Dewey Decimal Classification

The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC, also called the Dewey Decimal System) is a proprietary system of library classification developed by Melvil Dewey in 1876; it has been greatly modified and expanded through 22 major revisions, the most recent in 2004. This system organizes books on library shelves in a specific and repeatable order that makes it easy to find any book and return it to its proper place. A designation such as Dewey 16 refers to... more

The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC, also called the Dewey Decimal System) is a proprietary system of library classification developed by Melvil Dewey in 1876; it has been greatly modified and expanded through 22 major revisions, the most recent in 2004. This system organizes books on library shelves in a specific and repeatable order that makes it easy to find any book and return it to its proper place. A designation such as Dewey 16 refers to the 16th edition of the DDC. The DDC attempts to organize all knowledge into ten main classes. The ten main classes are each further subdivided into ten divisions, and each division into ten sections, giving ten main classes, 100 divisions and 1000 sections. DDC's advantage in using decimals for its categories allows it to be both purely numerical and infinitely hierarchical. It also uses some aspects of a faceted classification scheme, combining elements from different parts of the structure to construct a number representing the subject... less