Reclassing Dewey to LC: That time when Alma was really your best friend

Abstract

The University of Connecticut Library still has a small portion of its physical collection classed using the Dewey Classification system. The total number of those physical items exceeds 160,000. Until recently the reclassification from Dewey to Library of Congress was done in spurts as well as on an ongoing as needed basis. Our approach to this reclassification radically changed because of the looming Master Plan to renovate the library and specifically the floor where this Dewey collection resides. This past year, we launched a pilot project where part of the reclassification process was automated for a small subset of the Deweys. This involved using OCLC’s metadata API, Alma’s ability to update LC call numbers in holdings, Alma analytics, MarcEdit, and students. This presentation will describe the project, its background, the process put in place, how successful the project has been thus far, and the lessons learned.