Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures and Tables
- About the authors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 A Brief History of the Dewey Decimal Classification
- 2 Governance and Revision of the DDC
- 3 Introduction to the Text
- 4 Basic Plan and Structure
- 5 Subject Analysis and Locating Class Numbers
- 6 Tables and Rules for Precedence and Citation Order
- 7 Number Building
- 8 Use of Table 1 Standard Subdivisions
- 9 Use of Table 2 Geographic Areas, Historical Periods, Biography
- 10 Use of Table 4 Subdivisions of Individual Languages and Table 6 Languages
- 11 Use of Table 3 Subdivisions for the Arts, for Individual Literatures, for Specific Literary Forms
- 12 Use of Table 5 Ethnic and National Groups
- 13 Multiple Synthesis: Deeper Subject Analysis
- 14 Classification of General Statistics, Law, Geology, Geography and History
- 15 Using the Relative Index
- 16 WebDewey
- 17 Options and Local Adaptations
- 18 Current Developments in the DDC and Future Trends
- Appendix 1 A Broad Chronology of the DDC, 1851–2022
- Appendix 2 History of Other Versions of the DDC
- Appendix 3 Table of DDC Editors
- Appendix 4 Editors of the DDC
- Appendix 5 Takeaways
- Further resources
- Glossary
- Index
Introduction
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 October 2023
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures and Tables
- About the authors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 A Brief History of the Dewey Decimal Classification
- 2 Governance and Revision of the DDC
- 3 Introduction to the Text
- 4 Basic Plan and Structure
- 5 Subject Analysis and Locating Class Numbers
- 6 Tables and Rules for Precedence and Citation Order
- 7 Number Building
- 8 Use of Table 1 Standard Subdivisions
- 9 Use of Table 2 Geographic Areas, Historical Periods, Biography
- 10 Use of Table 4 Subdivisions of Individual Languages and Table 6 Languages
- 11 Use of Table 3 Subdivisions for the Arts, for Individual Literatures, for Specific Literary Forms
- 12 Use of Table 5 Ethnic and National Groups
- 13 Multiple Synthesis: Deeper Subject Analysis
- 14 Classification of General Statistics, Law, Geology, Geography and History
- 15 Using the Relative Index
- 16 WebDewey
- 17 Options and Local Adaptations
- 18 Current Developments in the DDC and Future Trends
- Appendix 1 A Broad Chronology of the DDC, 1851–2022
- Appendix 2 History of Other Versions of the DDC
- Appendix 3 Table of DDC Editors
- Appendix 4 Editors of the DDC
- Appendix 5 Takeaways
- Further resources
- Glossary
- Index
Summary
The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) is a pioneering system of library classification, first conceived by Melvil Dewey in May 1873 when he was just 21. The mother of all modern bibliographical classifications, it is still the most widely used library classification in the world. Its use spread rapidly across the United States, then globally, after its initial publication in 1876 – as if the library world had been waiting for it. Today, about 200,000 libraries and information centers of all types in about 140 countries and more than 60 national bibliographies and other catalogs use it to organize their bibliographic resources. Its use in organizing information resources both in traditional media and non-book materials continues unabated. The DDC not only brought a revolution in facilitating the systematic arrangement of knowledge as contained in books, but also proved to be a catalyst in modernizing library management and services.
This handbook covers all aspects of this reigning classification system. For theoretical background, it describes in brief the system's eventful history of almost 150 years. The mechanics of the system, how it has constantly evolved, how it is now governed and maintained and the layout of the print version and the process of subject analysis of documents in the context of the system are explained in detail.
The overriding aim of our work is to explain the operation and application of the DDC, to give a manual to its use. We explain both its print (including print-on-demand) and electronic formats – the looks differ, but the art and science of subject analysis remain the same. This intellectual process is explained in a useful level of detail, especially in Chapter 5, with special attention to practices specific to the DDC.
Because the DDC is primarily an enumerative classification, the major emphasis is on number location through the ladder of systematic schedules (volumes 2–3 in print). With the growing provisions for number synthesis in the system, this book lays more stress on number building using the schedules and six additional tables. A chapter has been devoted to each of these aspects, including one on multiple synthesis, the multi-step number-building process requiring deep subject analysis. All of the examples have been verified and no background knowledge has been assumed on the part of the user.
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- Information
- A Handbook of History, Theory and Practice of the Dewey Decimal Classification System , pp. xix - xxPublisher: FacetPrint publication year: 2023