Where does THIS book go?

September 11, 2008 2:39 PM

LibraryFilter: How do I look up a book's "category"?

I have a fairly extensive library. Most books are sorted by major categories (sci-fi, biography, history, etc.). But there are some (too many, actually) that, to me, defy categorization (like Tracy Kidder's "House" - is that simply non-fiction?). Is there a tool, or web site, where I can enter a book's title or ISBN, and have something spit out a category?

Or is the solution just to know a system (Library of Congress, Dewey Decimal) really well? Thanks!

posted by ObscureReferenceMan to media & arts (10 comments total)

You can look it up at loc.gov and let the Library of Congress stooges do the work.

For example, here's Kidder's House.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 2:43 PM on September 11, 2008

One of the usual recommendations about filing is to think about how you would use the information in the future, and file it for easy retrieval.

So under what circumstances might you want to look at House? Does that suggest a category? Your uses (and therefore your categories) might not be the same as anyone else's.
posted by jeri at 3:42 PM on September 11, 2008

(I am a public librarian, which is to say that I am your librarian. But I am not a cataloger.)

When it comes to library cataloging, no book defies categorization. loc.gov is good for LCC call numbers, while nypl.org (huge, but not massive collection) and worldcat.org (bigger collection, takes a couple extra clicks) are decent places to find Dewey call numbers. You might also find amazon.com or bn.com's categories helpful. Giant charts like this one might also be worthwhile.
posted by box at 4:02 PM on September 11, 2008

Any library system will show you the catalog record for a book, which includes subject headings (as mentioned, WorldCat, LoC, your public library are all fine). However, for my own person at-home library, I just use a very, very loose Dewey classification to sort things. I've got separate book shelves for fiction (mostly novels), graphic novels, cookbooks, and my non-fiction books are just sort of sorted according to the most broad Dewey classes. I don't use 800 because I just file all of my fiction, including literature, together.
000 – Computer science, information, and general works
100 – Philosophy and psychology
200 – Religion
300 – Social sciences
400 – Languages
500 – Science and Mathematics
600 – Technology and applied science
700 – Arts and recreation
900 – History and geography and biography

If you were to use this system, you could just stick Home in with other 600s, sandwiched between your science books and your art books, and be done with it, and delve into deeper detail where ever you thought it was necessary or where you have particularly large collections of a particular subject.
posted by booknerd at 4:11 PM on September 11, 2008

Every book in a library should have a MARC record, which is the format libraries use to exchange information about a book.

That record has a number of data fields for Subjects. (I just ticked off the meta librarian I work with by calling them categories).

A good way to see these subjects is to look up a book in a library's web site that shows this MARC record. The Georgia public library system site is here: Link. When you click on a book, below the Bib record you will see a link that says "MARC Record" and look for the fields beginning with '650'. These are the Library of Congress subjects.

In fact I just put in a modification to that same software so that the academic library I work in can show these subject data fields right in the main record for each book.

I'm sure this is way too pedantic for what you want but it is the last word on subject categorization for most librarians.
posted by Space Coyote at 4:51 PM on September 11, 2008

I used to love being a cataloger for many reasons, including the circular of updates on "Changes in Classifications" from the Library of Congress.

The one that announced that the classification "Office romance" had been changed to "Sex in the workplace" was my favorite.

At home, I follow a similar cod-Dewey system to the one booknerd described. It's probably the easiest to be consistent with.
posted by Sidhedevil at 6:14 PM on September 11, 2008

You may not need to look up every book online.

Find the title page of the book, then turn it over to view the copyright page. If it's been published within the last 20 years or so, you will probably find a CiP (Cataloging in Publication) record. This is the brief equivalent of a MARC record, similar to what you find in an online catalogue or a classic card catalogue, which includes the Library of Congress subject headings.

For example, here's the CiP record for a book I just grabbed from my shelf:

Rosenthal, Jeffrey S.
Struck by lightning: the curious world of probabilities / Jeffrey S. Rosenthal. -- 1st trade pbk. ed.
ISBN [Oh, hell, I'm not going to type these]
[LoC subject headings follow -- I've bolded them]
1. Probabilities - Popular works.
2. Chance.
I. Title.

[LC classification number and Dewey classification number, also bolded]
QA273.15R68 2006
519.2

So you can be a lumper, and learn enough about Dewey or a similar system to make your own simple system, or you can be a splitter and follow the CiP data or any online source if CiP data is missing.
posted by maudlin at 6:47 PM on September 11, 2008

Also, you may be able to use software to do the lookups for you. I'm pretty sure my favorite OS X book cataloging software, Books, can retrieve LC and/or Dewey info from the LOC; all you have to do is type in the ISBN. It seems likely that other book cataloging software might have similar features. (And then you have a nifty database of all your books, which is always fun!)
posted by kristi at 7:03 PM on September 11, 2008

Wow! Thanks, all!

Now I'll have to get to work on the "miscellaneous" pile, so I can determine a best answer.
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 7:06 AM on September 12, 2008

Look at the tag cloud on the book's Library Thing page. Here, for example, is Kidder's "House": http://www.librarything.com/work/1800563

*shrug* 'Tain't perfect, but it mght help you make up your own mind.
posted by wenestvedt at 11:04 AM on September 12, 2008