An Introduction to Dewey's Decimal Classification (DDC)

DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION(DDC)

MELVIL DEWEY

IT’S CALLED THE DEWEY DECIMAL

CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM—OR DDC.

THIS SYSTEM GOT ITS NAME FROM

MELVIL DEWEY, THE MAN WHO HAD

THIS GREAT IDEA FOR ORGANIZING

LIBRARY COLLECTIONS. HE LIVED

FROM 1851 TO 1931 AND

INTRODUCED THE DDC IN 1876

THE DDC HELPS LIBRARIES ARRANGE THE ITEMS SO THAT LIBRARY USERS CAN FIND THEM

MELVILLE LOUIS KOSSUTH DEWEY WAS BORN ON 10 DEC 1851 IN NEW YORK.HE WAS SON OF A HUMBLE SMALL STOREKEEPER

IN 1870 HE JOINED AS STUDENT INAMHERST COLLEGE AND GRADUATED IN 1874

IN 1872 HE JOINED COLLEGE LIBRARY AS A PART TIME LIBRARIAN

IN 1873 HE PREPARED A PLAN OF DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION WHICH WAS IMPLEMENTED AND APPROVED BY THE LIBRARY STAFF AND FINALLY PUBLISHED IN 1876

STORY OF MELVIL DEWEY

DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION DDC IS MOST WIDELY USED CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

MORE THAN 138 COUNTRIES USE DDC

PUBLISHED BY OCLC (ONLINE COMPUTER LIBRARY CENTRE,INC) IN FULL AND ABRIDGED EDITIONS

THE DDC HAS BEEN TRANSLATED INTO OVER THIRTY LANGUAGES

PRESENTLY 23RD EDITION IS IN USE

DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION DDC IS DIVIDED INTO :-

10 MAIN CLASSES (COVERS ENTIRE WORLD OF KNOWLEDGE)

EACH MAIN CLASS IS SUBDIVIDED IN 10 DIVISIONS

EACH DIVISION IS SUBDIVIDED INTO 10 SECTIONS

EACH SUBDIVISION IS DIVIDED INTO FORM DIVISIONS

DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION THE MAIN STRUCTURE OF THE DDC IS PRESENTED IN THE DDC SUMMARIES IN THE BEGINNING OF THE VOL-2 :-

1ST SUMMARY : 10 MAIN CLASSES

2ND SUMMARY : 100 DIVISIONS

3RD SUMMARY : 1000 SECTIONS

NOTATION OF DDC ARABIC NUMERALS ARE USED TO REPRESENT EACH CLASS

THE DDC USES THE CONVENTION THAT NO NUMBER SHOULD BE FEWER THAN THREE DIGITS.

1ST DIGIT REPRESENT THE MAIN CLASS 500 - SCIENCE

2ND DIGIT INDICATES DIVISION 510 - MATHEMATICS 520 - ASTRONOMY 530 - PHYSICS

3RD DIGIT INDICATES SECTION 530 - GENERAL WORKS ON PHYSICS 531 - CLASSICAL MECHANICS 532 - FLUID MECHANICS 533 - GAS MECHANICS

NOTATION OF DDC A DECIMAL POINT, OR DOT (.), FOLLOWS THE THIRD DIGIT IN A CLASS NUMBER, AFTER WHICH DIVISION BY TEN CONTINUES TO THE SPECIFIC DEGREE OF CLASSIFICATION NEEDED

THE DOT (.) IS NOT A DECIMAL IN THE MATHEMATICAL SENSE, BUT A PSYCHOLOGICAL PAUSE TO BREAK THE MONOTONY OF NUMERICAL DIGITS AND TO EASE THE TRANSCRIPTION AND COPYING OF THE CLASS NUMBER

