Melvil Dewey developed the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system in 1876 to help organize library collections. He introduced the system while working as a librarian at Amherst College in the United States. The DDC uses a notation of up to three numeric digits separated by decimals to classify books and other materials into ten main categories that cover all fields of knowledge. It has since been translated into over 30 languages and is now the most widely used library classification system globally, helping library users find materials in over 138 countries.

2. MELVIL DEWEY
IT’S CALLED THE DEWEY DECIMAL
CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM—OR DDC.
THIS SYSTEM GOT ITS NAME FROM
MELVIL DEWEY, THE MAN WHO HAD
THIS GREAT IDEA FOR ORGANIZING
LIVED
AND
LIBRARY COLLECTIONS. HE
FROM 1851 TO 1931
INTRODUCED THE DDC IN 1876
THE DDC HELPS LIBRARIES ARRANGE THE ITEMS SO
THAT LIBRARY USERS CAN FIND THEM

3. MELVILLE LOUIS KOSSUTH DEWEY WAS
BORN ON 10 DEC 1851 IN NEW YORK.HE WAS
SON OF A HUMBLE SMALLSTOREKEEPER
IN 1870 HE JOINED AS STUDENT IN
AMHERST COLLEGE AND GRADUATED IN 1874
 IN 1872 HE JOINED COLLEGE LIBRARY AS APART TIME
LIBRARIAN
IN 1873 HE PREPARED A PLAN OF DECIMAL
CLASSIFICATION WHICH WAS IMPLEMENTED AND
APPROVED BY THE LIBRARY STAFF AND FINALLY
PUBLISHED IN 1876
STORY OF MELVIL DEWEY

4. DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION
 DDC IS MOST WIDELY USED CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM
 MORE THAN 138 COUNTRIES USE DDC
 PUBLISHED BY OCLC (ONLINE COMPUTER LIBRARY
CENTRE,INC) IN FULL AND ABRIDGED EDITIONS
 THE DDC HAS BEEN TRANSLATED INTO OVER
THIRTY LANGUAGES
 PRESENTLY 23RD EDITION IS IN USE

5. DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION
 DDC IS DIVIDED INTO :-
 10 MAIN CLASSES
(COVERS ENTIRE WORLD OF KNOWLEDGE)
 EACH MAIN CLASS IS SUBDIVIDED IN 10 DIVISIONS
 EACH DIVISION IS SUBDIVIDED INTO 10 SECTIONS
 EACH SUBDIVISION IS DIVIDED INTO FORM DIVISIONS

6. DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION
 THE MAIN STRUCTURE OF THE DDC IS PRESENTED
IN THE DDC SUMMARIES IN THE BEGINNING OF THE
VOL-2 :-
 1ST SUMMARY : 10 MAIN CLASSES
 2ND SUMMARY : 100 DIVISIONS
 3RD SUMMARY : 1000 SECTIONS

7. NOTATION OF DDC
 ARABIC NUMERALS ARE USED TO REPRESENT EACH CLASS
 THE DDC USES THE CONVENTION THAT NO NUMBER SHOULD BE
FEWER THAN THREE DIGITS.
 1ST DIGIT REPRESENT THE MAINCLASS
 500 - SCIENCE
 2ND DIGIT INDICATESDIVISION
 510
 520
 530
-
-
-
MATHEMATICS
ASTRONOMY
PHYSICS
 3RD DIGIT INDICATESSECTION
 530 - GENERAL WORKS ON PHYSICS
 531 - CLASSICAL MECHANICS
 532 - FLUID MECHANICS
 533 - GAS MECHANICS

8. NOTATION OF DDC
A DECIMAL POINT, OR DOT (.), FOLLOWS THE THIRD DIGIT
IN A CLASS NUMBER, AFTER WHICH DIVISION BY TEN
CONTINUES TO THE SPECIFIC DEGREE OF CLASSIFICATION
NEEDED
THE DOT (.) IS NOT A DECIMAL IN THE MATHEMATICAL
SENSE, BUT A PSYCHOLOGICAL PAUSE TO BREAK THE
MONOTONY OF NUMERICAL DIGITS AND TO EASE THE
TRANSCRIPTION AND COPYING OF THE CLASS NUMBER
THE NUMBER SHOULD NEVER END IN ‘0’ ANYWHERE TO
THE RIGHT OF THE DECIMALPOINT

