1. A STORY ABOUT THE DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM OF CLASSIFICATION

2. Get to know the DDC Have you ever gone to the library and wondered how you’d ever find the books you want?

3. Did you know that your library has a great way of organizing its books so that you can find them easily?

4. It’s called the Dewey Decimal Classification system—or DDC for short. This system got its name from Melvil Dewey, the man who had this great idea for organizing library collections. He lived from 1851 to 1931 and introduced the DDC in 1876. Mr. Dewey’s idea was so good that it has lasted for over 130 years so far and it has spread to more than 200,000 libraries in 135 countries around the world!

5. ? ? ? ? You may be wondering how you’re supposed to use the DDC. Those numbers with periods in them on the ends of the bookshelves might look confusing to you. But once you know more about the DDC, you’ll find that they make it easy for you to find the books you want.

6. The DDC helps libraries arrange the items so that library users can find them. It’s a lot like a neatly organized chest of drawers that you might have in your bedroom:  Socks in the top drawer  Underwear in the second drawer  Shirts in the third drawer  Pants in the bottom drawer

7. Let’s say you’re interested in bicycles. What you want to know about them will decide what DDC numbers you’ll need to find: –The history of bicycles –Taking care of your bicycle –Bicycle safety –Bicycle racing

8. Each of these topics is about bicycles, but a book about each of these topics will have its very own DDC number.  The history of bicycles (796.6)  Taking care of your bicycle (629.27)  Bicycle safety (388.12)  Bicycle racing (796.62)

9. Once you have the number for the book you need, you can go find the row of books where the book you want should be. The books on each shelf are arranged in number order, but if you need help, the librarian, your teacher or someone who works at the library can help you.

10. You will probably notice that when you find a specific book, other books shelved around it are usually books on a similar topic. That’s how the DDC is arranged—by topic. And boy does the DDC have lots of topics! Hundreds of them! Thousands of them!

11. Dewey chose certain main subjects and numbers, so that all nonfiction books on the same subject would be together on the shelf. He chose these subjects by imagining himself to be a prehistoric or primitive man. He asked himself questions he thought such a man would have asked.

12. 000's GENERAL WORKS The numbers up to 100 are used for bibliographies, books about books, and for books which contain information on many subjects such as encyclopedias and other reference books.

13. 100’s Who am I? PHILOSOPHY AND PSYCHOLOGY (Man thinks about himself.)

14. 200's Who made me? RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY (Man thinks about God.)

15. 300's Who is the man in the next cave? SOCIAL SCIENCE (Man thinks about other people.)

16. 400's How can I make that man understand me? PHILOLOGY (Language) (Man learns to communicate with others through words.)

17. 500's How can I understand nature and the world about me? NATURAL SCIENCE (Man learns to understand nature on the land, in the sea, and in the sky.)

18. 600's How can I use what I know about nature? APPLIED SCIENCE AND USEFUL ARTS (Technology) (Primitive man learned about fire and how to make weapons. Man through the ages learned about the wheel, about medicine, planting crops, cooking food, building bridges, and how to make all the things we use.)

19. 700's How can I enjoy my leisure time? FINE ART AND RECREATION or (arts) (By this time, primitive man had more time to do the things he enjoyed. He learned how to paint pictures and to create music. He also learned how to dance and play games.)

20. 800's How can I give my children a record of man's heroic deeds? LITERATURE (Man became a storyteller. He creates sagas, fables, epic poetry, and plays about his ancestors and the people he knew. Later, man put these into writing for all people to read.)

21. 900's How can I leave a record for men of the future? GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY (So man began to write about events that had occurred everywhere, and about people who had participated in these events.)

22. Mr. Dewey had a great idea way back in 1876 that helps library users like you today. His idea, the DDC, is your friend in the library— a friend you can always count on to help you find the information you need

23. Fiction Books Are kept in their own section of shelves These books are arranged in alphabetical order by the the author’s last name Often only the first three letters of the author’s name are in the call number Example : FIC - fiction book by E.B. White FIC WHI

24. Easy Readers Are kept in their own section of shelves These books are arranged in alphabetical order by the the author’s last name Often only the first three letters of the author’s name are in the call number Example : ER or E - Cat in the Hat- by Dr. Seuss - E SEU

25. . Once you get to know the DDC, you’ll have a much better idea about where you’ll find the books and other items you need in your library and in other libraries that use the DDC