Dewey Decimal Classification Flashcards
The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), colloquially the _____ _____ _____, is a proprietary library classification system first published in the United States by Melvil Dewey in 1876.
Dewey Decimal System
The Decimal Classification introduced the concepts of _____ _____and _____ _____ which allow new books to be added to a library in their appropriate location based on subject.
relative location; relative index
How many libraries is this classification system used in?
200,000 libraries
How many countries is this classification system used in?
at least 135 countries
The Dewey Decimal Classification organizes library materials by _____ or field of study.
discipline
The scheme comprises ten _____, each divided into ten _____, each having ten _____.
classes; divisions; sections
The system’s notation uses _____ numbers, with three whole numbers making up the main classes and sub-classes and decimals designating _____ _____. The classification structure is hierarchical and the notation follows the same hierarchy.
Indo-Arabic; further divisions
Libraries not needing the full level of detail of the classification can do what to obtain more general classifications?
trim right-most decimal digits from the class number
The classification was originally enumerative. What does this mean?
that it listed all of the classes explicitly in the schedules
What are the ten classes in the DDC?
000 – Computer science, information and general works 100 – Philosophy and psychology 200 – Religion 300 – Social sciences 400 – Language 500 – Pure Science 600 – Technology 700 – Arts and recreation 800 – Literature 900 – History and geography
What are the tables used in the DDC?
T1 Standard Subdivisions
T2 Geographic Areas, Historical Periods, Biography
T3 Subdivisions for the Arts, for Individual Literatures, for Specific Literary Forms
T3A Subdivisions for Works by or about Individual Authors
T3B Subdivisions for Works by or about More than One Author
T3C Notation to Be Added Where Instructed in Table 3B, 700.4, 791.4, 808–809
T4 Subdivisions of Individual Languages and Language Families
T5 Ethnic and National Groups
T6 Languages
The _____ _____ is an alphabetical index to the classification, for use both by classifiers and by library users when seeking books by topic.
The Relative Index (or, as Dewey spelled it, “Relativ Index”).
How does a relative index work?
The index was “relative” because the index entries pointed to the class numbers, not to the page numbers of the printed classification schedule. In this way, the Dewey Decimal Classification itself had the same relative positioning as the library shelf and could be used either as an entry point to the classification, by catalogers, or as an index to a Dewey-classed library itself.
Adaptations of the system for specific regions outside the English-speaking world include the Korean Decimal Classification, the New Classification Scheme for Chinese Libraries, and the _____ _____ _____ (Japanese).
Nippon Decimal Classification
Dewey Decimal Classification numbers formed the basis of the _____ _____ _____ (UDC), which combines the basic Dewey numbers with selected punctuation marks (comma, colon, parentheses, etc.)
Universal Decimal Classification
In 2007–08, the Maricopa County Library District in Arizona abandoned the DDC in favor of the _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ (BISAC) system commonly used by _____ _____, in an effort to make its libraries more accessible for their users.
Book Industry Standards and Communications; commercial bookstores
The DDC has been criticized for being expensive to adopt.
Why is it expensive to adopt?
It is a proprietary system licensed by a single entity (OCLC).
The Dewey Decimal Classification has a number for all subjects, including fiction.
Many libraries, however, maintain a separate fiction section. How is this seperate ficition section shelved?
by alphabetical order of the author’s surname
(Each assigned number consists of two parts: a class number - from the Dewey system - and a book number, which “prevents confusion of different books on the same subject”.)
A common form of the book number is called a _____ _____, which represents the author and distinguishes the book from other books on the same topic.
Cutter number
A common form of the book number is called a _____ _____, which represents the author and distinguishes the book from other books on the same topic.
Cutter number
Who currently maintains the system?
OCLC, a non-profit cooperative that serves libraries, currently maintains the system and licenses online access to WebDewey, a continuously updated version for catalogers.
What did libraries do before the adoption of the DDC?
Libraries previously had given books permanent shelf locations that were related to the order of acquisition rather than topic.
The classification’s notation makes use of three-digit numbers for main classes, with _____ _____ allowing expansion for further detail.
Numbers are flexible to the degree that they can be expanded in linear fashion to cover _____ aspects of _____ subjects.
fractional decimals; special; general
Originally described in a four-page pamphlet, the DDC has been expanded to multiple volumes.
How many major editions has it been revised through?
23 major editions, the latest printed in 2011
