>From another list - A list serve for Ontario Library and Information Technicians - Website: http://www.oaltabo.on.ca/
Jeff Jeff Corbett Library Technician McLean Budden 2525-145 King St. W Toronto ON M5H 1J8 Tel & Fax: 416 642 8084 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: www.mcleanbudden.com > ======================================================================= > > Where Did Dewey File Those Law Books? > > September 23, 2003 > By MICHAEL LUO > > > > Who knew that someone owned the Dewey Decimal System? > > Apparently not the owners of the Library Hotel, nestled in > the shadow of the New York Public Library. Now the boutique > hotel, which numbers its guest rooms and stocks them with > books according to Melvil Dewey's century-old library > classification system, is being sued for using it. > > "The Dewey Decimal System is a product, a trademark, a > brand name," said Joseph R. Dreitler, a lawyer for the > Online Computer Library Center, a nonprofit library > cooperative that filed the suit last week in Federal > District Court in Ohio. "The idea here isn't to put the > Library Hotel out of business. The idea is to protect Dewey > and the Dewey Decimal System trademark." > > The hotel opened three years ago at Madison Avenue and 41st > Street. From its imitation card catalog in the lobby to its > stately second-floor reading room, it is designed as a > siren for book lovers. Each floor is devoted to one of the > 10 main categories of knowledge in the Dewey system: Social > Sciences, Languages, Math and Science, Technology, the > Arts, Literature, History and Geography, General Knowledge, > Philosophy and Religion. > > Hotel guests can request a specific floor or themed room, > furnished with the corresponding books. History buffs might > consider the ninth floor, with Biography (900.006) or Asian > History (900.004). A technology aficionado might give > Computers (600.005) a try. > > The most popular rooms, by far? Erotic Literature (800.001) > and Love (1100.006). Room and suite prices on the hotel's > Web site range from $295 to $770 per night. > > Hotel officials said yesterday that the owner, Henry > Kallan, could not be reached in Prague, where he is opening > a new music-themed hotel, the Aria. But the hotel's general > manager, Craig Spitzer, issued a written statement saying > that the Dewey Decimal theme was Mr. Kallan's "original > idea," based on its proximity to the public library. > > "We are not a library lending books, but rather we have > created a unique hotel experience for book lovers to > enjoy," Mr. Spitzer said. "We do not believe that our > guests or other consumers are confused into thinking the > Library Hotel's hospitality services and the O.C.L.C.'s > information services come from the same source." > > The Online Computer Library Center is seeking damages of > three times the profits the hotel has made since it opened. > > Dewey, a librarian, invented the Dewey Decimal > Classification in 1874 and devoted his life to spreading > it. Over time, it became the most widely employed > cataloging system in the world, used today in 95 percent of > public libraries in the United States. > > Before its emergence, libraries would dedicate space on > their shelves for books according to their own systems. > Adding new volumes, categories and subcategories was often > unwieldy, and because no two libraries used the same > system, the method of finding books differed from one > library to the next. > > Dewey copyrighted his system early on and set up a company, > Forest Press, to sell it, although he often donated his > system to needy libraries. > > He never intended to get rich with his system, said Dr. > Wayne Wiegand, a professor of library and information > studies at Florida State University and the author of a > Dewey biography. Dewey's goal, instead, was to educate the > masses. > > Dr. Wiegand said many smaller libraries, including prison > libraries, use the system today without paying. > > In 1988, the Online Computer Library Center, a group > created to help libraries share resources and costs, bought > Forest Press and the Dewey Decimal System trademark. > Periodically, the group, based in Dublin, Ohio, issues > updates to the system and sells them to libraries at $375 > for a full printed update. More than 200,000 libraries in > 135 countries are licensed to use the system. > > Officials at the library center said they discovered the > hotel on the Internet soon after it opened. After writing > two letters to Mr. Kallan, in 2000 and 2001, but getting no > response, the group sent him a certified letter in October, > said Mr. Dreitler, the organization's lawyer. > > He said Mr. Kallan finally responded with a phone call, > refusing to give the group credit or stop using the Dewey > system in his marketing. "He basically said, `Go away,' " > Mr. Dreitler said. > > Theresa Conley runs a small public library in Lyme, Conn., > and stayed at the hotel last month, in Ancient Languages > (400.006). After hearing about the lawsuit from another > librarian, she dashed off an angry e-mail message to the > library center, scolding the group. > > "It's a place that celebrates books and reading," she said > in a telephone interview. > > "I think that's something that needs to be encouraged and > commended, and not discouraged by this frivolous, silly > lawsuit." > > < http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/23/nyregion/23DEWE.html?ex=1065320376&ei=1&en ========================================================================== HaSafran - The Electronic Forum of the Association of Jewish Libraries Submissions for HaSafran, send to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org/