9. 1ST SUMMARY
THE TEN MAIN CLASSES

11. 1ST SUMMARY
THE TEN MAIN CLASSES
000 COMPUTER SCIENCE, INFORMATION & GENERAL WORKS
100 PHILOSOPHY & PSYCHOLOGY
200 RELIGION
300 SOCIAL SCIENCES
400 LANGUAGE
500 SCIENCE
600 TECHNOLOGY
700 ARTS & RECREATION
800 LITERATURE
900 HISTORY & GEOGRAPHY

12. 2ND SUMMARY
THE HUNDRED DIVISIONS
(000)
COMPUTER SCIENCE, INFORMATION
& GENERAL WORKS
000 COMPUTER SCIENCE, INFORMATION & GENERAL WORKS
010 BIBLIOGRAPHIES
020 LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCIENCE
030 ENCYCLOPEDIAS & BOOKS OF FACTS
040 [UNASSIGNED]
050 MAGAZINES, JOURNALS & SERIALS
060 ASSOCIATIONS, ORGANISATIONS & MUSEUMS
070 NEWS MEDIA, JOURNALISM & PUBLISHING
080 QUOTATIONS
090 MANUSCRIPT & RARE BOOKS

13. 2ND SUMMARY
THE HUNDRED DIVISIONS
(100)
PHILOSOPHY & PSYCHOLOGY
100 PHILOSOPHY
110 METAPHYSICS
120 EPISTEMOLOGY
130 PARAPSYCHOLOGY & OCCULTISM
140 PHILOSOPHICAL SCHOOLS OF THOUGHTS
150 PSYCHOLOGY
160 PHILOSOPHICAL LOGIC
170 ETHICS
180 ANCIENT, MEDIEVAL & EASTERN PHILOSOPHY
190 MODERN WESTERN PHILOSOPHY

14. 2ND SUMMARY
THE HUNDRED DIVISIONS
(200)
RELIGION
200 RELIGION
210 PHILOSOPHY & THEORY OF RELIGION
220 THE BIBLE
230 CHRISTIANITY
240 CHRISTIAN PRACTICE & OBSERVANCE
250 CHRISTIAN PASTORAL PRACTICE & RELIGIOUS ORDER
260 CHRISTIAN ORGANISATION, SOCIAL WORK & WORSHIP
270 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY
280 CHRISTIAN DENOMINATIONS
290 OTHER RELIGIONS

15. 2ND SUMMARY
THE HUNDRED DIVISIONS
(300)
SOCIAL SCIENCES
300 SOCIAL SCIENCE, SOCIOLOGY & ANTHROPOLOGY
310 STATISTICS
320 POLITICAL SCIENCE
330 ECONOMICS
340 LAW
350 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & MILITARY SCIENCE
360 SOCIAL PROBLEMS & SOCIAL SERVICES
370 EDUCATION
380 COMMERCE, COMMUNICATION & TRANSPORTATION
390 CUSTOMS, ETIQUETTE & FOLKLORE

16. 2ND SUMMARY
THE HUNDRED DIVISIONS
(400)
LANGUAGE
400 LANGUAGE
410 LINGUISTICS
420 ENGLISH & OLD ENGLISH LANGUAGE
430 GERMAN & RELATED LANGUAGE
440 FRENCH & RELATED LANGUAGE
450 ITALIAN, ROMANIAN & RELATED LANGUAGES
460 SPANISH, PORTUGUESE, GALICIAN
470 LATIN & ITALIC LANGUAGE
480 CLASSICAL & MODERN GREEK LANGUAGE
490 OTHER LANGUAGES

17. 2ND SUMMARY
THE HUNDRED DIVISIONS
(500)
SCIENCE
500 SCIENCE
510 MATHEMATICS
520 ASTRONOMY
530 PHYSICS
540 CHEMISTRY
550 EARTH SCIENCE
560 FOSSILS & PREHISTORIC LIFE
570 BIOLOGY
580 PLANTS (BOTANY)
590 ANIMALS (ZOOLOGY)

