Download - Searching for Books - Dewey Decimal System
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