Cathy Oxley Library Services Coordinator, Redlands College, Qld

A simple guide to using the

Dewey Decimal System

• In 1847 an American librarian named Melville Dewey made up a way of classifying books called the ‘Dewey Decimal Classification System’

• This system is now used in most libraries all over the world.

• It uses 10 categories of numbers, with decimal places to group similar things together

Melville Dewey

Dewey Decimal System

Puts similar things together

Dewey Decimal System

591.77 595.7

InsectsSea creatures

• General Knowledge• Encyclopedias• Books about

libraries & museums• Journalism• Computers• Controversial or

unexplained topics

Dewey System - 000s

• Psychology• Philosophy • Thinking about ourselves• Who am I?• Why am I here?• Ideas

• Image from:• http://www.trcc.commnet.edu/Prog_Study/Soc_Sciences/Psych/

faculty.htm

Dewey System - 100s

• Beliefs• Religions• Mythologies• Where did we come from?• Who created us?

• Images from:• http://www.womenonwaves.org/article-1020.385-

en.html• http://www.warangers.asn.au/history.htm• http://www.thaliatook.com/pix/zeus.jpg

Dewey System - 200s

• Communities - Learning to get along together

• Trade • Commerce• Politics • Government• Education• Law• Transport• Welfare• Folk lore and fairy tales• http://www.acmeanimation.com/

http://jeannero.free.fr/dessins-animes-2

Dewey System - 300s

• Languages• How do we

communicate with each other?

• Images from:• http://www.firstworldwar.com/posters/

canada4.htm• http://www.reuels.com/reuels/media/do4/

do41720-4.jpg

Dewey System - 400s

www.macalester.edu/ ~art/f2001/big/Arabic.jpg

• Natural Science• Maths• Nature and the

world around us• The universe

• The earth

• Animals

• Birds

• Reptiles

• Fish

Dewey System - 500s

• Applied Science • Technology• How we have changed

the natural world to make it more useful

• Anything that people invent, engineer, grow, manufacture, process and build

Dewey System - 600s

• Sport • Recreation• How people use

their leisure time• Art• Craft• Dance• Music

Dewey System - 700s

• Literature• The stories,

poems and plays people write in their leisure time

• http://www.nwt.literacy.ca/famlit/howtokit/writcont/p1.htm

• http://library.thinkquest.org/J001156/formwriting.GIF

• http://www.phillumeny.com/html/beginners_guide.html

Dewey System - 800s

• Geography• History• Biographies• The rest of the world• How they live now• How they lived long

ago

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracy• http://www.youthlinks.org/index.do

Dewey System - 900s

• 500 - Natural Sciences• 590 - Zoological science (animals)• 595 - Other Invertebrates

(animals without backbones)• 595.7 - Insects• 595.78 - Lepidoptera

(creatures with 4 wings & scales)• 595.789 - Butterflies

How do the numbers work?

• Location code (specific to our Library)

• Dewey Decimal number

• First 3 letters of the author’s last name

Book Labels / Call Numbers

P

595.789

TER

• BPL - Bag Primary Large• CH - Chart• P - Primary• PAR - Primary Accelerated Reader• PB - Picture Book• PM6 - Primary Multiple• R - Reference• S - Secondary• SRB - Secondary RIB-IT

Location Codes