by Jenny Chang, Lisa Seddon, and Sarah Wethered
How do you solve a problem like Dewey?
Abstract
Three secondary teacher-librarians in New Westminster, British Columbia express their discomfort with classifying resources in their respective school libraries using the Dewey Decimal System. They explore alternatives and settle on the Brian Deer Classification System (BDC). The writers state that, “we should be focusing on acts of reconciliation, and by decolonizing our library catalogue by making the switch the BCD, we are doing just that.” They share their process and the steps they went through to complete this project as well as reflections and helpful considerations for readers.
TMC8_2025_Chang_Seddon_Wethered.pdf
Jenny Chang: Jenny is one of the teacher-librarians at New Westminster Secondary School and is an instructor for the Teacher-Librarian course at Queens’ University. Jenny received the 2021 BC New Teacher-Librarians of the Year award.
Lisa Seddon: Lisa is a teacher-librarian at Queensborough Middle School and New Westminster Secondary School in New Westminster. Prior to becoming a teacher-librarian, she taught drama and social studies in Virginia and Texas. Lisa has served on the executive committee of the BC Teacher-Librarians Association since 2019, and is the current vice-president. Lisa is the 2024 BC Teacher-Librarian of the Year.
Sarah Wethered: Sarah is one of the teacher-librarians at New Westminster Secondary School, and is an instructor for the Teacher-Librarian course at Queens’ University. She is a member of the BC Teacher-Librarians Association executive committee, and currently serves as its treasurer. Sarah has recently joined the executive of the Canadian School Libraries also as treasurer. She is the 2020 recipient of the Angela Thacker Memorial Award from Canadian School Libraries.