Library school fun fact #1: Dewey

Whew! First week of school and work - I'm already worn out! Looking forward to a restful weekend.

Meanwhile I wanted to share my first (of what I hope will be a long series!) of fun facts from Library School. (Yes, I might just capitalize it all the time. It's important.)

As you probably could predict, we've already talked a little about Melville Dewey, inventor of the Dewey Decimal system. He was also the co-founder of the American Library Association, which held their first conference in Philadelphia in 1876! He also founded the first library school, so of course he's a big name in the history of libraries and librarians.

So ... drumroll please ... the fun fact is that Melville Dewey was also a proponent of spelling reform, that things should be spelled simply and phonetically. Check out this letter to the editor Dewey wrote in 1914 from the NYT archive:
He uses his suggested spelling rules, spelling "called" as "cald", for example. I'd love to talk to "Melvil Dui" and ask him some questions about his system. How does it account for different dialects or regional pronunciations? Does phonetic reform base spelling on pronunciation instead of the rules of written English? How does that relate to his obvious passion for the care and preservation of the written word in the form of books?

I'm thinking maybe I'll add him to my fantasy list of people alive or dead I'd have dinner with.