THE NUMBER SHOULD NEVER END IN ‘0’ ANYWHERE TO THE RIGHT OF THE DECIMAL POINT

1ST SUMMARYTHE TEN MAIN CLASSES

1ST SUMMARYTHE TEN MAIN CLASSES

000 COMPUTER SCIENCE, INFORMATION & GENERAL WORKS100 PHILOSOPHY & PSYCHOLOGY200 RELIGION300 SOCIAL SCIENCES400 LANGUAGE500 SCIENCE600 TECHNOLOGY700 ARTS & RECREATION800 LITERATURE900 HISTORY & GEOGRAPHY

2ND SUMMARYTHE HUNDRED DIVISIONS

(000) COMPUTER SCIENCE, INFORMATION

& GENERAL WORKS000 COMPUTER SCIENCE, INFORMATION & GENERAL WORKS010 BIBLIOGRAPHIES020 LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCIENCE030 ENCYCLOPEDIAS & BOOKS OF FACTS040 [UNASSIGNED]050 MAGAZINES, JOURNALS & SERIALS060 ASSOCIATIONS, ORGANISATIONS & MUSEUMS070 NEWS MEDIA, JOURNALISM & PUBLISHING080 QUOTATIONS090 MANUSCRIPT & RARE BOOKS


(100) PHILOSOPHY & PSYCHOLOGY

100 PHILOSOPHY

110 METAPHYSICS

120 EPISTEMOLOGY

130 PARAPSYCHOLOGY & OCCULTISM

140 PHILOSOPHICAL SCHOOLS OF THOUGHTS

150 PSYCHOLOGY

160 PHILOSOPHICAL LOGIC

170 ETHICS

180 ANCIENT, MEDIEVAL & EASTERN PHILOSOPHY

190 MODERN WESTERN PHILOSOPHY


(200) RELIGION

200 RELIGION

210 PHILOSOPHY & THEORY OF RELIGION

220 THE BIBLE

230 CHRISTIANITY

240 CHRISTIAN PRACTICE & OBSERVANCE

250 CHRISTIAN PASTORAL PRACTICE & RELIGIOUS ORDER

260 CHRISTIAN ORGANISATION, SOCIAL WORK & WORSHIP

270 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY

280 CHRISTIAN DENOMINATIONS

290 OTHER RELIGIONS


(300) SOCIAL SCIENCES

300 SOCIAL SCIENCE, SOCIOLOGY & ANTHROPOLOGY

310 STATISTICS

320 POLITICAL SCIENCE

330 ECONOMICS

340 LAW

350 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & MILITARY SCIENCE

360 SOCIAL PROBLEMS & SOCIAL SERVICES

370 EDUCATION

380 COMMERCE, COMMUNICATION & TRANSPORTATION

390 CUSTOMS, ETIQUETTE & FOLKLORE


(400) LANGUAGE

400 LANGUAGE

410 LINGUISTICS

420 ENGLISH & OLD ENGLISH LANGUAGE

430 GERMAN & RELATED LANGUAGE

440 FRENCH & RELATED LANGUAGE

450 ITALIAN, ROMANIAN & RELATED LANGUAGES

460 SPANISH, PORTUGUESE, GALICIAN

470 LATIN & ITALIC LANGUAGE

480 CLASSICAL & MODERN GREEK LANGUAGE

490 OTHER LANGUAGES


(500) SCIENCE

500 SCIENCE

510 MATHEMATICS

520 ASTRONOMY

530 PHYSICS

540 CHEMISTRY

550 EARTH SCIENCE

560 FOSSILS & PREHISTORIC LIFE

570 BIOLOGY

580 PLANTS (BOTANY)

590 ANIMALS (ZOOLOGY)


(600) TECHNOLOGY

600 TECHNOLOGY

610 MEDICINE & HEALTH

620 ENGINEERING

630 AGRICULTURE

640 HOME & FAMILY MANAGEMENT

650 MANAGEMENT & PUBLIC RELATIONS

660 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

670 MANUFACTURING

680 MANUFACTURE FOR SPECIFIC USE

