OCLC Forest Press

OCLC Forest Press. It was a specialized publishing imprint, originally established as the Forest Press in New York before its acquisition by the library cooperative OCLC in 1988. The imprint was primarily responsible for the publication and ongoing development of the Dewey Decimal Classification system, one of the world's most widely used library classification schemes. Its work ensured the systematic organization of knowledge in libraries across the globe until its operations were fully integrated into OCLC in 2009.

History

The entity that would become OCLC Forest Press originated as the independent Forest Press, founded in New York in 1965 by John Phillip Immroth, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Under Immroth's leadership, Forest Press acquired the publication rights to the Dewey Decimal Classification from Lake Placid Club Education Foundation. A pivotal figure in its early history was Sanford Berman, whose advocacy for a more modern and inclusive Dewey Decimal Classification influenced the press's editorial direction. In 1988, the library services giant OCLC, based in Dublin, Ohio, purchased Forest Press to secure stewardship of the Dewey Decimal Classification and align it with other OCLC services like the WorldCat database. This acquisition marked the beginning of the OCLC Forest Press era, during which editorial operations were managed from Dublin, Ohio, with the imprint name maintained for its publications. The imprint was formally dissolved in 2009 when its functions were completely absorbed into OCLC.

Publications

The core publication of OCLC Forest Press was the authoritative print editions of the Dewey Decimal Classification, including the full editions and abridged versions used by smaller libraries. Key editions produced under the imprint included Dewey Decimal Classification (Edition 21) and Dewey Decimal Classification (Edition 22), which incorporated significant updates to reflect contemporary knowledge. Beyond the main classification schedules, the press also published essential auxiliary volumes such as the Dewey Decimal Classification manuals and thesauri. It was responsible for the Subject headings derived from the classification system and various guides and training materials used by cataloging professionals worldwide. These publications were integral to the practice of library and information science and were distributed to libraries in over 135 countries.

Impact and legacy

OCLC Forest Press played a critical role in standardizing library cataloging practices internationally by maintaining and disseminating the Dewey Decimal Classification. Its work directly supported the daily operations of thousands of libraries, from the Library of Congress to small public libraries, enabling consistent resource discovery. The editorial policies established under the imprint, particularly in addressing issues of bias and modernization within the Dewey Decimal Classification, set important precedents for ethical knowledge organization. The full integration of its operations into OCLC ensured the Dewey Decimal Classification's continued digital evolution, linking it directly with WorldCat and metadata standards. The legacy of OCLC Forest Press endures in the pervasive use of the Dewey Decimal Classification system and its influence on subsequent classification schemes like the Library of Congress Classification.

See also

* Dewey Decimal Classification * Melvil Dewey * OCLC * Library classification * WorldCat * Cataloging (library science) * Knowledge organization

Category:OCLC Category:Library classification systems Category:American publishing companies