News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Alpena County Library Assistant Library Director Jessica Luther puts a newly categorized and labeled book on a shelf at the library on Thursday. The library is transitioning away from the Dewey Decimal System and converting to the new Browse Method.

ALPENA — The new book organization system the Alpena County Library is implementing should make it more efficient for people to locate books based on their interests or inquire about information on specific topics.

That is what Melissa Chiavaroli, the designer of the Browse Method the library is transitioning to, said on Thursday.

The new system only pertains to non-fiction books.

The library is switching from the Dewey Decimal System to the Browse Method, which operates similarly to how bookstores classify books. The hope is that this system addresses the concerns of some Alpena residents and limits the chances a minor stumbles upon a book that some believe contains sexually explicit material.

The change in how the books are presented means the books in question, like “Let’s Talk About It,” “It’s Perfectly Normal,” and several others, will remain in the adolescent and teen sections where they are currently but will be marked to display their subgenre.

Chiavaroli, who was the Community Relations Manager for Barnes & Noble in Warwick, R.I., worked at the Library of Congress, and is now employed as the Head of reference at the Cumberland Public Library in Rhode Island, said people often walk into a library and struggle to find a book they are seeking or books on specific topics.

She said the Dewey Decimal system is outdated and can be confusing for people who aren’t regulars at the library. The Browse System, she said, breaks books down into nine categories, each of which has subcategories, making it easier to target and track down specific books and topics.

Chiavaroli said the new system also limits people from browsing aimlessly through bookshelves.

Chiavaroli said she believes the Browse Method should guide children to topics they are interested in while also alerting parents of material they may not feel is appropriate for their child.

“It makes library usage easier for parents,” she said.

In the Browse Method, each of the nine categories is represented by a color, and all of the books within those categories have book identification tags, colored to match the categories.

She said in order to have the best results, precise and easy-to-read signage displayed at the library is key.

When the library in Cumberland decided to transition away from Dewey and move forward with Chiavaroli’s system, staff and administrators knew it would be a shock to patrons. To prepare them for the change, the library started a campaign to educate and include residents.

Chiavaroli said she talked to many people and explained how the new system worked and how it would be simpler for them to use. She engaged with people on social media to ask and answer questions and consider suggestions. Engaging with the community early and often, she said, helped the implementation go smoothly and garnered support from most people.

“Of course, some people don’t like change and there were a few who were upset we moved away from Dewey, but it really wasn’t keeping up with the times and was obsolete,” Chiavaroli said. “I know a majority of the people like it because if they didn’t we would hear about it. We worked with the public so they didn’t just walk in and see labels and a big change. Most felt like they were part of the process.”

Chiavaroli said there are other benefits to the Browse Method besides its simplicity of use. She said libraries using her system can run more efficiently, which can save money. Chiavaroli said the Browse Method cuts down on shelving time because books are shelved together under the category banner.

That, she said, makes it easy to see what a library has on its shelves, what books need to be added, and what ones need to go.

Chiavaroli said upfront costs are limited and contain mostly staff hours, spine labels, and spine label overlays. She said after the initial investment, the cost of maintaining the collection is limited.

With over 4,000 books in the juvenile nonfiction section at the library in Alpena, Assistant Library Director Jessica Luther said on Tuesday, that it will take time to complete the transition from Dewey to the Browse Method. She said once the juvenile section is complete, staff will begin the same process in the teen and young adult sections.

“It is a huge undertaking,” she said.

The switch in the categorization of books comes on the heels of the Alpena County Commissioners becoming involved after critics of certain books and their locations in the library asked the county for help to get the books moved to what they believe would be a more age-appropriate section of the library. Many of the commissioners were in favor of having the library board move the books, but library officials said that would censor free speech.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.