Dewey Decimal System

1. Dewey Decimal
Classification System
Library Media Class

2. Melvil Dewey
 Created Dewey
Decimal system, a
library classification
system
 Copyrighted the
system in 1876

3. Who created the Dewey Decimal
Classification System?
 Melvil Dewey was born on December 10, 1851
 Melvil Dewey created the number order system
for library books when he was 21 years old.
 Melvil Dewey started the first school for
librarians.

4. Ten Main Classifications in
Dewey’s System
The world’s knowledge is divided
into 10 categories or groups.
Each group has a main title and is
represented by three numbers.

5. The Big Ten!
 Generalities – 000
 Philosophy – 100
 Religion – 200
 Social Science –
300
 Language – 400
 Science & Math – 500
 Technology – 600
 The Arts – 700
 Literature – 800
 Geography & History - 900
Brings order to the massive
amount of world knowledge

6. You Can Judge A Book by Its
Cover!
 The Dewey Decimal
Classification call
number can be found on
the spine label.
 Why?
 When the book is
shelved, the Dewey
Decimal Classification
call number can be
easily seen.
500
Lee
200
Bya
000
Mea

7.  Call # is what you
see on the spine of
the book
 It tells you where the
book is found
 It’s the book address
 In early libraries,
closed stacks were
used
 Patrons had to
request or “call for”
the book using that
number
Call Number

8. Generalities - 000
Encyclopedias
News media
Rare Books
Encyclopedias, References

9. Philosophy - 100
Paranormal phenomena
Psychology
Logic
Man thinks

10. Religion - 200
Bible
History of Christianity
Other Religions
About God

11. Social Science - 300
Law
Education
Folklore
About man’s neighbors

12. Language - 400
English
Spanish
Other Languages
Man talks with other men

13. Natural Science
& Math - 500
Mathematics
Earth sciences
Plants
Animals
Man discovers
all that is
around him

14. Technology – 600
Medicine
Agriculture
Family living
Man makes useful
things

15. The Arts - 700
Drawing
Music
Recreational & performing
arts
Man makes
beautiful things

16. Literature - 800
American Literature
Old English Literature
Literatures of Other Languages
Man writes

17. Geography
& History - 900
Geography
Biographies
Ancient History
Man writes about
travel, people, and
events

18. Flashback!
What Do You Remember?
Who created the Dewey Decimal
Classification System?
What does the DDCS do for our
library?
How many main classifications are
there?
Where do you find the DDCS number
on a library book?

19. Resources Used…
All clipart taken from the Microsoft Clipart web site:
Information on the Dewey Decimal Classification taken from:
Weisburg, H. & Toor, R. Teacher’s Portfolio of Library Skills
Lessons & Activities (1985). The Center for Applied Research in
Education, Inc.
http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx?lc=en-us&cag=1