Dewey Decimal System

1. Call Numbers | 2. Dewey Decimal System | 3. Locating a Book

In 1876 Melvil Dewey attempted to organized all human knowledge into 10 big, very general categories. His plan was to find a way to put all the books that covered the same topic together on the library shelves.

Step 1:

He assigned each of these categories a number from 000 to 900. Books were assigned a number for a category based on their subject/s or topic/s.  

Step 2:

Dewey then divided each of these topics in 9 more specific categories. He used a more precise number to identify the smaller categories. This made 100 possible categories. For example: 

Step 3:

Dewey then divided each of these smaller topics into 9 more specific categories. He used an even more precise number to identify the even smaller categories. This made 1000 possible categories. For example:  

What Dewey number would you give a book about surfing?

• Step 1: Surfing is a sport, and sports are in the Fine Arts category which is the 700s.
• Step 2: Within Fine Arts, the category that fits the best is Sports & Recreation which is 790.
• Step 3: Within Sports & Recreation, the category that fits the best is Aquatic & Air Sports which is 797. 

So, a book about surfing would be shelved in the 797 section. 

To summarize, all library books are assigned a number based on their topic. Then books are shelved in order by their number. This method is called the Dewey Decimal System, and many libraries use it to organize books. 

Next => Now that you understand how the Dewey Decimal System works, it it is time to learn how to locate a book on the library shelf.