690 CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS


(700) ARTS & RECREATION

700 ARTS

710 AREA PLANNING & LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

720 ARCHITECTURE

730 SCULPTURE, CERAMICS & METALWORK

740 GRAPHIC ARTS & DECORATIVE ARTS

750 PAINTING

760 PRINTMAKING & PRINTS

770 PHOTOGRAPHY, COMPUTER ARE, FILM, VIDEO

780 MUSIC

790 SPORTS, GAMES & ENTERTAINMENT


(800) LITERATURE

800 LITERATURE, RHETORIC & CRITICISM

810 AMERICAN LITERATURE IN ENGLISH

820 ENGLISH & OLD ENGLISH LITERATURES

830 GERMAN & RELATED LITERATURES

840 FRENCH & RELATED LITERATURES

850 ITALIAN, ROMANIAN & RELATED LITERATURES

860 SPANISH, PORTUGUESE, GALICIAN LITERATURE

870 LATIN & ITALIC LITERATURES

880 CLASSICAL & MODERN GREEK LITERATURES

890 OTHER LITERATURES


(900) HISTORY & GEOGRAPHY

900 HISTORY

910 GEOGRAPHY & TRAVEL

920 BIOGRAPHY & GENEALOGY

930 HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT WORLD (TO CA. 499)

940 HISTORY OF EUROPE

950 HISTORY OF ASIA

960 HISTORY OF AFRICA

970 HISTORY OF NORTH AMERICA

980 HISTORY OF SOUTH AMERICA

990 HISTORY OF OTHER AREAS

3RD SUMMARYTHE THOUSAND SECTIONS

(510) MATHEMATICS

510 MATHEMATICS

511 GENERAL APPLICATION OF MATHEMATICS

512 ALGEBRA

513 ARITHMETIC

514 TOPOLOGY

515 ANALYSIS

516 GEOMETRY

517 [UNASSIGNED]

518 NUMERICAL ANALYSIS

519 PROBABILITIES & APPLIED MATHEMATICS

3RD SUMMARYTHE THOUSAND SECTIONS

(530) PHYSICS

530 PHYSICS

531 CLASSICAL MECHANICS

532 FLUID MECHANICS

533 GAS MECHANICS

534 SOUND & RELATED VIBRATIONS

535 LIGHT & RELATED VIBRATIONS

536 HEAT

537 ELECTRICITY

538 MAGNETISM

539 MODERN PHYSICS

OVERVIEW OF DDC DDC IS BUILT ON SOUND PRINCIPLES

NOTATIONS ARE UNIVERSALLY RECOGNIZED

CATEGORIES ARE WELL DEFINED

HIERARCHIES ARE WELL DEVELOPED

BASIC CLASSES ARE ORGANISED BY DISCIPLINES OF FIELD OF STUDY

PRINCIPAL OF HIERARCHYSTRUCTURAL HIERARCHY

ALL TOPICS ARE PART OF THE BROADER TOPICS ABOVE THEM

NOTATIONAL HIERARCHYNUMBER AT ANY GIVEN LEVEL IS USUALLY SUBORDINATE

TO A CLASS WHOSE NOTATION IS ONE DIGIT SHORTER

600 TECHNOLOGY (APPLIED SCIENCE)630 AGRICULTURE & RELATED TECHNOLOGIES636 ANIMAL HUSBANDRY636.7 DOGS636.8 CATS

NOTATIONAL HIERARCHY

700 THE ARTS720 ARCHITECTURE

725 PUBLIC STRUCTURE725.8 RECREATIONAL STRUCTURE

725.82 BUILDING FOR SHOWS & SPECTACLES725.822 THEATER AND OPERA BUILDING

CLASSIFICATION WITH THE DDC

DETERMINE SUBJECT

DETERMINE DISCIPLINE

DETERMINE FORM OR APPROACH

Classify according to subject & discipline and then the form in which the subject is presented

