At The Library: Rethinking History
A Deeper Look At Melvil Dewey Highlights The Need To Consider The Whole Of Someone’s Legacy
By Rachel Reddick
Park Hill Branch Librarian
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One of the most iconic parts of America’s libraries is the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system. It’s a system that continues to thrive — alive and well — in America’s public libraries as well as more than 100 other countries.
The system, which helps classify and catalog nonfiction books, was originally imagined by one of the nation’s founding librarians, Melvil Dewey. But if you bring up ol’ Melvil with a modern day librarian, you’re more likely to get a cringe in response than reverence or excitement. So what is his real story?
Professionally, Dewey’s resume looks great, even today. A co-founder of the American Library Association (ALA) and the Library Journal, both professional organizations that continue to define librarianship, he also started the first school for library science at Columbia College (now Columbia University) in 1883. His long-lasting Dewey Decimal Classification system, which is still utilized by most public library systems, helped standardize cataloging for libraries.
This makes sharing resources between systems, across multiple languages, and across time easier and more user friendly. Sounds good, right?
The issues arise when you take a closer look at how he believed libraries should run and how he interacted with various groups of people. In 1905, Dewey was forced to resign from the ALA, the momentous organization he started nearly 30 years earlier, due to multiple claims of antisemitism, sexual harassment, and racism.
I want to highlight exactly how extreme those claims would have had to have been in 1905 to warrant such a dramatic move. Dewey owned a private club in upstate New York, the Lake Placid Club, which so openly discriminated against allowing Jewish people or other minorities memberships that it led to a petition demanding his removal as the state librarian of New York. His own daughter-in-law reportedly asked his son to move them out of the family home due to persistent unwanted attention from the family patriarch. When confronted with these type of sexual harassment allegations, Dewey brushed them off, stating that he liked women and wanted to show it.
I bring these events up not because I want to publicly shame a man who’s been dead for nearly a century, but because it is important to acknowledge the whole of someone’s legacy. He did not value most of the concepts that modern day librarians hold dear. He did not believe a library should be for everyone. He actively pursued a racist, classist, and misogynistic idyll of society, and never apologized for any wrongdoing on his part.
Modern librarians recognize that the field has come a long way. Continuing to idolize a man who was great at organizing paperwork but terrible at working with people is not necessary. It’s unprofessional and downright mean to ignore the very real character flaws in this man, and librarianship as a whole is taking steps to better showcase the values we now hold.
In 2019, an annual award from ALA was renamed from the Melvil Dewey Medal to the Medal of Excellence. A similar namesake award was also recently changed to reflect a new understanding of the whole of a person’s legacy. The Laura Ingalls Wilder award became the Children’s Literature Legacy Award. Do these actions right all historical wrongs? Of course not. But a step in the right direction is still progress, and a commitment to moving forward as an inclusive field is a necessary and much-welcomed step.
November In-Person Programs
Pauline
Robinson
Branch
Library
After School is Cool | Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays | 4:15-5:15 p.m.
Join us at After School is Cool on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for crafts, games, STEM and more. Program is for ages 7-12.
Preschool Storytime | Wednesdays Nov. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 | 10:30-11 a.m.
Stories, songs, and fingerplays for children ages 3 to 5 years old and their caregivers.
Drop In Tech Help | Wednesdays Nov. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 | 2:30-3:30 p.m.
Need help navigating the internet, email, or social networks like Facebook? Have questions about your phone or tablet? Want to know how to access eBooks on any device? Drop by and get your questions answered and learn how to use tech more effectively.
Cut Out a Sticker Using the Cricut Machine | Tuesday, Nov. 22 | 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Teens: jazz up your water bottle, skateboard, or computer with a custom sticker! Come by the library any time during open hours on Tuesday, Nov. 22. You will be able to choose the design of your sticker, then cut it out using the Cricut Joy smart cutting machine. We will provide vinyl. Ideal for ages 12 to 18.
Pauline Robinson Book Club | Saturday, Nov. 26 | noon-1:30 p.m.
We will discuss Ramadan Ramsey: A Novel by Louis Edwards.
Park
Hill
Branch
Library
Baby Storytimes | Thursdays | 10:30-11 a.m.
Stories, songs, rhymes and fun for babies ages 0-18 months and their parents or caregivers.
Toddler Storytimes | Fridays | 10:30-11 a.m.
Stories, songs, rhymes and fun for toddlers ages 18-36 months and their parents or caregivers. Note: Reservations are no longer required.
Teen Advisory Board | Tuesday, Nov. 1, 15, 29 | 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Park Hill Library branch’s Teen Advisory Board plans on meeting in person every two weeks. Anyone 6th-12th grade is welcome to join and help with library programming and resources geared towards teens.
Chess Club for Kids | Saturdays | 3-4:30 p.m.
Hosted by Charlie Keglovitz. Open to people 18 and under.
Magic the Gathering | Wednesdays (except Nov. 23) | 4-5:30 p.m.
A teen-run Magic the Gathering Club for other teens.
No Strings Attached Book Chat | Saturday, Nov. 12 | 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Read whatever you want and attend whenever you can. Share a recent read, an old favorite, or anything in between. We meet in person in the community room, in the basement.
Kid’s Book Club | Thursday, Nov. 17 | 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Read the book at home then join us to discuss and participate in fun activities related to the book at our monthly book club. This month we will be discussing: Book Uncle and Me by Uma Krishnaswami.
Greater Park Hill has two public libraries: The Pauline Robinson branch library is at 5575 E. 33rd Ave., and the Park Hill branch library is at 4705 Montview Blvd. For hours of operation and details on additional in- person and online programming for both neighborhood libraries, check out denverli- brary.org.
Note: All Denver Public Library locations will be closed on Friday, Nov. 11 in obser- vance of Veteran’s Day. They will all close early at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 23 and all will be closed all day Thursday, Nov. 24 in observance of Thanksgiving.