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9 reviews for:
The Efficient, Inventive (Often Annoying) Melvil Dewey
Alexis O'Neill, Edwin Fotheringham
3.5 AVERAGE
9 reviews for:
The Efficient, Inventive (Often Annoying) Melvil Dewey
Alexis O'Neill, Edwin Fotheringham
3.5 AVERAGE
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Look.
Dewey did some pretty cool stuff in his life, as highlighted in this book, and I absolutely adore the functionality of the Dewey Decimal classification system, though it also frustrates me to no end for many reasons.
Dewey was also a pretty crappy person, so bad that baby librarians in library school learn about what a creepy white supremacist he was so that they know whose work they're representing once they become full-fledged information professionals.
This book, which has fun, vibrant illustrations, is rather disingenuous in its portrayal of the man behind USAmerican library science. In crowing about how he was an advocate for hiring women, it glosses over his treatment of them.
He thinks college-educated women would be TERRIFIC in this profession. They have clear heads, strong hands, and great hearts. (Also, they will work for less money than men)
It addresses his efforts in making knowledge and information available to the common people but not his religious biases and strong gatekeeping
Librarians would educate readers and guide them to the highest-quality books through "best books" lists (He was one of the dudes who felt fiction was trash that poisoned your mind and only he and his trained librarians could provide proper, uplifting, moral literature to the masses. He also is the reason we had quiet libraries for so long and why librarians, to this day, are synonymous with "Shhhh.")
Sure, the fact that he rubbed people the wrong way (only figuratively in this story, not literally like in real life) is mentioned a couple of times but it's in that "This man was so passionate that it often came across as annoying" sort of way. "Annoying" is not the term I would use for...well, let's get to that.
The author's note at the end touches on Dewey's foibles, such as being a sexual harasser, a racist, and an anti-Semite, but ends with despite his personal shortcomings before launching into all the swell things he accomplished.
You know what?
If you can praise a man for the good things he did - inventing a nice way to organize information, making a career out of librarianship, and really pushing for free (tax/patron-supported) public libraries - you can also be open and up front about how he molested his employees, how his classification system is racist and heavily focused on Christianity, how he actively barred Jewish membership from the library club of librarians, and how he controlled the information people could access in free public libraries. I mean, if I can learn all that (super late in life), it's not too early to start teaching kids that people are complex and just because they do some good things doesn't mean they're worth celebration.
Update, 9/21: Want to know more? HERE is an article by Anna Gooding-Call in BookRiot (9/3/21) that gives a nice overview of Dewey's racism and all-around crappiness.
A better subject to showcase an impressive library person could have been Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan, whose laws of library science are, as paraphrased by me:
Books are for use
For every book, its reader
For every reader, their book
Save the reader's time
The library is a growing organism
Or how about the horseback librarians during the depression? They're a hot topic right now, maybe we need a few kids books about them.
Or perhaps [b:Pura’s Cuentos: How Pura Belpré Reshaped Libraries with Her Stories|56969461|Pura’s Cuentos How Pura Belpré Reshaped Libraries with Her Stories|Annette Bay Pimentel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1613227398l/56969461._SX50_.jpg|89111985], the story of a librarian who did the opposite of Dewey, making the library a welcoming space for as many children as she could entice through the doors.
Let's acknowledge the work Dewey did while also holding him accountable for his misdeeds and then let's move on to celebrate other librarians who did amazing work in their own right.
Dewey did some pretty cool stuff in his life, as highlighted in this book, and I absolutely adore the functionality of the Dewey Decimal classification system, though it also frustrates me to no end for many reasons.
Dewey was also a pretty crappy person, so bad that baby librarians in library school learn about what a creepy white supremacist he was so that they know whose work they're representing once they become full-fledged information professionals.
This book, which has fun, vibrant illustrations, is rather disingenuous in its portrayal of the man behind USAmerican library science. In crowing about how he was an advocate for hiring women, it glosses over his treatment of them.
He thinks college-educated women would be TERRIFIC in this profession. They have clear heads, strong hands, and great hearts. (Also, they will work for less money than men)
It addresses his efforts in making knowledge and information available to the common people but not his religious biases and strong gatekeeping
Librarians would educate readers and guide them to the highest-quality books through "best books" lists (He was one of the dudes who felt fiction was trash that poisoned your mind and only he and his trained librarians could provide proper, uplifting, moral literature to the masses. He also is the reason we had quiet libraries for so long and why librarians, to this day, are synonymous with "Shhhh.")
Sure, the fact that he rubbed people the wrong way (only figuratively in this story, not literally like in real life) is mentioned a couple of times but it's in that "This man was so passionate that it often came across as annoying" sort of way. "Annoying" is not the term I would use for...well, let's get to that.
The author's note at the end touches on Dewey's foibles, such as being a sexual harasser, a racist, and an anti-Semite, but ends with despite his personal shortcomings before launching into all the swell things he accomplished.
You know what?
If you can praise a man for the good things he did - inventing a nice way to organize information, making a career out of librarianship, and really pushing for free (tax/patron-supported) public libraries - you can also be open and up front about how he molested his employees, how his classification system is racist and heavily focused on Christianity, how he actively barred Jewish membership from the library club of librarians, and how he controlled the information people could access in free public libraries. I mean, if I can learn all that (super late in life), it's not too early to start teaching kids that people are complex and just because they do some good things doesn't mean they're worth celebration.
Update, 9/21: Want to know more? HERE is an article by Anna Gooding-Call in BookRiot (9/3/21) that gives a nice overview of Dewey's racism and all-around crappiness.
A better subject to showcase an impressive library person could have been Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan, whose laws of library science are, as paraphrased by me:
Books are for use
For every book, its reader
For every reader, their book
Save the reader's time
The library is a growing organism
Or how about the horseback librarians during the depression? They're a hot topic right now, maybe we need a few kids books about them.
Or perhaps [b:Pura’s Cuentos: How Pura Belpré Reshaped Libraries with Her Stories|56969461|Pura’s Cuentos How Pura Belpré Reshaped Libraries with Her Stories|Annette Bay Pimentel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1613227398l/56969461._SX50_.jpg|89111985], the story of a librarian who did the opposite of Dewey, making the library a welcoming space for as many children as she could entice through the doors.
Let's acknowledge the work Dewey did while also holding him accountable for his misdeeds and then let's move on to celebrate other librarians who did amazing work in their own right.
Accessible introduction to Dewey, his work , and his lifelong commitment to libraries. The author’s note includes more information about Dewey’s history of bigotry and harmful behavior including sexual harassment, anti-Semitism, and racism.
Wow! Melvil Dewey is a jerk, albeit a very important one. This book is so interesting and it does an excellent job of accurately portraying a man with a complicated and not-so-kind past.
I was very glad to see that Dewey’s bad behavior is addressed, even if it was in the afterword for adults.
Interesting intro to Dewey who appears to have been a complicated character with less than likeable traits but still had large, positive impact on life.
I appreciate the notes at the end which briefly discusses that Melvil was racist dick even if he presented the foundations of modern librarianship.
For a children's bio, I worried this would only show praise to Dewey. It doesn't go in-depth on issues, but it does bring up negative aspects about him. Includes sources as well.
Informative but not as suited to a readaloud as I had hoped.