THE DEWEY DECIMAL
CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM:
SO SIMPLE, EVEN A CAVE-
PERSON CAN DO IT!
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Melvil Dewey
The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) is the most widely used library organization system in the world.
The system groups books by topic, dividing them into 10 main classes or categories. Each of those categories is sub-divided into 10 additional categories, with each division becoming more and more specific.
Dewey developed the DDC when he was just 21 years-old—as a student assistant librarian at Amherst College.
How can one classify ALL knowledge?
Dewey’s Design
Dewey created 10 main classes by thinking like a cave-person.
What questions would a cave-person ask?
000s: General Information:
Cave-Person wonders: Before I begin…
EncyclopediasReference Books, AlmanacsGuinness Book of World Records
031GLE
001.9KAL
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Numbers are on the spines of books
Library Journal, 2009
100s: Philosophy and Psychology
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155.2JON
155.9GOO
Who am I?
Cave-Person thinks about self.
200s: Religion and Mythology Who made me?
Cave-Person wonders about maker.
Clipart.com School Edition, 2010 297GOR
201RAU
Click cover for book review
300s: Social Sciences Who is the person in the next cave?
Cave-Person thinks about other people and the issues they face.
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Click cover for book review
301.451CLE
362.29WOR
400s: LanguageHow can I make another understand me? Cave-Person communicates with others
through words.
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422HOU
419COS
500s: Natural SciencesCave-Person asks: how can I understand nature and the world around me?
Cave-Person is curious about the natural world—both living and nonliving elements.
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530STR
569.9STE
600 s: TechnologyHow can I use what I know about nature?
Primitive Cave-Person observes the natural world, then creates—based on that knowledge: developing tools and machines, cooking techniques, medicine, etc…
Clipart.com School Edition, 2010 614.5ZAH
614ADE
700s: Fine Arts and RecreationHow can I enjoy my leisure time?
With all the free time created by technology, the cave-person begins to create art, music, dance, and sports to express the self.
Clipart.com School Edition, 2010 709GRE
781.642CAR
800s: LiteratureHow can I give my children a record of humankind’s heroic deeds?
Cave-Person becomes a storyteller, creating fables, poetry, and plays about family, friends, and ancestors –and records these stories for others .
Clipart.com School Edition, 2010 811MOR
823GRE
900s: Geography & HistoryHow can I leave a record for the future?
Cave-Person writes about events that have occurred elsewhere, and about people who participated in these events.
Clipart.com School Edition, 2010 909.82KAU
954.02PRE
Quick Review: Dewey Decimal System 000 General Knowledge
Almanacs, Encyclopedias, Dictionaries
100 Psychology & Physiology Who am I?
200 Religion How did I get here? Who made me?
300 Social Sciences & Folklore Who is the cave-person next door?
400 Languages & Grammar How do I communicate with him/her?
500 Math & Science What can I know about the natural world?
600 Medicine & Technology What can I do/make with what I know about the natural world?
700 Arts & Recreation What can I do for fun? How can I express myself?
800 Literature How can I tell my children about how great we are?
900 Geography & History How can I tell future generations about what we accomplished?
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