Easler 1

Heather Easler

LIS6711

Professor: Niu

4 December 2015

Research Paper: Dewey Decimal Classification

The Dewey Decimal Classification System is the most widely used library classification

system in the world. Melvil Dewey was an assistant librarian himself when he developed this

scheme in 1873. He had created the Dewey Decimal Classification System as a classification of

knowledge with the sole purpose of organizing libraries. The first edition was published in 1876

and was composed of only forty-four pages. Today we are on the twenty second edition which is

now comprised of four volumes.

The Dewey Decimal Classification format can be defined simply as ten main classes

subdivided decimally to form a total of 1,000 categories numbered 000-999 and an alphabetical

subject index (Chan 320). The basis of the division of the main classes was actually based on an

even earlier classification system devised by W.T. Harris. However, it turns out that Harris had

based his system of classification off of yet another previous classification of knowledge devised

by Francis Bacon. Each man simply expanded upon the concepts devised by the men before

them. Bacon began classifying knowledge with only three basic categories (history, Poesy, and

Philosophy) that he believed matched the three basic functions of the human mind (memory,

imagination, and reason). When Harris came along he expanded upon Bacons three categories

by adding a few sub categories to each. Then when Dewey came along, more subcategories were

added to each main heading. In addition to expanding the number of categories, his system

introduced a new concept known as relative location. Before the Dewey Decimal Classification
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system, books were simply classified and placed in the order that the library received them with

this as their fixed locations. With relative location however, books are now numbered in terms of

their relationship to each other giving them a fluid location that leaves room for expansion.

To get more specific, in the Dewey Decimal Classification system books are given at

least a three digit number conceived in terms of divisions and subclasses that are based off of

academic disciplines. Each of the ten main classes is divided into ten divisions, and each

division is divided into ten sections, with further subdivisions made as required. (Chan 327).

The ten main classes have changed greatly over time as academic disciplines grow and evolve.

Currently the ten main classes include: computer science knowledge and systems; philosophy;

religion; social sciences, sociology, and anthropology; language; science; technology; arts;

literature, rhetoric, and criticism; and history. Each of these ten classes is represented by a

number 0-9, respectively, that becomes the first digit of the Dewey Decimal notation. Then ten

classes are then broken up into ten additional divisions that are represented by the second

number in the notation. Each of these categories are then broken into ten additional and more

specific divisions that are represented by the third number in the notation. After the third number

there is always a decimal point that represents additional specificity coming after the basic

notation.

The Dewey Decimal Classification system is important for many reasons but the most

basic of those reasons is because its purpose is that of organization. Without Dewey Decimal

Classification, libraries would still be organized chronologically through the order that the

library received the books. This is a flawed system that makes it very difficult, if not sometimes

impossible, to find a certain type of book without wasting a lot of time searching. Dewey

Decimal Classification however, created a system of organization that allows books with
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common subject matter to be grouped together in a universal, numerical order. This allows all

libraries to have a common set up for patrons to quickly and easily find books.

Since Dewey Decimal Classification is given through numerical notation that denotes

classes, books do not have fixed and permanent locations. The benefit of this is that libraries can

acquire many books over time and still have a designated place for them with reference to the

rest of their collection. Any new book is simply placed within the existing place for its Dewey

Decimal Classification subject notation. This ensures that while the places for every book are

locationally fluid, they will always remain in the same notation order simply with more books

added to that order.

While some patrons who already have a grasp of the Dewey Decimal Classification

system may arrive at a library, go straight to the computer to look up what they want, get their

numerical notation and proceed swiftly to the shelf from there, not everyone knows exactly what

they are looking for right away when they come to a library. There will be many occasions

when readers will approach the collection without any particular need in mind but wishing

instead to be able to select items at random. To help in this situation, our system should permit

browsing; a reader should be able to follow a casual train of thought as well as a planned search

(Kaplan 3). Dewey Decimal Classification gives library users the ability to browse the shelves

and look through groups of books that are related to each other without having to use a computer

or have a plan thought up ahead of time. It encourages casual browsing and gives additional

resources nearby on the subject matter that the library user is taking an interest in.

Another reason that Dewey Decimal Classification is important is because it offers a

universal system that can be used worldwide. The Dewey Decimal System is used in more than
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130 countries. The system translates since it uses all numbers, which has greater universality

than letters. More than 95 percent of public and school libraries use the system. (Adamich 1).

