Late to the Dewey Decimal System Party

Grand View Elementary School

Happy Belated Dewey Decimal System Day! Do you have your confetti? Your balloons? Your party favors?

Me neither. In fact, the only reason I know that DDSD exists is because I like using CheckiDay to find out about holidays like these. And, sometimes, I don't check back for awhile, but I leave the tab open and, for a moment, think the holiday is on the day I read about it.

Like today.

Dewey Decimal System Day was actually December 10. Today is Call a Friend Day, National Card Playing Day, and National Chocolate Candy Day, among others. While any (or all) of those celebrations sounds louder and more exciting than Dewey Decimal System Day, as an author, the very existence of DDSD intrigued me.

My books are in libraries. That means they have Dewey Decimal numbers. While my fiction is filed under FIC HES, Know Thyself has an actual DDS number: 648HES.

It's not the only 648 on the shelves, of course, and probably not even the only 648HES, which is okay because it's the existence of the number, not its uniqueness that gets me excited. It lends an air of authenticity to something that began as an idea in my head, then moved to a file on my computer LONG before it became a book with 648HES on its spine.

But why 648? While most of us don't pay much attention to the tens' place, let alone the ones' place (and the decimals that follow), librarians do. I won't attempt to describe the decision to you, as I'm not qualified to do so, but I will say that, according to this chart, 648 is the DDS number for books about housekeeping. There's potential for both irony and humor there as anyone who knows me is well aware but, according to Dewey and the lovely librarians who shelve and care for my book, Know Thyself can be found on the shelf housing books with the number 648.

Check it out :-) And, while you're there, thank a librarian. They do this stuff so we don't have to.