In 2009 the E.H. Little Library began converting its library holdings from Dewey Decimal classification to Library of Congress (LC) classification. As part of that conversion, in 2013 library staff reviewed the Dewey Reference collection located on the 1st floor of the library. Around 1,200 of the most relevant titles (5,000 volumes) were reclassified to LC and relocated to a new LC Reference section on the 2nd floor of the Library.
The remaining Dewey reference collection of 9,000 titles (15,000 volumes) was kept on the first floor of the Library for further evaluation and potential deselection. The vast majority of titles are widely held by other libraries in North Carolina, by our print retention partners, by other libraries nationally, ensuring a wide redundancy and the ability to retrieve copies as needed. From May to October 2023, faculty were invited to browse the collection and/or review title lists online to indicate whether items should be retained due to active classroom or current research use. Items not prioritized for retention were made available for faculty to keep for their personal or departmental use.
Spreadsheets of Dewey Reference material by classification number (000s through 900s) were generated in 2019 for purposes of review by staff and faculty. Each sheet, organized by Dewey Reference Call Number, contained bibliographic information for each volume (Title, Author, Publisher, Pub. Date, etc.) as well as information on number of holdings at other libraries worldwide, in the U.S., in North Carolina, and by partner consortia & peer institutions. Data also indicated reference works committed to long term retention by EAST parters as well as items digitized and available via sources such as HathiTrust.
Staff initially sorted spreadsheets using color highlight to flag items for special attention in the spreadsheets.
| Orange - Bold | Rare or unique titles, same edition - fewer than 25 holdings in the United States and fewer than 5 holdings in North Carolina |
| Yellow - Bold | Shared Print Commitment - items marked for retention by Davidson College as part of the Eastern Academic Scholars Trust |
| Purple - Bold | HathiTrust Public Domain - items available, full-text, via HathiTrust |
| Red - Regular | Items with 0 recorded uses |
| Red Text - Bold | Items marked for retention |
Staff from various library departments reviewed the entire collection, marking items for retention. In some cases, items were selected to be transferred to Archives, Special Collections, & Community (ASCC) for permanent retention due to their uniqueness and/or contributions to the work of the team.
Faculty reviewed the collections with an eye toward material that aligned with research interests, teaching needs, foundational reference works, personal interest or departmental utility. When more than one faculty marked a book for selection, the library retained the item.
Items selected for retention were then converted to LC Classification. As of 2024, converted items remain in the ground floor reference area awaiting consolidation with the 2nd floor reference collection (target date: summer 2024).
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Mailing Address: Davidson College - E.H. Little Library, 209 Ridge Road, Box 5000, Davidson, NC 28035