I need to class a book about the Rocky Mountain states, including Idaho. T2--78 Western United States seems a little broad and the states listed at T2--786-789 Rocky Mountain states are too specific (Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico) and don't include Idaho. What can I do?

You'll need to use T2--78 because this is where Rocky Mountain states are classed, as specified in the class-elsewhere note at T2--786-789 Rocky Mountains states: Class comprehensive works in --78.

The Dewey editors develop specific countries by administrative level, e.g., state, county. When a country has more than nine first-level administrative units (states, provinces, etc.), those first-level administrative units are grouped into broader geographic levels, e.g., T2--422 Southeastern England, T2--4983 Black Sea area of Romania, T2--6694 Eastern states of Nigeria, T2--78 Western United States. Geographic regions that are smaller than the country, but too large to fit into one or two first-level units may be classed up in the hierarchy at one of these broader levels, e.g., for Rocky Mountain states at T2--78.  It is difficult for classifiers to know how to class these regions; that is why the editors often give special notes. (If the region will fit into two first-level units, usually the first-of-two rule is applied. You can refer to the first-of-two rule at http://www.oclc.org/support/documentation/glossary/dewey/#_F.)

Last revised: 22 December 2004