Melville Louis Kossuth "Melvil" Dewey (December 10, 1851 – December 26, 1931) was an American librarian and educator who invented the Dewey Decimal system of library classification. He was a founder of the Lake Placid Club, a chief librarian at Columbia College, founder of what would later become the Columbia University School of Library Service, and a founding member of the American Library Association. Although Dewey's contributions to the modern library are widely recognized, his legacy is marred by his sexual harassment of female colleagues, as well as his racism and antisemitism.
>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
👉 Melvil Dewey in the context of Godfrey Dewey
Godfrey Dewey (September 3, 1887 – October 18, 1977) was the president of the Lake Placid Organizing Committee and a winter sports facility designer. He was largely responsible for the successful candidature of Lake Placid for the 1932 Winter Olympics. In addition to his role as the U.S. ski team manager he was chosen as the flag bearer for the 1928 Games in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Dewey was elected to the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in 1970.
Godfrey Dewey was the son of Melvil Dewey, the inventor of Dewey Decimal Classification, and his first wife Annie Godfrey. He was the father of Katherin Dewey, who, in 1940, piloted her bobsleigh to victory in the US Championships alongside male brakemen; women were subsequently banned from competing with men. Godfrey went on to become the honorary chairman of the Phonemic Spelling Council. His work on World English Spelling may have influenced the development of SoundSpel, as he and Edward Rondthaler corresponded from 1971.
In this Dossier
Melvil Dewey in the context of 1932 Winter Olympics
The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lake Placid 1932, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February 4 and closed on February 13. It was the first time the Winter Games were held outside of Europe and the first of four Winter Olympics held in the United States; Lake Placid hosted again in 1980.
The games were awarded to Lake Placid in part by the efforts of Godfrey Dewey, head of the Lake Placid Club and son of Melvil Dewey, inventor of the Dewey Decimal System. California also had a bid for the 1932 Winter Games. William May Garland, president of the California X Olympiad Association, wanted the games to take place in Wrightwood and Big Pines, California. The world's largest ski jump at the time was constructed in Big Pines for the event, but the games were ultimately awarded to Lake Placid.
Melvil Dewey in the context of Lake Placid Club
The Lake Placid Club was a social and recreation club active from 1895 to 1980. Founded in a hotel on Mirror Lake in Lake Placid, New York, under Melvil Dewey's leadership and according to his ideals, it was instrumental in Lake Placid's development as an internationally known resort. The club ceased operations on March 30, 1980.
Melvil Dewey in the context of Dewey Decimal System
The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC; /ˈduː.iː/ DOO-ee), colloquially known as the Dewey Decimal System, is a proprietary library classification system which organizes books based on subject. It was first published in the United States by Melvil Dewey in 1876. Originally described in a 44-page pamphlet, it has been expanded to multiple volumes and revised through 23 major editions, the latest printed in 2011. It is also available in an abridged version suitable for smaller libraries. OCLC, a non-profit cooperative that serves libraries, currently maintains the system and licenses online access to WebDewey, a continuously updated version for catalogers.
The decimal number classification introduced the concepts of relative location and relative index. Libraries previously had given books permanent shelf locations that were related to the order of acquisition rather than topic. The classification's notation makes use of three-digit numbers for main classes, with fractional decimals allowing expansion for further detail. Numbers are flexible to the degree that they can be expanded in linear fashion to cover special aspects of general subjects. A library assigns a classification number that unambiguously locates a particular volume in a position relative to other books in the library, on the basis of its subject. The number makes it possible to find any book and to return it to its proper place on the library shelves. The classification system is used in 200,000 libraries in at least 135 countries.