FindIt! Word-Based Classification System
San Mateo County Library, Calif.
Innovation Synopsis
FindIt!, San Mateo County Library’s word-based classification system, makes nonfiction collections more accessible to everyone in our communities. SMCL was the first library in California to move to word-based classification, and the only library we are aware of to implement the system for world language and nonprint materials.
Challenge/Opportunity
San Mateo County Library has found that few library users are familiar with the Dewey Decimal System. A 2009 Library Journal survey of 1,000 librarians credited patron difficulty in finding nonfiction in part to feeling intimidated by a classification system they do not understand well, and wanting to go straight to the right shelf without having to look anything up. The FindIt! classification system, paired with improved signage, is intended to address these issues. Libraries nationwide have seen drops in circulation overall, and in circulation of nonfiction collections specifically. In our pilot, FindIt! lead to an increase in the use of some of our nonfiction collections and a maintenance of circulation levels in others.
Key Elements of Innovation
One key element of this innovation is creating a nonfiction classification system that resonates with our current print and nonprint collection, and our communities. SMCL is the only library we aware of that has translated our classification system into Chinese, Japanese, Russian and Spanish. FindIt! is continually updated based on staff and patron feedback. The modular nature of word-based classification has been an opportunity to experiment with collection placement and signage. After the pilot, we developed customized signage to provide a positive browsing experience, and our staff continue to experiment with collection placement to see what works best.
Achieved Outcomes
Library staff struggled with this change far more than patrons. Our team approached the project with transparency, on-going communication and tools — from talking points and tours, to videos and inclusion in the project. In addition to the positive impact FindIt! has had on our circulation statistics, we’ve had positive responses from our patrons, including:
- “Thank you so much for giving my class a tour of your beautiful children's library. Highlights for me included the new organization of books and the evolving uses of the library's spaces.”
- “Today a woman who had complained about our new classification system apologized and said she was starting to like it!”
- “Wow, it’s about time - this makes so much more sense.”