Since there are only ten different Arabic numbers, there is no translation of the Dewey Decimal

notation needed. While the classes may be translated into different languages, the numerical

values do not need to be making the system easily universal. In fact, The DDC has been

translated into over thirty languages. (OCLC 2). This allows people traveling to different parts

of the world the ability to still walk into many libraries and find the information that they are

looking for where it would normally be. It is convenient because Dewey is universal,

eliminating the need to learn a new system each time [people] visit a different library

(Pendergrass 59). This is valuable because it not only saves people time, but also the frustration

of not being able to find what they are looking for when they need it.

As much as the Dewey Decimal Classification system has improved libraries into what

they are today, it does have its share of problems. The two main problems with the Dewey

Decimal Classification system are how complicated the system is and how many classes there

are. While the first edition of the Dewey Decimal Classification System was only a forty-four

page pamphlet, todays twenty second edition is four volumes long. Most people who walk into a

library know that Dewey is a classification system but they do not know what all of the numbers

stand for. They may understand that books are grouped by number but have no idea how to read

that number as a code for what it really is. Remembering all of the class divisions and

subdivisions is nearly impossible to do these days since there are just so many of them.

Sometimes the notation for a book can be over six digits long which may look daunting to figure

out the meaning of. People do not want to learn an entire system of organization to be able to

find their books without the help of a computer. People want to find their books fast and simply.
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While this is possible with the use of a computer, unless you look up the book you want in a

library catalog, find its Dewey Decimal notation, and use this number to find the book, you will

be searching for quite a while looking from category to category.

A smaller problem with Dewey Decimal classification is that it is not suitable for children

to use. The connections between classes and reasons that certain groups are classified with each

other is not something that children often understand at their developmental stage. We tell

students that the 600s are about technology. Cooking isnt what kids would call

technology. (Kaplan 32). The Dewey Decimal Classification system is used throughout

elementary schools but the students who use the libraries cannot really utilize the system since

they do not understand the connections.

The Dewey Decimal Classification system is always changing and evolving as librarians

need it to. It is currently on its twenty second edition since 1876 which will certainly not be its

last edition. It is constantly under further development since the system itself was created with

possible future changes in mind. The problem though is that as the system changes, it gets more

and more complicated. It has gone from a forty-four page pamphlet to a four volume book series

on how to organize library collections. Many people these days are starting to look for a simpler

system which is currently coming from the BISAC (Book Industry Standards and

Communications) category organization system for some. The BISAC system is maintained by

the Book Industry Study Group, which classifies books into 52 broad categories, each with

additional levels of specificity. Categories for a book are typically determined by the and are

used throughout the distribution chain by companies (Fister 1). The BISAC system has an

abundant amount of categories just as the Dewey Decimal Classification system does, but

BISAC gives the books headings that label their category instead of numbers that patrons much
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decipher. People are always looking for the easiest way to find what they are looking for and

some people are saying that Dewey Decimal Classification no longer gives them that. Currently

the future of the Dewey Decimal Classification system is unclear. While it offers the

organization that is vital to maintaining a library, it is also a complicated system that only gets

more complicated with each revision.

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References

Adamich, Tom. (2014). Don't Throw the Baby Out With the Bathwater!': Positive Aspects of

Using the Dewey Decimal System. Library Media Connection. 32(5). 32-34.

Chan, Lois. (2007). Cataloging and Classification: An Introduction (3re ed.). Lanham, MD:

Scarecrow Press, INC.

Fister, Barbara. (2009). The Dewey Dilemma. Library Journal.

Kaplan, Tali; Giffard, Sue; Still-Schiff, Jennifer; Dolloff, Andrea. (2013). One Size Does Not

Fit All. Knowledge Quest. 42(2). 30-37.

Online Computer Library Center. Introduction to the Dewey Decimal Classification. Retrieved

from: http://www.oclc.org/content/dam/oclc/dewey/versions/print/intro.pdf.

Panzar, Michael. (2013). Dewey: How to Make It Work For You Knowledge Quest. 42(2). 22-

29.

Pendergrass, Devona. (2013). Dewey or Dont We?. Knowledge Quest. 42(2). 56-59.

Taylor, Arlene; Joudrey, Daniel. (2009). The Organization of Information (3rd ed.). Westport,

CT: Libraries Unlimited.