Dewey Decimal Classification
|
|
The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC, also called the Dewey Decimal System) is a system of library classification developed by Melvil Dewey (1851–1931) in 1876, and since greatly modified and expanded in the course of the twenty-two major revisions which have occurred up until 2004.
| Contents |
How it works
The DDC attempts to organize all knowledge into ten main classes that, excluding the first class (000 Computers, information and general reference), proceed from the divine (philosophy & religion) to the mundane (history & geography). DDC's cleverness is in choosing decimals for its categories; this allows it to be both purely numerical and infinitely hierarchical. It also is a faceted classification, combining elements from different parts of the structure to construct a number representing the subject content (often combining two subject elements with linking numbers and geographical and temporal elements) and form of an item rather than drawing upon a list containing each class and its meaning.
Except for general works and fiction, works are classified principally by subject, with extensions for subject relationships, place, time or type of material, producing classification numbers of not less than three digits but otherwise of indeterminate length with a decimal point before the fourth digit, where present (e.g. 330 for economy + 94 for Europe = 330.94 European economy; 973 for United States + 005 form division for periodicals = 973.005, periodicals concerning the United States generally); classmarks are to be read as numbers, in the order: 050, 220, 330.973, 331 etc. Any letter should be read as preceding any number that might have occupied the same character position, so "330.94 A" would come before 330.943. The system uses ten main classes, which are then further subdivided. Each main class has ten divisions and each division has ten sections. Hence the system can be neatly summarized in 10 main classes, 100 divisions and 1000 sections. It is a common misconception that all books in the DDC are non-fiction. However, the DDC has a number for all books, including those that generally become their own section of fiction. If DDC rules were strictly followed, American fiction would be classified in 813. Most libraries create a separate fiction section because of the space that would be taken up in the 800s.
Main classes
The system is made of up ten categories:
- 000 Computers, information and general reference
- 100 Philosophy and psychology
- 200 Religion
- 300 Social sciences
- 400 Language
- 500 Science and mathematics
- 600 Technology
- 700 Arts and recreation
- 800 Literature
- 900 History and geography
Classes
See List of Dewey Decimal Classes (http://www.tnrdlib.bc.ca/dewey.html).
Cultural bias of the DDC
DDC is commonly used in public and school libraries throughout the world. The schedule contains marked geographical biases derived from its 19th century origins: Northern Africa for instance occupies all of 961–965, the rest of the continent only 966–969. It is still more biased towards Christianity against other religions, the former covering all of 220–289, while all others get only 292–299 to share. Recent versions permit another religion to be placed in 220–289, with Christianity relegated to 298, but this is mainly used by libraries operated by non-Christian religious groups, especially Jewish ones. The DDC has also been criticized for its treatment of literature (800). Because primacy is given to language, national literatures get scattered. For example, Canadian literature in English is classed under English & Old English (820) literatures while Canadian literature in French is classed under French literatures (840). The only exception is for American literature (810); a reflection of the Anglo-American bias inherent in the system.
DDC compared to other classification systems
DDC's numbers formed the basis of the more expressive but complex Universal Decimal Classification, which combines the basic Dewey numbers with selected punctuation marks (comma, colon, parentheses etc.). Despite its frequent revision, DDC is widely considered theoretically inferior to other more modern systems which make freer use of alphabetical characters to produce shorter classmarks for concepts of equal complexity, though it continues to offer a more expressive format than the Library of Congress Classification developed shortly afterward.
Ownership
The Online Computer Library Center acquired the trademark and any copyrights associated with the Dewey Decimal System when it bought Forest Press in 1988. OCLC classifies new books and maintains the classification system. In September 2003, the OCLC sued the Library Hotel for trademark infringement. The settlement was that the OCLC would allow the Library Hotel to use the system in its hotel and marketing. In exchange, the Hotel would acknowledge the Center's ownership of the trademark and make a donation to a nonprofit organization promoting reading and literacy among children.
000 Generalities 010 Bibliography 020 Library & information science 030 General encyclopedias 040 Not used 050 General serial publications 060 Organizations 070 Journalism, publishing, media 080 General collections 090 Manuscripts & rare books 100 Philosophy & Psychology 110 Metaphysics 120 Epistemology, causation, humankind 130 Paranormal phenomenon 140 Specific philosophical schools 150 Psychology 160 Logic 170 Ethics 180 Ancient, medieval, Oriental philosophy 190 Modern western philosophy 200 Religion 210 Philosophy & theory of religion 220 Bible 230 Christianity 240 Christian moral & devotional theology 250 Christian orders & local church 260 Social & ecclesiastical theology 270 History of Christianity & Christian sects 280 Christian denominations 290 Comparative religion & other religions 300 Social Sciences 310 Statistics 320 Political science 330 Economics 340 Law 350 Public administration & military science 360 Social programs & services 370 Education 380 Commerce 390 Customs, etiquette, folklore 400 Language 410 Linguisitics 420 English & Old English 430 Germanic 440 Frechn 450 Italian, Romanian, Rhaeto-Romanic 460 Spanish & Portuguese 470 Latin 480 Greek 490 Other languages 500 Natural Sciences & Math 510 Math 520 Astronomy 530 Physics 540 Chemistry 550 Earth sciences 560 Paleontology 570 Life sciences 580 Plants 590 Animals 600 Technology & Applied Sciences 610 Medicine 620 Engineering 630 Agriculture 640 Home economics (cooking) 650 Management 660 Chemical engineering 670 Manufacturing 680 Manufacture for specific uses 690 Building 700 Arts, Sports, Recreation 710 Civic & landscape art 720 Architecture 730 Plastic arts (sculpture) 740 Drawing & decorative art 750 Painting 760 Graphic arts 770 Photography 780 Music 790 Recreation, performing arts, sports 800 Literature & Rhetoric 810 American 820 English & Old English 830 Germanic 840 French 850 Italian, Romanian 860 Spanish, Portuguese 870 Latin 880 Greek 890 Other literatures 900 Geography, History, Biography 910 Geography, travel 920 Biography, genealogy, insignia 930 Ancient world 940 Europe 950 Asia 960 Africa 970 North America 980 South America 990 Other areas
External links
- OCLC's Dewey Decimal website (http://www.oclc.org/dewey/)
- Full text of A Classification and Subject Index for Cataloguing and Arranging the Books and Pamphlets of a Library (Dewey Decimal Classification) (http://www.gutenberg.net/etext/12513) (1876) from Project Gutenbergde:Dewey Decimal Classification
fr:Classification décimale de Dewey id:Klasifikasi Desimal Dewey it:Classificazione decimale Dewey he:שיטת דיואי nn:Deweys desimalklassifikasjon fi:Deweyn luokittelu zh-cn:杜威十进制图书分类法 pt:Classificação Decimal de Dewey