THE DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM


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The Dewey Decimal Classification System (DDC) is the most widely used library classification system
in the world. It is used in more than 135 countries. It was invented by a man named Melville Louis Kossuth Dewey when he was 21 years old, working as a student assistant in a college library.
Dewey is credited with beginning the field of library science in the United States.

Dewey was born on December 10, 1851.
His family was poor, and lived in a small town in upper New York State.
Later he cut his first name to Melvil, dropped his middle names
and, for a short time, even spelled his last name as Dui.

Dewey's system of cataloguing books is used today in most local and school libraries.
It organizes all the nonfiction works by grouping books together that are on the same subject.
That makes them much easier to find.
It uses a combination of letters and numbers starting with 000 and going to 999.

Believe it or not!!!
Not all Dewey classified books are nonfiction. Do you know any that are fiction? Click here.

Take a multimedia tour of Dewey's system here.

Here are the Dewey Decimal System's ten main groups.
Look at the table below to see how some of them are divided up even more.

000
Computers, Information, and General Reference

100 Philosophy and Psychology

200 Religion 300
Social Science
400 Language 500
Science and Math
600 Technology (Applied Sciences) 700
Arts and Recreation
800 Literature 900 Geography and History
000
010
020
030
040
050
060
070
080
090
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
180
190
200
210
220
230
240
250
260
270
280
290
300
310
320
330
340
350
360
370
380
390
400
410
420
430
440
450
460
470
480
490
Computers, Information, and General Reference
Bibliographies
Library & information science
Encyclopedias & books of facts
[Unassigned]
Magazines, journals & serials
Associations, organizations & museums
Journalism, publishing & news media
Quotations
Manuscripts & rare books
Philosophy
Metaphysics
Epistemology
Astrology, parapsychology & the occult
Philosophical schools of thought
Psychology
Logic
Ethics
Ancient, medieval & Eastern philosophy
Modern western philosophy
Religion
Philosophy & theory of religion
The Bible
Christianity & Christian theology
Christian practice & observance
Christian pastoral practice & religious orders
Church organization, social work & worship
History of Christianity
Christian denominations
Other religions
Social sciences
Statistics
Political science
Economics
Law
Public administration & military science
Social problems & social services
Education
Commerce, communications & transportation
Customs, etiquette & folklore
Language
Linguistics
English & Old English Languages
German & related languages
French & related languages
Italian, Romanian & related languages
Spanish & Portuguese languages
Latin & Italic languages
Classical & modern Greek languages
Other languages
500
510
520
530
540
550
560
570
580
590
600
610
620
630
640
650
660
670
680
690
700
710
720
730
740
750
760
770
780
790
800
810
820
830
840
850
860
870
880
890
900
910
920
930
940
950
960
970
980
990
Science and Math
Mathematics
Astronomy
Physics
Chemistry
Earth sciences & geology
Fossils & prehistoric life
Biology & life sciences
Plants (Botany)
Animals (Zoology)
Technology (Applied Sciences)
Medicine
Engineering
Agriculture
Home & family management
Management & public relations
Chemical engineering
Manufacturing
Manufacturing specific products
Building & construction
Arts and Recreation
Landscaping & area planning
Architecture
Sculpture, ceramics & metalwork
Drawing & decorative arts
Painting
Graphic arts
Photography
Music
Sports, games & entertainment
Literature
American literature in English
English & Old English literatures
German & related literatures
French & related literatures
Italian, Romanian & related literatures
Spanish & Portuguese literatures
Latin & Italic literatures
Classical & modern Greek literatures
Other literatures
Geography and History
Geography & travel
Biography & genealogy
History of the ancient world (to ca. 499 A.D.)
History of Europe (ca. 500 A.D.- )
History of Asia
History of Africa
History of North America
History of South America
History of other regions

ACTIVITY:
Drag the red book title into its proper column. (Need more help? Click here for more details.)

000
Generalities

100 Philosophy and Psychology

200
Religion
300
Social Science
400
Language
500
Natural Science and Mathematics
600
Technology (Applied Sciences)
700
Arts
800
Literature
900
Geography and History
All About Rocks Volcanoes Music of the 20th Century Earthworms The Hindu Religion Chinese Cooking Paul Bunyan Stars of the Northern Hemisphere The Geography of the Middle East Ancient Rome
Bridge Building Made Easy Bulldogs World War I The Periodic Table of the Elements How to Be a Better Photographer The Big Book of Fairy Tales Poetry for Children Indians of
N. America
From Tadpole to Frog Sculpture for Beginners
French Poetry How to Build with Wood The Color Wheel All About Mushrooms Easy Lessons in Algebra Dinosaur Fossils The History of the Catholic Church How Magnets Work Sances: Are They for Real? Lessons in English Grammar

Want to learn more? Of course you do!!!
Fiction and nonfiction
Call numbers

Left-to-Right and Top-to-Bottom


How fiction and nonfiction are shelved

What does a fiction call number look like?

What does a nonfiction call number look like?

ACTIVITY: Test your knowledge of the Dewey Decimal System here.