WHY PUBLIC-LIBRARIES IN SWEDEN DID NOT CHOOSE DEWEY

The article identifies two distinct sections, one within the public li brary sphere and one in academic libraries, relevant for the developme nt of a unique Swedish classification system (the SAB-system) to be us ed in public libraries. These are used to analyse the social and discu rsive influences that led to a rejection of the DDC as the common clas sification system for rile public libraries in Sweden. The author anal yses tile debate that rook place in the 1910s in various publications and identifies theoretical as well as some practical reasons for rejec ting the DDC. Reference is also made to the situation in Norway and De nmark at this time and their attempts to influence Sweden to accept th e DDC as had been done in these countries. Conclusions are drawn that the reasons for rejection of the DDC not only is to be sought in theor etical or even practical problems regarding the system itself but in t he academic library sector which, through tile SAB-system, could creat e a lasting influence on the knowledge organisation in public librarie s in order to uphold the national identity of the Swedish library syst em.