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LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

“People seem to understand numbers better than the alphabet” : Experiences and effects of reclassification 
from SAB to Dewey at a university library

Ptasznik, Julia LU (2023) ABMM54 20231
Division of ALM, Digital Cultures and Publishing Studies
Abstract
This thesis is an analysis of the effects and experiences of reclassification from the Swedish SAB system to the Dewey Decimal Classification at one of the faculty libraries at Lund University. The background for this study is the National Library report from 2006 where advantages and disadvantages of switching to the DDC were outlined. The theoretical framework is based on Bowker and Star’s infrastructure theory. Six librarians were interviewed about their experiences with the reclassification and the new system. The study analyzes the results from the perspective of classification systems as infrastructures. The results show that librarians were affected the most by the reclassification, whereas there was little impact on patrons and... (More)
This thesis is an analysis of the effects and experiences of reclassification from the Swedish SAB system to the Dewey Decimal Classification at one of the faculty libraries at Lund University. The background for this study is the National Library report from 2006 where advantages and disadvantages of switching to the DDC were outlined. The theoretical framework is based on Bowker and Star’s infrastructure theory. Six librarians were interviewed about their experiences with the reclassification and the new system. The study analyzes the results from the perspective of classification systems as infrastructures. The results show that librarians were affected the most by the reclassification, whereas there was little impact on patrons and physical spaces. The study also finds that the librarians mostly agree with the advantages and disadvantages of reclassification from the National Library report. (Less)
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author
Ptasznik, Julia LU
supervisor
organization
course
ABMM54 20231
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Library, Information, Knowledge Organization, Classification Systems, SAB, Dewey Decimal Classification, DDC, DDK, Infrastructure, Infrastructure Theory
language
English
id
9119051
date added to LUP
2023-06-20 13:33:49
date last changed
2023-06-20 13:33:49
@misc{9119051,
  abstract     = {{This thesis is an analysis of the effects and experiences of reclassification from the Swedish SAB system to the Dewey Decimal Classification at one of the faculty libraries at Lund University. The background for this study is the National Library report from 2006 where advantages and disadvantages of switching to the DDC were outlined. The theoretical framework is based on Bowker and Star’s infrastructure theory. Six librarians were interviewed about their experiences with the reclassification and the new system. The study analyzes the results from the perspective of classification systems as infrastructures. The results show that librarians were affected the most by the reclassification, whereas there was little impact on patrons and physical spaces. The study also finds that the librarians mostly agree with the advantages and disadvantages of reclassification from the National Library report.}},
  author       = {{Ptasznik, Julia}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{“People seem to understand numbers better than the alphabet” : Experiences and effects of reclassification 
from SAB to Dewey at a university library}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}