A Short Story About Dewey
Melville Louis Kossuth Dewey Born December 10, 1851 His intense interest in simplified spelling caused him to once change his name to Melvil Dui Established the American Library Association in 1876 Co-founded and edited Library Journal
Melvil Dewey Melvil Dewey died after suffering a stroke on December 26, 1931 at age 80 Buried in New York, Essex County, state near Lake Placid
Some years ago, Melvil Dewey devised a system for classifying books. The system has come into use all around the world. It has been explained that he devised the system by imagining himself as a prehistoric or primitive man and asked himself questions he believed such a man would ask. This presentation demonstrates those questions in a manner designed to entertain as well as educate. It has become known as the Dewey Decimal Classification System.
Who am I? 100 Philosophy and Psychology Man thinks about himself.
Who made me? 200 Religion Man thinks about his Creator.
Who is the man in the next cave? 300 Social Sciences Man thinks about other people.
How can I make that man understand me? 400 Philology – Language Man learns to communicate with others through words and signs.
How can I understand nature and the world around me? 500 Science Man learns to understand the nature of air, land, and sea.
How can I use what I know about nature? 600 Applied Science/Useful Arts Primitive man learned about fire and how to make weapons; over time, he also learned about the wheel, medicine, planting crops, cooking food, building useful structures, and how to make things to ease our burdens.
How can I enjoy my leisure time? 700 Fine Arts and Recreation As time passes, man learns about painting pictures, creating music, as well as dancing to music, playing games, Sports, and hunting.
How can I pass on man’s heroic deeds? 800 Literature Man becomes a storyteller; he creates sagas, fables, epics, poems, plays about relatives, friends, and characters; he writes for others to read, learn, and enjoy.
How can I leave a record for people of the future? 900 History, Geography, and Biography Man writes about what happened, where it happened, and who made it happen.
What else is there? 000 General Works The numbers up to 100 are used for books about books, and for books that contain information on many subjects such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, and other reference books; – much of the sorts of books one would find in the reference section of the library.
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