Tuesday, November 25, 2003

Glad to see this pointless dispute is being settled. Now the decision is clear on where to stay when visiting NYC.

A library-themed New York City hotel has agreed to acknowledge in its advertising that a nonprofit library cooperative's ownership of the Dewey Decimal system.

The settlement announced Monday also requires the Library Hotel to make a donation in an undisclosed amount to a nonprofit organization that promotes children's reading. The hotel is near the New York Public Library.

The Dewey Decimal Classification has been used to track books for 120 years, and the OCLC Online Computer Library Center in suburban Dublin has owned the system's trademark to since 1988. OCLC sued the hotel in U.S. District Court in September after finding the hotel used the system to divide the building, with each floor dedicated to one of Dewey's 10 classifications.

For instance, the eighth floor is divided into subjects embracing literature, the 800 category of the system.


via Newsday