Shelf list of books (DDC)

Introduction

The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system, was devised by Melvil Dewey (1851-1931) for classifying books and other materials by subject. It is a heirarchical system in which the arrangement of books on the shelves moves from the general to the specific. It was first published in 1876, and is being revised continuously since. The library books are broadly classified into fiction and non-fiction.

Fiction

Novels or fiction books are arranged according to genre (crime, romance, sci-fi, adventure, etc.) and then alphabetically by the author's surname.

Non-fiction

All the non-fiction books are arranged on shelves in a numerical order using DDC.

DDC numbers divide humanity's knowledge, ideas, and artistic creations into ten major categories spanning a range from 000 to 999.

Major subject categories:

000

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Each of these ten groups are divided into more specialised subject fields, again represented numerically. For example, 500 - sciences, 570 - life sciences, 574. 5 - ecology.

Certain factors are common for each group, for example, the first numbers in any area are always general works on that subject, and longer numbers represent detailed aspects. There is always a decimal point after the first three numbers. The letter and number which follow the DDC number is the first letter of the author's surname and a unique number to identify a particular book from others of the same DDC number.

Subject subdivisions:

Books

Dewey decimal classification and relative index

From Melvil Dewey to expert systems : essays in cataloguing and classification

Irrepressible reformer : a biography of Melvil Dewey

Websites