18. 2ND SUMMARY
THE HUNDRED DIVISIONS
(600)
TECHNOLOGY
600 TECHNOLOGY
610 MEDICINE & HEALTH
620 ENGINEERING
630 AGRICULTURE
640 HOME & FAMILY MANAGEMENT
650 MANAGEMENT & PUBLIC RELATIONS
660 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
670 MANUFACTURING
680 MANUFACTURE FOR SPECIFIC USE
690 CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS

19. 2ND SUMMARY
THE HUNDRED DIVISIONS
(700)
ARTS & RECREATION
700 ARTS
710 AREA PLANNING & LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
720 ARCHITECTURE
730 SCULPTURE, CERAMICS & METALWORK
740 GRAPHIC ARTS & DECORATIVEARTS
750 PAINTING
760 PRINTMAKING & PRINTS
770 PHOTOGRAPHY, COMPUTER ARE, FILM, VIDEO
780 MUSIC
790 SPORTS, GAMES & ENTERTAINMENT

20. 2ND SUMMARY
THE HUNDRED DIVISIONS
(800)
LITERATURE
800 LITERATURE, RHETORIC & CRITICISM
810 AMERICAN LITERATURE IN ENGLISH
820 ENGLISH & OLD ENGLISH LITERATURES
830 GERMAN & RELATED LITERATURES
840 FRENCH & RELATED LITERATURES
850 ITALIAN, ROMANIAN & RELATED LITERATURES
860 SPANISH, PORTUGUESE, GALICIAN LITERATURE
870 LATIN & ITALIC LITERATURES
880 CLASSICAL & MODERN GREEK LITERATURES
890 OTHER LITERATURES

21. 2ND SUMMARY
THE HUNDRED DIVISIONS
(900)
HISTORY & GEOGRAPHY
900 HISTORY
910 GEOGRAPHY & TRAVEL
920 BIOGRAPHY & GENEALOGY
930 HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT WORLD (TO CA. 499)
940 HISTORY OF EUROPE
950 HISTORY OF ASIA
960 HISTORY OF AFRICA
970 HISTORY OF NORTH AMERICA
980 HISTORY OF SOUTH AMERICA
990 HISTORY OF OTHER AREAS

22. 3RD SUMMARY
THE THOUSAND SECTIONS
(510)
MATHEMATICS
510 MATHEMATICS
511 GENERAL APPLICATION OF MATHEMATICS
512 ALGEBRA
513 ARITHMETIC
514 TOPOLOGY
515 ANALYSIS
516 GEOMETRY
517 [UNASSIGNED]
518 NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
519 PROBABILITIES & APPLIED MATHEMATICS

23. 3RD SUMMARY
THE THOUSAND SECTIONS
(530)
PHYSICS
530 PHYSICS
531 CLASSICAL MECHANICS
532 FLUID MECHANICS
533 GAS MECHANICS
534 SOUND & RELATED VIBRATIONS
535 LIGHT & RELATED VIBRATIONS
536 HEAT
537 ELECTRICITY
538 MAGNETISM
539 MODERN PHYSICS

24. OVERVIEW OF DDC
 DDC IS BUILT ON SOUND PRINCIPLES
 NOTATIONS ARE UNIVERSALLY RECOGNIZED
 CATEGORIES ARE WELL DEFINED
 HIERARCHIES ARE WELL DEVELOPED
BASIC CLASSES ARE ORGANISED BY DISCIPLINES OF
FIELD OF STUDY

25. PRINCIPAL OF HIERARCHY
STRUCTURAL HIERARCHY
ALL TOPICS ARE PART OF THE BROADER TOPICS
ABOVE THEM
NOTATIONAL HIERARCHY
AT ANY GIVEN LEVEL IS USUALLY
TO A CLASS WHOSE NOTATION IS ONE
NUMBER
SUBORDINATE
DIGIT SHORTER
600 TECHNOLOGY (APPLIED SCIENCE)
630 AGRICULTURE & RELATED TECHNOLOGIES
636 ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
636.7 DOGS
636.8 CATS

26. NOTATIONAL HIERARCHY
700
720
725
725.8
725.82
725.822
THE ARTS
ARCHITECTURE
PUBLIC STRUCTURE
RECREATIONAL STRUCTURE
BUILDING FOR SHOWS & SPECTACLES
THEATER AND OPERA BUILDING

