Dewey Decimal
Classification
Overview
Abridged Dewey Decimal
Classification & Relative Index, 14th
• This is the newest edition of DDC
• Recommend using abridged in media
centers
Purpose of DDC
• To organize information so that media
center can be used effectively.
• Remember: There is no one correct way
of organizing information.
How Could we Organize the
Following Items?
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Apples, Strawberries, Carrots, Fruit
Vegetables, Tubers, Oranges, Olive Oil,
Tomatoes, Potatoes, Lettuce, Vinegar
Cucumbers, Radishes, Peanuts
10 Main Classes of Dewey
• 000 Generalities
• 100 Philosophy, paranormal phenomena,
psychology
• 200 Religion
• 300 Social Sciences
• 400 Languages
10 Main Classes of Dewey
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500 Natural sciences and mathematics
600 Technology (Applied sciences)
700 The arts Fine & decorative arts
800 Literature & rhetoric
900 Geography, history, & auxiliary
disciplines
Summaries in DDC
• 10 Main Classes called First Summary
• Next 10 subdivisions called the Second
Summary, done by 10s
• Third summary is done by 1s.
• Look at 300 for an example.
How do you determine DDC
numbers?
• All Dewey numbers, except biography,
contain at least three numerals.
• Numbers are built hierarchically from
broadest to narrowest.
How do Subject Headings and
DDC work together?
• Subject headings bring together items that can
exist together anywhere in the library.
• We classify, or use DDC, to place items on the
shelf in the library according to the discipline or
field of study. Classification has to do with use of
item.
• Remember that two copies of an item cannot be
located in two different places in the library.
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Let’s Look at Some Numbers
• Visual Dictionary of the Universe 520.3
• Bard of Avon 822.3 or 92(0)
Let’s Look at Some DDC Numbers
• Look at 392, Customs of life cycle and domestic
life
• Notice the subdivisions under the number.
• These subdivisions will help to catalog more
specifically about domestic life.
• Divorce is not a part of this number.
• May be more of a legal action than a custom.
• If item is a custom about divorce, then it will be
hard to place under 392.
Adding Table Numbers
• Tables are used to add more specificity to
the DDC number.
• Only add table numbers when directed in
the schedules. See 391 where it says that
standard subdivisions can be added.
Subdivisions in Table 1
• -01 Philosophy and theory (Example:
Philosophy of education: 370.1
• -02 Miscellany. Not specific to any other
subdivisions in Table 1. Example:
interdispilinary work on commercial trade:
381.02
• -03 Dictionaries, encyclopedias,
concordance. Example: Dictionary of the
solar system 520.3
Subdivisions in Table 1
• -04 Special topics (topics not used elsewhere in
table. Use only when directed to use. Example:
Special topics in applied physics
• -05 Serial publications (Published serially in a
magazine, newsletter, etc. Example
A magazine on motocross 796.705
• -06 Organizations and management. Example:
Astronomy associations & clubs 520.6
Subdivisions in Table 1
• -07 Education, research, related topics.
Example: Summer ballet programs
792.807
• -08 History & description with respect to
kinds of persons. Example: Women
doctors 610.9208
• -09 Historical, geographic, persons
treatment. Swimming in China
797.200951
Hierarchical Structure of DDC
Strega Nona, a folktale from Italy 398.2094
300 Social sciences
390 Customs, etiquette, folklore
398 Folklore
398.2 Folk literature
398.209 Historical, geographic, persons
treatment (Table 1)
398.20945 Italy (Table 2, as directed from
Table 1
May be too long a number for your collection. Can see
numbers sometimes in CIP
4 Rules to use when item to be
cataloged covers more than one
discipline
1. Rule of Application: If one discipline is
acting on another, class the item under
the discipline being acted upon.
Example: Effects of industrialization
(338.9) on indigenous people of Australia
(994), classify under 994.
4 Rules to use when item to be
cataloged covers more than one
discipline
2. Subject Receiving Treatment. If one
subject is treated more fully than any of
the other subject, classify the number to
the fuller subject.
Example: Information mostly about dogs
(636.7) but has a little information on cats
(636.8) and horses (636.1). Classify
under 636.7
4 Rules to use when item to be
cataloged covers more than one
discipline
3. First of Two Rule: Two disciplines being
treated with equal coverage use the
number that comes first in the schedule.
Example: For a book on word games
(793.734) and magic tricks (793.8),
classify under 793.734
4 Rules to use when item to be
cataloged covers more than one
discipline
4. Rule of Three. Three disciplines included
under one broader heading, classify under
the first higher number that encompasses
them all.
Example: A book about ballet (792.8),
vaudeville (792.7) and musical comedies
(792.6) is classified under stage
presentations (792)
How do we classify audiovisual
materials?
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Put the kind of material on the first line.
Put the DDC number on second line
Put author notation on third line
Example:
DVD
398.20945
San
Problem Areas: Biographies
• Can be put in a given discipline area
Example: Biography of chemists 540.92
• Can be classified as a biography with
other biographies 92 or B
• Collective biographies 920
• Question: Will Shakespeare reside next to
works by and about the man (822.3) or
between Carl Sagan and musician Paul
Simon? The choice is yours!
Problem Areas: Folklore
• Classified as 398 because when Dewey
developed the numbers, folklore was used
for teaching lessons.
• Today, it becomes a little problematic for
books that are “true retellings” of a fairy
tale in today’s setting.
• No answer to this problem.
Problem Areas: Fiction
• Should be keep fiction books under FIC, F
or E separately?
• Should serious classic works be classified
in the 800s?
• The librarian makes the decision on this.
• The decision depends on who your library
serves and how it will be used.
Problem Areas: Story Collections
• Separate Collection or Filed in 800s?
• Usually use SC classification.
• Need to do author and title analytics for
the items included in these collections.
• By using SC, do we prepare students for
academic libraries where story collections
are classified in the 800s?
Problem Areas: Graphic Novels
• LC uses 741.5 for graphic novels for
“cartoons, caricatures, comics”.
• Some librarians keep graphic novels in a
separate section of the library.
• Problem is deciding when an item is fiction
or nonfiction.
• Good idea to keep graphic novels with the
rest of the collection.
Problem Areas: Equipment
• Most media specialist, have to take care of
equipment and find a way to keep track of
it.
• Determine prefixes that will describe the
piece of equipment.
• EQUIP: DVD Player
• (Date received)
• AV number or Copy number
It’s OK to Change a Number
• Accidents May Happen
• LC Number 124
• Teleology is a philosophical study of the purpose
of natural processes.
• Sunlink classification under 608 and 609
• Would the book be used more in the philosophy
section or in the science section?
• Best number is 609 because book is about
inventions with a focus on their history.
Why Is It a Good Idea to Change
the LC Number?
• May not fit the school’s usage.
• Always look at classification numbers
before accepting them blindly, not matter if
they are LC or SunLink.
• Look at neighboring DDC numbers to
make certain number is a good fit.
Using 082 Tag
• 1st Indicator: Which version of the DDC
was used. 0 for full DDC and 1 for
abridged.
• 2nd indicator: Which library assigned the
number. A blank (-) indicates