The Dewey Decimal Classification System

The Dewey Decimal Classification System What’s up with all of those numbers?

What is it? It is a classification system that arranges information into 10 sections. 000 Computer science, information & general works 100 Philosophy & Psychology 200 Religion 300 Social sciences 400 Language 500 Pure Science 600 Technology 700 Arts & recreation 800 Literature 900 History, geography & biography

Who made it? Melvil Dewey was a man obsessed with efficiency. He once calculated that if the children in the United States were taught basic phonetics and the metric system, they could effectively save two years of educational time (Wiegand,2000 ). Although his push to streamline mathematics in the United States was unsuccessful; his system of classifying knowledge has had a lasting effect. Dewey was not impressed with the cataloguing methods that he saw at many institutions. He found that they were unorganized, inconsistent and, sometimes nonexistent. In order to facilitate the finding of information he devised a way to attach subjects to numbers.

Why use it? In essence, the system makes finding information in a library more efficient, and it creates consistency among libraries. As mentioned earlier, many collections were simply that: collections. The way that the collections were organized, if at all, could vary depending on what library one was in. Dewey visualized and created a system that could be used consistently for any collection; in truth he created a standard. His system is so thoroughly accepted and applied that it has been translated into over thirty languages world wide (OCLC, 2011)! The beauty of this is that it allows you to enter a plethora of libraries and understand their organization. Numerals (1,2,etc.) are the same in any language!

Where is the number found? • The Dewey number is found on the spine of the book, usually near the bottom.

Ok… Let’s give it a try!

Ten Main Classes 000 Computer science, information & general works 100 Philosophy & psychology 200 Religion 300 Social sciences 400 Language 500 Science 600 Technology 700 Arts & Recreation 800 Literature 900 History, geography & biography

Ten Main Classes 000 Computer science, information & general works 100 Philosophy & psychology 200 Religion 300 Social sciences 400 Language 500 Science 600 Technology 700 Arts & Recreation 800 Literature 900 History, geography & biography Reviews at: http://www.amazon.com/Girls-Summer-Womens-Soccer-Changed/product-reviews/B000C4STDE/ref=sr_1_1_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Ten Main Classes 000 Computer science, information & general works 100 Philosophy & psychology 200 Religion 300 Social sciences 400 Language 500 Science 600 Technology 700 Arts & Recreation 800 Literature 900 History, geography & biography Reviews at: http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-Modern-Library-Chronicles/product-reviews/081296618X/ref=sr_1_1_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Ten Main Classes 000 Computer science, information & general works 100 Philosophy & psychology 200 Religion 300 Social sciences 400 Language 500 Science 600 Technology 700 Arts & Recreation 800 Literature 900 History, biography & geography

Ten Main Classes 000 Computer science, information & general works 100 Philosophy & psychology 200 Religion 300 Social sciences 400 Language 500 Science 600 Technology 700 Arts & Recreation 800 Literature 900 History, geography & biography

Fiction: An interesting case Fiction works present an interesting issue. Fiction collections usually represent the largest section of a library's holdings. Because of this, most libraries devote a section to fiction rather than mixing it in with the literature section. Now, since the stories are literature fiction titles could be integrated into the literature section, specifically at 813. However, by creating a section of fiction separate from the literature section makes finding fiction books more intuitive and efficient. Most fiction titles have FIC on the binding and are organized by the first 3 letters of an author’s last name. Reviews at: http://www.amazon.com/Dragons-Summer-Flame-Margaret-Weis/product-reviews/0786927089/ref=sr_1_1_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Georgia performance Standards ELA9RC2 The student participates in discussions related to curricular learning in all subject areas. ELACC9-10SL1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions(one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. ELA9RC3 The student acquires new vocabulary in each content area and uses it correctly. ELACC9-10L3: Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening. ELA9RL5 The student understands and acquires new vocabulary and uses it correctly in reading and writing. ELA9LSV1 The student participates in student-to-teacher, student-to-student, and group verbal interactions. (GDOE, 2011)

References • Armstrong, K. (2000). Islam: A short history. New York, New York. The Modern • Library. • Burrows, M. (1955). The Dead Sea Scrolls. 1955. New York, New York. Viking Press. • Butterwoth, R. R. (1989). Signing made easy. New York New York. Perigee Books. • Georgia Department of Education. ( 2011 ). Ninth-grade literature and composition. Retrieved from https://www.georgiastandards.org/Standards/Georgia%20Performance%20Standards/Grade-9.pdf • Hunt, . (1993).The story of psychology. New York, New York. Doubleday. • Longman, J. (2000). The girls of summer: The US women's soccer team and how it • changed the world. New York, New York. Harper Collins. • Martin, M. (1996). The Beatles: The music was never the same. New York, New York. • Franklin Watts. • .

References continued Porter, J.R. (1195). The illustrated guide to the Bible. New York, New York. Oxford University Press. Rippey, S. G. (1970). American place names: A concise and selective dictionary for the continental United States. New York, New York. Oxford University Press. Schumaker, D. (Ed.). (2000). Seven language dictionary. New York, New York. Gramercy Books. Segerberg, O. Jr. (1976). Living with death. New York, New York. Dutton. Weinberg, G. (1994). A world at arms: A global history of world war II. Cambridge, England. Cambridge University Press. Weis, M., & Hickman T. (2001). Dragons of summer flame. Renton, Washington. Wizards of the Coast, Inc. White, R. (1998) How computers work. Indianapolis, Indiana. Que.

References continued OCLC. (2011). A brief introduction to the Dewey Decimal Classification summaries. Retrieved from http://www.oclc.org/dewey/resources/summaries/ Pere, M. A. (1999).Sports stars. Detroit, Michigan. UXL. Wiegand, W. A. (February, 2000). Dewey, Melvil. American journal biography online. Retrieved from http://www.anb.org/articles/09/09-00229.html

The Dewey Decimal Classification System