Like most public libraries in the US, Maxwell arranges its nonfiction using Dewey Decimal Classification (001–099 for General Reference, Information & Computers, 100–199 for Philosophy & Psychology, and so on). Though its general outline is much the same as it was when Melville Dewey first published it in 1876, the system evolves all the time: it’s now in its 23rd edition, and gets frequent tweaking between editions.
So it comes as no surprise that there is a new Dewey call number for Covid-19. Well, not just for Covid-19 but for all viral pneumonia. The classification 616.241 Pneumonia has been split into 3 new subdivisions:
- 616.2412 Bacterial pneumonia
- 616.2414 Viral pneumonia
- 616.2416 Fungal pneumonia
You can read about it over at 025.431: The Dewey blog
Illustration credit: The Dewey Decimal System Guide by Makayla Eads, CC BY-SA 4.0