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Just DEWEY It. A Guide to understanding the Dewey decimal system in the library. SVHS/MS LIBRARY . What—or, um—Who, is Dewey? . In 1876, Melvil Dewey established the Dewey Decimal System, a classification system used by most libraries to organize books and other materials. .
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Just DEWEY It A Guide to understanding the Dewey decimal system in the library SVHS/MS LIBRARY
What—or, um—Who, is Dewey? In 1876, Melvil Dewey established the Dewey Decimal System, a classification system used by most libraries to organize books and other materials. kaitaolibrary.wikispaces.com
The Dewey Decimal System 400 • Languages
What’s a Call Number? A call numberis a group of numbers and/or lettersput together to tell youwhere in the libraryto find your book. A Dewey call number always hasthree numbersto the left of the decimal. So, even if it is in the 000's(we call this the zero hundreds)it would be written like this: 001.9
Dewey Call Numbers To the right of the decimal, there is no limit on number. The more numbers you add to the right of the decimal, the more specific the subject is. For example, the Dewey number for thecommercial processing of kidney beans is 664.805652
Practicing Dewey You’re looking for a guide to understanding Shakespeare. Where do you look? You are being sued. In what section would books about your rights be? You love Civil War history. What section would you most likely find books about this subject?
Let’s Get Specific Within the 10 categories, there are multitudes of sub-categories that refine the topic. For example, within 400 (language) You will find numbers for Old English (420) And even Latin (470) Let’s explore them further…
General Reference-000 000-Computers and knowledge systems 010- Biography 020-library science 030-encyclopedias 050-magazines, journals 060-associations, museums, organizations 070-news media, journalism 080-quotations 090-rare books
Philosophy & Psychology 100-Philosophy 110-Metaphysics 120-Epistemology 130-Paraphyschology 140-Philosophical schools of thought 150-Pyschology 160-Logic 170-Ethics 180-Ancient, medieval, eastern philosophy 190-Modern western philosophy
Religion-200 200-Religion 210-Theory of religion 220-The Bible 230-Chrisitanity and Christian theology 240-Christian practice and observance 250-Christian religious orders 260-Chrisitan organizations 270-Christian History 280-Christian denominations Other religions
Language-400 400-Language 410-Linguistics 420-English, Old English languages 430-German and related languages 440-French and related languages 450-Italian, Romanian and related languages 460-Spanish, Portuguese languages Latin and Italic languages Classical and modern Greek languages Other languages
Science-500 500-Science 510-Mathematics 520-Astronomy 530-Physics 540-Chemistry 550-Earth sciences, geology 560-Fossils and prehistoric life 570-Life sciences, biology 580-Plants and botany 590-Animals and zoology
Technology-600 600-Technology 610-Medicine and health 620-Engineering 630-Agriculture 640-Home and family 650-Management and public relations 660-Chemical engineering 670-Manufacturing 680-Manufuacture for specific uses 690-Building and construction
Arts & Recreation-700 700-Arts 710-Landscaping and area planning 720-Architecture 730-Sculpture, ceramics, metalwork 740-Drawing and decorative arts 750-Painting 760-Graphic arts 770-Photography and computer art 780-Music 790-Sports, games, entertainment
Literature-800 800-Literature, rhetoric, criticism 810-American literature 820-English literature 830-German literature 840-French literature 850-Italian literature 860-Spanish literature 870-Latin literature 880-Classical Greek literature Other literature
History-900 900-History 910-Geography and travel 920-Biography and genealogy 930-History of ancient worlds 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
Wow. Yes—that’s a lot of information to remember. That’s why we make it easy for you in the library! Understanding the main classifications of the dewey decimal system will help you find the materials you’re looking for faster and easier.
Ask Yourself This… When looking for a book in the non-fiction section, You need to decide whether you want to search for the book by the dewey decimal number, or by the topic of the book.
After you determine what sort of book/subject you’re looking for, follow these steps to help you find what you need!
How to Be a Professional Searcher Use common sense. Which of the Dewey subjects would your topic fall under? Follow the visual signs in the library to help guide you to that particular section. Use the labels on the shelves to see if your topic is mentioned. Read the titles on each shelf. Do they match your topic?
Final Thoughts With the ability to use the dds, you’re empowering yourself with the ability to search and utilize library resources in a way you couldn’t before. Be curious, Be PATIENT, AND USE common sense!
References kaitaolibrary.wikispaces.com http://www.thrall.org/dewey/dewbio.htm http://library.thinkquest.org/5002/ Cataloging and Classification: An Introduction by Lois Mai Chan