2. Who created the Dewey Decimal
Classification System?
• Melvil Dewey was born on December 10, 1851
• Melvil Dewey created the number order system for
library books when he was 21 years old.
• Melvil Dewey started the first school for librarians.
3. Ten Main Classifications in Dewey’s
System
• The world’s knowledge is divided
into 10 categories or groups.
• Each group has a main title and is
represented by three numbers.
4. The Big Ten!
• Generalities – 000 • Science & Math – 500
• Philosophy – 100 • Technology – 600
• Religion – 200 • The Arts – 700
• Social Science – • Literature – 800
300 • Geography & History - 900
• Language – 400
5. You Can Judge A Book by It’s Cover!
• The Dewey Decimal
Classification call
number can be found
on the spine label.
• Why?
• When the book is
000 200 500 shelved, the Dewey
Mea Bya Lee
Decimal Classification
call number can be
easily seen.
13. The Arts - 700
• Drawing
• Music
• Recreational &
performing arts
14. Literature - 800
• American Literature
• Old English Literature
• Literatures of Other Languages
15. Geography
& History - 900
• Geography
• Biographies
• Ancient History
17. Review
What Do You Remember?
• Who created the Dewey Decimal
Classification System?
• What does the DDCS do for our library?
• How many main classifications are
there?
• Where do you find the DDCS number on
a library book?
18. Resources Used…
All clipart taken from the Microsoft Clipart web site:
http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx?lc=en-us&cag=1
Information on the Dewey Decimal Classification taken from:
Weisburg, H. & Toor, R. Teacher’s Portfolio of Library
Skills Lessons & Activities (1985). The Center for
Applied Research in Education, Inc.