarify the sequence of the number build.
So will I be using or recommending this volume? Absolutely, it provides a reliable and thoughtfully structured introduction to the major classification scheme for both the student of classification and for those in professional employ who need to use DDC for the first time or are called upon to use the classification with a greater degree of sophistication.
