The Dewey Classification System
A Little History Melvil
Dewey, an American librarian, developed this classification system
in 1876. He felt that books on the same subject should be grouped
together to make researching easier. The system is based on ten
classes of subjects 000-999. The Dewey system is called a decimal
system because of its use of 10's. The ten main classes of the Dewey
Decimal System are each divided into 10 subdivisions (e.g., 910-990),
when decimal numbers are added the subject area becomes more specific
(e.g., 900 is the category for History, 973 is the category for
United States History and 973.4 is specifically designated for materials
on the history of the United States during the years of 1789-1809).
Learn
more about the Dewey Decimal System
000-099 General Works |
Encyclopedias, books
about books, world mysteries |
100-199 Philosophy |
Man's ideas, psychology,
logic, ESP |
200-299 Religion |
Myths and legends,
world religions |
300-399 Social Sciences |
People in groups,
government, law, vocations, customs |
400-499 Languages |
Dictionaries, English,
foreign languages |
500-599 Pure Sciences |
Mathematics, astronomy,
physics, chemistry, geology, paleontology, biology,
zoology, botany |
600-699 Technology and applied sciences |
Medicine, engineering,
agriculture, business, radio television, aviation |
700-799 The Arts |
Architecture, sculpture,
painting, music, photography, recreation |
800-899 Literature |
Poetry, plays, special
collections |
900-999 Geography and History |
States, countries,
wars, decades |
