(HD download and full table here, compiled using Library of Congress catalog information. Made with Excel and Inkscape. Not sure if infographic or visualization, please correct me if this is the wrong place!)

This started as a simple scatter plot chart to compare how biographies are shelved in the Dewey Decimal and Library of Congress (LCC) classification systems, but it eventually turned into a half-chart, half-fantasy map.

Every book in a library is assigned a "call number" that gives the book a specific location in the shelves> But since not all libraries use the same number system, I wondered what patterns might emerge if I visually combined two of the most common systems.

I first compiled a list of 1,000 famous people from history, from various occupations and backgrounds, with at least 3 biographies published about them since 2005 as a guideline. Then, each person was placed on a scatter plot with their Dewey position as the horizontal axis, and their LCC position as the vertical axis. This chart was then condensed and stylized to make the "islands" you see here.

The placement of some historical figures can be quite interesting and amusing, and reveals some of the difficult decisions librarians have to make. I hope you enjoy exploring!

Posted by PeterVexillographer

3 comments

  1. I went to USC, and they have a new system where every book just gets a bar code number like 9624556.

    So let’s say the book was acquired and barcoded.

    Well, it’s sorted by barcode number ascending and the books are stored across the 110 freeway. 🛣️

    Meaning you wouldn’t find books of the same kind next to each other rather you’d find them sorted by barcode number.

  2. Very cool, wish the areas were labeled but it’s easy enough to tell with the names.

  3. As a cartographer who loves dataviz and fictional maps, I love this!

    How do these two indexes work exactly?

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