The Dewey Decimal System

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The Dewey Decimal System

• Connie Poulsen-Hollin
• Erica Rorvik
• Valorie McKain

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Melville Louis Kossuth Deweya.k.a. Melvil Dui

• Born December 10, 1851, to Joel and Eliza Greene
  Dewey in Adams Center, New York
• Fifth child, second son
• Marion(1833)
• Manfred (1839)
• Marietta (died in infancy, born 1842)
• Marissa (1844)
• Died December 26, 1931 (after a stroke)

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Dewey and his parents

• Mothers Church Independent Seventh Day Baptist
  Church of Adams
• Fathers Church Adams Center Baptist Church
• Dewey chose to attend both churches but was
  baptized in his fathers church at the age of 12

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Deweys family life

• Parents favored education-- the goal to build
  character
• Sister took care of Dewey most of his growing up
  years
• Extended family was important to his parents --
  relatives were thick as blackberries (Wiegand,
  1996) according to Dewey

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Deweys World Work begins

• Age 14 joins the Templars
• Age 15 Dewey starts diary -- entry indicates he
  is Five feet and a fourth inches tall, 120 pounds
  and worth 125.
• Settled on reform as his lifes work and
  purchased a pair of cufflinks with an R to
  remind him
• Age 17 -- talking about his destiny

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Schooling

• 1868 Hunderford Collegiate Institute
• 1869 Oneida Institute
• 1870 Amherst College
• Deweys diary says he is now 6 feet tall, 160
  pounds and worth 225

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Deweys Reforms

• Metric System
• Spelling reform
• Provision of public libraries with good
  organization
• Shorthand
• Was stuck on simplicity and efficient use of
  time

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Deweys Accomplishments

• Assistant Librarian Amherst College 1874-1876
• Creation of the American Metric Bureau
• Charter Member and secretary of the Spelling
  Reform Association
• Creation of the Dewey Decimal System
• Helped establish American Library Association
• Secretary 1876-1890
• President for 1890/1891 and 1892/1893

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Deweys Accomplishments

• Co-founder and Editor for Library Journal
• Established first library training school at
  Columbia College 1887
• Director New York State Library, Albany 1889-1906

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Dewey Decimal System

• Dewey studied Cutter, Harris, Shurtleff, Jewett
  and Schwartzs classification schemes and looked
  at each systems strengths and weaknesses
• Solution came in the midst of a very long sermon
  one Sunday morning- decimals
• Submitted scheme May 8, 1873 to the Amherst
  College Library Committee-- finished in 1876

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DDC - How it works

• Code of three digit numbers
• First digit the main DDC group
• Second digit is the subdivision of the main group
• Third digit allows more specific subject
  information
• Additional digits after the decimal point allow
  for further specificity

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DDC Main Categories
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DDC Main Categories
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Subdivisions Example

• 700 Arts (general)
• 710 Civic and landscape art
• 720 Architecture
• 730 Sculpture
• 740 Decorative arts
• 750 Painting
• 760 Graphic Arts
• 770 Photography
• 780 Music
• 790 Recreation

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How students were taught to use DDC10 years ago
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Benefits of DDC

• Helps find the book quickly
• Allows for browsing on the shelves
• Helps shelve the book in the appropriate place
  again
• Used worldwide (over 135 countries in 2004)
• Format is easy to understand use
• Drop-Back Theory other tricks can help one's
  search
• Can continually expand

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Disadvantages to DDC

• Categories are now overlapping or have shifted
• Psychology vs. Philosophy
• Architecture Buildings
• Wicca
• Focuses on Western thoughts
• Heirarchical Format
• Other languages cultures are provided minimal
  space or are thrown together under one category
• Other cultures/patrons feel conquered

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Disadvantages to DDC

• Call numbers can get lengthy
• Bookstore format allows greater access and use
• Fiction is usually shelved separately from Dewey
• Non-fiction separated from fiction
• Cutting off access for males especially
• Anthologies are set apart from single works by
  authors
• Explaining non-fiction Dewey in relation to
  fairy tales, and such

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Updates to DDC

• Created in 1876 some things didnt exist back
  then, OCLC updates it
• Official website www.oclc.org/dewey/
• PDF download of information about the 22nd
  edition published mid-2003 http//www.oclc.org/dew
  ey/versions/ddc22print/
• Dewey Decimal Classification and Relative Index.
  Edition 22. Four volumes. 2003. Permanent paper.
  ISBN 0-910608-70-9 -- Cost from OCLC 375

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Exceptions to DDC

• Fiction books are usually shelved in a different
  section alphabetically by authors last names
• Oversize books or other media may be shelved
  elsewhere, where space is appropriate
• Not the only classification system other main
  one is Library of Congress Catalog system

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References

• Dewey Decimal Classification. (2007). In
  Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved July 9, 2007,
  from Encyclopædia Britannica Online
  http//www.britannica.com/eb/article-9030189
• Drop back theory (specific to general).
  Retrieved July 15, 2007, from "Do we" really know
  Dewey? Web site http//www.columbia.k12.mo.us/dre
  /dewey/
• Fowler, A. (1996). The Dewey Decimal System. New
  York Childrens Press (pages 14, 15, and 25)
• General to specific. Retrieved July 15, 2007,
  from "Do we" really know Dewey? Web site
  http//www.columbia.k12.mo.us/dre/dewey/
• Hogsett, Nancy (2006).Teaching Dewey. Library
  Media Connection. 24, 28-31

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References (cont.)

• Hopkins, Sarah (2007).Decimating Dewey
  Introducing a bookshop arrangement for shelving
  the nonfiction collection. Australasian Public
  Libraries and Information Services. 20, 8-13.
• Kua, Eunice (2004).Non-Western languages and
  literatures in the Dewey Decimal Classification
  Scheme. Libri. 54, 256-265.
• Melvil Dewey Biography. (2007) Retrieved July 10,
  2007 from http//www.oclc.org/dewey/resources/biog
  raphy/
• Tapper, Janet (2006).Dewey does a number on
  Wicca. Library Journal. 131, 16.
• Wiegand, W.A. (1996) Irrepressible Reformer A
  biography of Melvil Dewey. Chicago ALA

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Other sites to check out

• Melvil Dewey Father of Librarianship by Kristen
  Patschke December 12, 2000 http//www.booktalking.
  net/books/dewey/
• Dewey decimal classification and relativ index
  for libraries. sic http//www.spellingsociety.or
  g/news/media/dewey.php August 29, 2006

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What do you think?

• Do We Keep Dewey?

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Questions or would that be Kweschuns?