Library Classification Project

About the Program

Category: Libraries (Best in Category)

Year: 2014

After the merger of the Hennepin County and Minneapolis Public libraries in 2008, and the consolidation of their two library catalogs in 2009, one problem remained. Hennepin County Library had used the Dewey Decimal System to classify their non-fiction collection, but Minneapolis Public Library used the Library of Congress (LC) classification system. The perpetuation of the two classification systems was confusing for some patrons, required additional staff time, lost opportunities for efficiencies and cost savings, and increased errors. Library staff undertook a year-long research project to analyze the options, do a thorough cost-benefit analysis, and ultimately made a recommendation to the Library’s Executive Team to convert the non-fiction collections in the suburban libraries to Library of Congress classification. As a result of the completion of the Library Classification Project in December 2013, HCL has reduced the amount of staff time required to catalog, process, and handle non-fiction materials (typically more than 130,000 non-fiction items are received each year). HCL can now reduce costs and increase efficiency in processing and delivery, eliminate labeling errors, and patrons can find the same title under the same classification in all 41 library buildings, eliminating that final appearance of two separate library systems in Minneapolis and Hennepin County.