Library Assistants Program Training

OLMC LibraryAssistant training Introduction to Dewey Decimal System 23rd April 2012

 Do you know which numbers are given to different topics? Do you know who invented the system?

What is Dewey decimal system? organises non-fiction & reference resources each subject is given a number and the books and other items are arranged on the shelves in number order, according to their topic.

Melville Dewey 1851-1931 Worked as a library assistant in a college library to help pay for his education. At 21 (1873) he invented the system that is now used to classify books and other items including internet resources, in libraries around the world. Known as the Dewey Decimal Classification system it organises information into 10 main subject areas.

How Dewey organised information 000 General Knowledge Almanacs, encyclopedias, new media, computers 100 Psychology & Philosophy Information about death & dying, ethics (ways of behaving), feelings, logic (about thinking) 200 Religions & Mythology Religions of the world – Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Bibles. 300 Social Sciences & Folklore Careers (occupations or jobs) , transport, environment and recycling, about families, how governments work, community, money. 400 Languages & Grammar Languages spoken including Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, sign languages & dictionaries.

500 Maths & Natural ScienceMaths, Animals, Chemistry, Dinosaurs, Fish, Geology,Insects, Physics, Planets and Plants600 Medicine & TechnologyComputers, inventions, Engineering, Farming, Health,Human Body, Manufacturing, Nutrition700 Arts & RecreationArchitecture, Crafts, Drawing, Games, Dance, Music,Puppets and kites, Sports800 LiteratureStories, Plays, Poetry, and all about the authors who wrotethem.900 Geography & HistoryBiographies, Countries of the world and travel, Australia,information about wars, Atlases.

 Dewey divided the 10 subject areas into smaller topics. Each topic has its own special number 500s are divided into 520, 520, 530 … Each of the 10s is divided into 510, 511, 512 … A decimal point is an even more specific sign of what the book is about

Here’s how Dewey divided 590s Suppose you are looking for a book on butterflies500 Natural sciences590 Zoology (animals)595 Other invertebrates (animals w/o backbones)595.7 Insects595.78 Lepidoptera (moths & butterflies)595.789 Butterflies

CALL NUMBERS The Dewey numbers form part of the call number of a book 1st three letters of the author’s surname follows Call number – ‘address’ of the book on the shelves The call number for a book on mammals by J.S. Brown would be 599 BRO

Fiction & faction collectionSeparate collections exist for: Junior fiction (blue/white labels) Senior fiction (pink labels) Graphic novels Biographies/autobiographies Picture fiction Class sets (yellow labels)

Cataloguing Fiction Organised by collection location (junior, senior, picture) Then first three letters of author’s surname. EG:Stephenie Meyer = MEY Books by the same author appear in alphabetical order on the shelf

Now it’s your turn …In pairs organise a set of fiction and non-fiction books as they would appear in shelf order on the tables.Ask Ms Roache or myself for assistanceWe will check when you are completed

Library Assistants Program Training

by Glenda Morris on Apr 27, 2012

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