27. CLASSIFICATION WITH THE DDC
DETERMINE SUBJECT
DETERMINE DISCIPLINE
DETERMINE FORM
OR APPROACH

28. Classify according to subject & discipline and then the form in
which the subject is presented
 Always consider the authors intention
classify the Book on two or more subject under the
predominates subject
If there is no subject in classification scheme classify under
allied subject
 Avoid classification, which is in nature of criticism
 Classify according to usefulness a particular place
BASIC RULES OF CLASSIFICATION

29. DETERMINING SUBJECT
THE KEY ELEMENT IN DETERMINING THE SUBJECT IS THE
AUTHOR’S INTENT AND TO UNDERSTAND THE SAME REFER
THE FOLLOWING :-
 TITLE
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
 CHAPTER HEADINGS
 CHAPTER SUBHEADINGS
 PREFACE & INTRODUCTION
 SCAN THE TEXT
 BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCE
 REVIEW & REFERENCE WORK

30. DETERMINING DISCIPLINE
AFTER DETERMINING THE SUBJECT - SELECT THE
PROPER DISCIPLINE, OR FIELD OF STUDY, OF THE WORK
SELECT DISCIPLINE FOR WHICH IT IS INTENDED, RATHER
THAN THE DISCIPLINE FROM WHICH THE WORK DERIVES
DISCIPLINE CLASS NUMBER
MILITARY SCIENCE 355
MILITARY ETHICS 172.42
MILITARY ENGINEERING 623
MILITARY MEDICINE 616.980 23
MILITARY MUSIC 781.599

31. DETERMINING FORM
AFTER DETERMINING SUBJECT & DISCIPLINE,
TURN TO SUMMARIES AND SCHEDULES
 GO THROUGH NOTES IN THE SCHEDULES
REFER RELATIVE INDEX FOR DETERMINING
EXACT CLASS NUMBER

32. MODIFICATION OF
CLASSIFICATION SCHEME
FICTION ALL WORKS OF FICTION AT BE MARKED ‘F’ AND TAKEN OUT OF
THE SEQUENCE IN 800 AND ARRANGED IN A SEPARATE SEQUENCE
ALPHABETICALLY BY NAMES OFAUTHORS
POETRY & DRAMA POETRY & DRAMAS IN SOME LANGUAGES ARE
AMALGAMATED ANDALPHABETISED
BIOGRAPHY ALL BIOGRAPHICAL WORKS ARE MARKED ‘B’ AND
ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY
HISTORICAL FICTION MAY BE CLASSIFIED WITHFICTION
CHILDREN BOOKS MAY BE MARKED ‘J’ FOLLOWED BY THE NUMBER
ACCORDING TO DDC

33. MERITS OF DDC
SUBJECT HAVE A
SUBJECT IS DOMINANT FACTOR AND EACH
PERMANENT PLACE
 CONSISTENT AND EXHAUSTIVE
 PROCEED TO
GREAT EXTENSION TO SMALL EXTENSION
SMALL INTENTION TO GREAT INTENSION
 SIMPLE NOTATION
 USE MNEMONIC AIDS WHICH HAVE GENERALLY SAME MEANING IN
ENTIRE SCHEME
 HAVE AN ELABORATIVE, SYSTEMATIC AND COMPREHENSIVE
RELATIVE INDEX
 PRACTICAL AND IS OF UNIVERSAL APPLICATION

34. DEMERITS OF DDC
THERE IS NOEVOLUTION IN THE NINE MAIN CLASSES. AS A
RESULT LANGUAGE IS SEPARATED FROM ITS FINISHED FORM OF
LITERATURE AND HISTORY FROM ITS
SOCIAL SCIENCES. THE SCHEME REPRESENT THE STATE
COLLECTORATE FORM OF
OF
KNOWLEDGE OF 1893.
 IT FAILS TO MAKE OBVIOUS PROVISIONS FOR SOME TOPICS
 LITTLE SCOPE FOR CLASSIFICATION OF SUBJECTS PERTAINING
TO ASIA &AFRICA
DUE TO NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS, IN THE CLASSIFICATION OF
MINUTE SUBJECTS, LONG STRING OF DECIMAL NUMBERS ARE
EMPLOYED

35. THANKS !