The public library I visited in Berlin, Connecticut recently has a circulating collection of nonfiction books that are organized differently compared to the old school Dewey Decimal System.

The library recently recategorized nonfiction books. They're now sorted by topic in the nonfiction section instead of maintaining the Dewey Decimal System. They're categorized by type of animal or history. The example is Animals / Chicken, History / Civil War or Vehicle / Motorcycle.

The reason for this huge change is because the librarians there think it's easier for patrons to find books they're looking for than trying to find them under Dewey numbers.

Has any other library ever done this? Does your library still use the Dewey Decimal System or do they use naming topics for nonfiction?

I'm looking for narrative based books under 200-300 pages . I recently completed "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" . I liked the book very much due to it's narration style .

I'm open for history ( regardless of race ), memoir, biography, finance or anything interesting but please make sure it's not too big .

Do you guys have any recommendations on books based on how to manipulate the system that you are in for your use? Something like that

Living in Ames, Iowa, I've become curious about the gap between how a local economy looks on paper and how it actually functions. The university is a major part of the picture, but there are also smaller businesses, personal connections, local hiring networks, and decisions that don't seem to show up neatly in economic reports.

I'm looking for nonfiction that explores how money, influence, employment, and business relationships move through small cities or towns. Not really looking for another book about small-town decline or nostalgia. I'd rather read something grounded in reporting, historical research, or detailed case studies.

Jane Jacobs comes up a lot, but much of her work focuses on larger cities.

Has anyone read a book that really gets into the mechanics of a smaller local economy, including the informal relationships that keep it running?

I’m currently reading James A. Michener’s monster but awesome book Texas. I’m 800 pages in and the chapter is talking about how a town in remote west Texas tried to get a railroad line to come to their town. It peaked my interest and I think it would be something cool to learn about. If anyone has any suggestions that remotely talk about this it would be greatly appreciated. I guess when I turned 35 I turned into an old man wanting to read nonfiction books about railroads

Bonus points if you know of any books that talk about wait for it…. Barbed wire and its impact of Texas and the west lol

I also posted this query in r/HistoryBooks - does anybody have any recommendations for works about the Spanish Civil War and / or Francoist Spain? It's not a segment of history that I'm very familiar with, so I'm looking for texts that can help expand my knowledge on either topic.

Hi guys, first a disclamer: I'm not interest in N**i propaganda, the opposite is more true.

With the ascention of far-right in Center Europe, I want to study this terrible book. Honestly a pure reading will not be helpfull without some good editorial background and notes.

Does anyone know a version in English/Spanish/Portuguese that offers a good background, comments on how the plan unravel over the following years of WWII and maybe how this still shapes the far-right mindset.

I want to understand the basics of stories and I want to be able to analyze stories, both for simply being able to enjoy stories even more and to be able to have a better critical point of view, in case I want to write a review or reflect about the story on my own. What book should I read?

Hello everyone!

In order to get some more discussions going about different Non Fiction books we will have a weekly thread to talk about different sub-genres or topics.

Which books do you think are good beginner books for someone that wants to learn a bit more about the topic or wants to explore the subgenre? Which books are your personal favorites?

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work has pushed me to question how productivity gets measured and whether those numbers drive decisions that make sense. most of what I read frames metrics as neutral tools. i want books that track how specific measurements—like hours logged or output targets—changed how teams actually operated over time. not theory or case studies with takeaways at the end. something that follows how a particular metric was introduced, how people adapted around it, and what shifted as a result. historical examples of measurement systems in factories, offices, or service work would work if the focus stays on the mechanics rather than the ideology

Saw this post in a different community but I want to read nonfiction like this

Any good punk recs?

Reposting here for yall’s input 😌