I've been using ChatGPT to categorize my book and audiobook collection using the Dewey Decimal Classification system for my personal home server - Which is running FOSS #NextCloud
My legacy system had books / audiobooks loosley catergorised by topic.
Here's how I prompted it:
1. I asked OpenAI to review titles to classify as per the latest (23rd Edition) of the Dewey Decimal Classification system.
When titles were not recognised by OpenAI, I was able to use the prefaces of the book for OpenAI to inference an appropriate classification.
2. I asked OpenAI to, in bullet point, provide the primary classification and any secondary or tertiary-classification for each title, and to be as specific and concise as possible.
Some of these were very niche, so having ultra-specific classifications made sense. This also ensured I could create an appropriate hierarchial folder tree in which to place my books and audiobooks.
For example, 941.085092 - History of Great Britain from 1952 to the present day for "1966 and all that" by Craig Brown.
3. I asked OpenAI for potential alternative or more specific classifications.
This cross-checking helped with identifying any potential interpretation issues, and allowed me to choose how granular I wanted to be with the system's implementation.
4. I also asked OpenAI to draw upon the knowledge of the book and how other libraries have classified the book, and provide the best classification for it - and provide reasoning.
This allowed me to review the provided opinion, and see if OpenAI's reasoning checked out.
As an example using Carl Sagan's Cosmos:
Primary Level Classification:
- 500: Natural Sciences and Mathematics
- 520: Astronomy and allied sciences
Secondary and Tertiary Level Classification:
- 523.1: General works on the solar system
Alternative / More Specific Classifications:
- 509: History of scienceReasoning: The book also discusses the historical context of scientific developments related to the cosmos.
- 550.9: History of Earth scienceReasoning: Sagan covers the history of the Earth as well as the development of Earth science.
Best Classification and Reasoning:
In my opinion, the best classification for "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan is 520: Astronomy and allied sciences, with a secondary classification of 523.1: General works on the solar system. The primary focus of the book is on the exploration and understanding of the cosmos, including astronomy and the solar system, which aligns well with these classifications. While the book does discuss the history of scientific developments and Earth science, these are not the main focus and can be considered supplementary information to the primary topics.
💡 Perhaps someone could automate this process and provide it as an OpenSource option for anyone, to individually, or in bulk, classify titles, or indeed automate the restructuring of a file system using the #DDC system.
How have you been using ChatGPT?
#opensource #ChatGPT #GPT4 #WebDewey #OCLC