Always consider the authors intention

classify the Book on two or more subject under the predominates subject

If there is no subject in classification scheme classify under allied subject

Avoid classification, which is in nature of criticism

Classify according to usefulness a particular place

BASIC RULES OF CLASSIFICATION

DETERMINING SUBJECT THE KEY ELEMENT IN DETERMINING THE SUBJECT IS THE AUTHOR’S INTENT AND TO UNDERSTAND THE SAME REFER THE FOLLOWING :-

TITLE TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER HEADINGS CHAPTER SUBHEADINGS PREFACE & INTRODUCTION SCAN THE TEXT BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCE REVIEW & REFERENCE WORK

DETERMINING DISCIPLINE AFTER DETERMINING THE SUBJECT - SELECT THE PROPER DISCIPLINE, OR FIELD OF STUDY, OF THE WORK

SELECT DISCIPLINE FOR WHICH IT IS INTENDED, RATHER THAN THE DISCIPLINE FROM WHICH THE WORK DERIVES

DISCIPLINE CLASS NUMBER

MILITARY SCIENCE 355

MILITARY ETHICS 172.42

MILITARY ENGINEERING 623

MILITARY MEDICINE 616.980 23

MILITARY MUSIC 781.599

DETERMINING FORM

AFTER DETERMINING SUBJECT & DISCIPLINE, TURN TO SUMMARIES AND SCHEDULES

GO THROUGH NOTES IN THE SCHEDULES

REFER RELATIVE INDEX FOR DETERMINING EXACT CLASS NUMBER

MODIFICATION OF CLASSIFICATION SCHEME

FICTION ALL WORKS OF FICTION AT BE MARKED ‘F’ AND TAKEN OUT OF THE SEQUENCE IN 800 AND ARRANGED IN A SEPARATE SEQUENCE ALPHABETICALLY BY NAMES OF AUTHORS

POETRY & DRAMA POETRY & DRAMAS IN SOME LANGUAGES ARE AMALGAMATED AND ALPHABETISED

BIOGRAPHY ALL BIOGRAPHICAL WORKS ARE MARKED ‘B’ AND ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY

HISTORICAL FICTION MAY BE CLASSIFIED WITH FICTION

CHILDREN BOOKS MAY BE MARKED ‘J’ FOLLOWED BY THE NUMBER ACCORDING TO DDC

MERITS OF DDC SUBJECT IS DOMINANT FACTOR AND EACH SUBJECT HAVE A PERMANENT PLACE

CONSISTENT AND EXHAUSTIVE

PROCEED TO GREAT EXTENSION TO SMALL EXTENSION SMALL INTENTION TO GREAT INTENSION

SIMPLE NOTATION

USE MNEMONIC AIDS WHICH HAVE GENERALLY SAME MEANING IN ENTIRE SCHEME

HAVE AN ELABORATIVE, SYSTEMATIC AND COMPREHENSIVE RELATIVE INDEX

PRACTICAL AND IS OF UNIVERSAL APPLICATION

DEMERITS OF DDC THERE IS NO EVOLUTION IN THE NINE MAIN CLASSES. AS A RESULT LANGUAGE IS SEPARATED FROM ITS FINISHED FORM OF LITERATURE AND HISTORY FROM ITS COLLECTORATE FORM OF SOCIAL SCIENCES. THE SCHEME REPRESENT THE STATE OF KNOWLEDGE OF 1893.

IT FAILS TO MAKE OBVIOUS PROVISIONS FOR SOME TOPICS

LITTLE SCOPE FOR CLASSIFICATION OF SUBJECTS PERTAINING TO ASIA & AFRICA

DUE TO NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS, IN THE CLASSIFICATION OF MINUTE SUBJECTS, LONG STRING OF DECIMAL NUMBERS ARE EMPLOYED

THANKS !

Education

An Introduction to Dewey's Decimal Classification (DDC)