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Of course Dewey is biased! However, for Dewey to have thought "a little more holistically and a lot less ethnocentrically" he would have had to be not just forward thinking, but clairvoyant. After all, we are products of our environment, and we have no idea what the sensibilities of future generations will be. I agree that it is a good system, but it is not sacred. We could change it to suit our current needs and preferences. Patricia Hartye, Librarian Meherrin-Powellton Elementary School Lawrenceville, VA patricia.hartye@brun.k12.va.us ________________________________ From: School Library Media & Network Communications on behalf of Sarles Patricia (18K500) Sent: Mon 11/12/2007 10:27 AM To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU Subject: Re: Bias in Dewey oh yes, the bias in Dewey is BLATANT the Christian religion is given almost the entire 200's, from 200-289, and every other religion of the world is shmooshed together between 290 and 299, as if they clearly don't count! I never realized this about Dewey until I spent some time weeding the 200s in a library I acquired many years ago, and I just happened to notice this then I began to notice it in other parts of Dewey as well yes, clearly Dewey had a Western, Christian bent that he applied to his classification system - it's a shame because I think it's a good system and could be embraced by more parts of the world had he been thinking a little more holistically and a lot less ethnocentrically _________________________ Patricia Sarles, MA, MLS Passages Academy Libraries 941 Rev. James A. Polite Avenue Bronx, New York 10459 tel: (718) 861-2003 fax: (718) 861-2039 psarles@schools.nyc.gov "Nothing of value comes without being earned, That's why great leaders are those who lead by example first. You can't demand respect because of a title or a position and expect people to follow. That might work for a little while, but in the long run people respond to what they see." - Michael Jordan "Libraries are not made; they grow." - Augustine Birrell -----Original Message----- From: School Library Media & Network Communications on behalf of M S Sent: Mon 11/12/2007 1:31 AM To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU Subject: Bias in Dewey Hello I read with interest Debbie Reese's comments about the bias in Dewey/LC shelving I agree that there is bias in the Dewey system toward certain groups. My question is- Did anyone ever noticed the bias toward biblical figures? In many cases, King David, Samuel, Sarah, Rachel, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Debra, etc... are treated as biblical figures (subject headings of books about them) not Jewish leaders and so are all the Old Testament stories (unless the book title specifies Jewish stories) If one reads about any figure from Greek Mythology, it would say so "Greek Mythology" or Greek diety. If one reads folktales, it would say "African folktale", "Chinese folktale" etc ...not so for the Old Testament which is early Jewish history. A picture book titled *Exodus, *would not have with in its subject heading anything to do with Judaism or with the holiday of Passover (which is based on the story in Exodus) For centuries the Bible (Old Testament) was purposely not treated as a Jewish book. It is the same with Dewey, not puposely but still the same. In my foundation course in library science, a student asked in which language the bible was written, I was amazed to hear students say (NYC) Greek, Latin, and no one except me said Hebrew. How sad ! Madeleine Zember Marshall School Hempstead NY drjesons@gmail.com -------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book. 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