Introduction to the Dewey Decimal System

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Introduction to the Dewey Decimal System

• Prepared by Patti Henderson,
• Media Specialist
• Sanford Middle School

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Melvin Dewey Created the Dewey Decimal System

• Melvin Dewey was born in 1851.
• He worked in the library while attending Amherst
  College in 1870.
• At age 26, he created and published the first
  edition of the Dewey Decimal System, anonymously.
  It was titled Classification and Subject Index
  for Cataloguing and Arranging the Books and
  Pamphlets of a Library.

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Dewey Decimal Classifications

• 000- Computers, Information
• and General Reference
• 100 Philosophy and
• Psychology
• 200 - Religion
• 300 Social Sciences
• 400 - Language
• 500 - Science
• 600 - Technology
• 700 Arts Recreation
• 800 - Literature
• 900 History Geography

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000-099- Generalities

• The Generalities classification includes
  encyclopedias, almanacs, bibliographies,
  periodicals and journalism books.
• We often refer to some of these materials as
  reference books.

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100-199 Philosophy

• Philosophy is the study of thinking. Examples of
  some books in our library in this section are
• - Psychology in Action 150
• -Mysterious Detectives
• Psychics 133
• - The Left-Handed Book -152

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200-299 Religion

• The Bible was one of the first books to be
  printed on the printing press.
• This classification includes books about all
  religions.
• Fact The Bible was one of the first books
  printed on the printing press, invented by
  Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century.

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300-300 Social Sciences

• This category includes materials related to laws,
  politics, and customs.
• Some topics in this section are
• Education
• Military Science
• Economics and
• Law

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400-499 Language

• The Language category includes books about all
  languages, not just ours.
• A few examples from our media center are
• -In Other Words 428
• -Mad as a Wet Hen -428
• -The Magic and Mystery of
• Words -422

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500-599 - Science

• The Science classification includes books from
  all areas of science.
• You might be surprised to see books about
  mathematics, plants, and animals in this section,
  as well as books on chemistry, and physics.

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600-699 Technology

• In this category we place books about medicine,
  machines, vehicles, farming, and pets.
• - Traditional American Farming
• - Organic Farming
• - Dog Training
• - Car Care for Dummies
• These are a few examples of books that might be
  found in the Technology section.

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700-799 Arts Recreation

• Information on famous painters such as Van Gogh,
  Picasso, El Greco, and Raphael are housed in this
  section.
• Additional topics would be landscaping,
  sculpture, photography, music, football, soccer,
  and ballet.

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800-899 Literature

• Literature means writing that have permanent
  value.
• Includes nursery rhymes, riddles, and joke books,
  as well as works by Shakespeare.

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900-999 Geography History

• In this section you could find books to answer
  questions like these
• What countries fought in the Korean War?
• What is the smallest continent on earth?
• Why was the Draft started in the United States?

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What Did We Learn?

• Who invented the DDS?
• How Many Main Categories are there in the DDS?
• Thinking Question -
• Is it possible for a topic to be shelved in more
  than one section?

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Bibliographic Information

• Dewey Decimal Collection Tour http//www.oclc.org/
  dewey/about/ddctour/index.htm
• Some book titles were pulled from
• www.Amazon.com