Decimal Classification Editorial Policy Committee (EPC)

ALA ALCTS CCS Subject Analysis Committee Annual Report
June 2000

EPC convened for its 114th meeting of EPC on May 3-5, 2000, in Washington, D.C. This was the first meeting with our new Australian representative, Anne Robertson, who is from the State Library of Queensland.

Isabella Kubosch, editor for the forthcoming Norwegian edition, made a presentation about the Norwegian approach to Dewey and was an observer throughout the meeting, lending another valued international perspective to the discussions.

During the course of the meeting, EPC approved:

• Revisions to 540 Chemistry and to 330 Economics
• Selective changes to Table 1 and Abridged Table 1 (including discontinuation of little-used standard subdivisions, such as 0142 Etymology, 0297 Evaluation and purchasing manuals, and 077 Programmed texts)
• Updates to 630 Agriculture; Table 5. Racial, ethnic, national groups; and Table 6. Languages
• Revisions to Abridged 560-590 Life sciences and Abridged 700 The arts that match the changes approved previously for the unabridged edition.

In addition, the editorial staff made presentations about several projects they are developing and sought preliminary input from EPC. Exhibits will be developed for formal approval later. Examples include work on 320 Political science, a position paper concerning the treatment of supernational organizations and treatment of the European Union, revisions to 616-617 Disease and branches of medicine (in part to incorporate MeSH terminology) and to 618 Other branches of medicine. In addition, based on input derived from the discussion paper that had been posted on the Dewey Web site, EPC advised the editorial staff to proceed with arranging Chinese dialects geographically, according to the same pattern used for other languages in DDC, as they develop an expansion of 495.17 Dialects of the Chinese language.

As ALA's official representative to EPC, I am requesting that SAC appoint three subcommittees to review draft revisions. I am further requesting that I or the other ALA representatives to EPC as well as the editorial staff who developed that proposed revision be allowed to observe the process of the review subcommittees and, where appropriate, serve as technical advisors. In this way we are best able to present the thinking of the subcommittees when their reports are discussed at EPC. The areas to be reviewed are

• 004-006 Data processing; Computer science
• 305-306 Social groups, culture and institutions
• 340 Law

EPC is scheduled to meet again November 28 - December 1, 2000, in Washington, D.C.

Further Information

Questions or comments on EPC activities may be directed to the ALA liaison:

Pamela P. Brown, Information Technology Services Director
Suburban Library System
125 Tower Drive
Burr Ridge, IL 60521
Phone: 630/734-5126
Fax: 630/734-5050
E-mail: brownp@sls.lib.il.us