Embedded Files
Have you ever been to the library and wondered how they keep track of all those books? Well, the library has a system called the Dewey Decimal System and it helps organize all those books.
December 10th is Dewey Decimal System Day!
Have you wondered why the non-fiction books in the West Springfield Public Library, our school library, and other libraries are arranged on the shelves the way they are? What do all those numbers on the books’ spines (call numbers) mean? The Dewey Decimal System is a way to put books in order by subject. It is often used in public libraries and schools in the United States and other countries. It places the books on the shelf by subject using numbers from 000 to 999. It is called "decimal" because it uses numbers to the right of the decimal point for more detail. Each subject has its own group of numbers. The system was created by Melvil Dewey, born on December 10th, 1851.
The Dewey Decimal System organizes information by grouping books about the same subject together. From the general to the specific, a book’s subject is represented by a series of numbers between 000 and 999. These numbers are used to create the spine codes, known as “call numbers,” for each item.
000 – Computer science, information, and general works
100 – Philosophy and psychology
200 – Religion
300 – Social sciences
400 – Language
500 – Science
600 – Technology
700 – Arts and recreation
800 – Literature
What is a Dewey Decimal Number?
What is a Dewey Decimal Number?
A Dewey Decimal Number always has three numbers to the left of the decimal point. There is no limit to how many numbers can be after the decimal point. The more numbers that are added after the decimal, the more specific the subject. So by looking at the example below, you can see that a book with the number 567.9 will be about dinosaurs in general, but a book with 567.91290228 is about a specific dinosaur.
https://www.barrielibrary.ca/bpl-for-me/kids/dewey-decimal-system
From a young age, Melvil Dewey focused on organization, simplification, and efficiency. Born as "Melville", he actually removed letters from his name he found unnecessary, becoming Melvil, which he believed was more efficient! He applied his vision for a more organized and efficient world at the Amherst College library, when he was given the job of reclassifying their books while working there as a student assistant at the age of 21. He developed his classification system, the Dewey Decimal System!
https://www.nationaldaystoday.com/decimal-dewey-system-day/
Visit a library and explore using the
Dewey Decimal System!
Introduction to the Dewey Decimal Sysytem
https://sixthformstudyskills.ncl.ac.uk/libraries/overview-the-dewey-decimal-system/
https://portolalibraryandmedia.weebly.com/dewey-decimal-system.html
Dorothy Louise Porter Wesley (May 25, 1905 – December 17, 1995) was a librarian, bibliographer and curator, who built the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University into a world-class research collection. She was the first African American to receive a library science degree from Columbia University. Porter published numerous bibliographies on African-American history. When she realized that the Dewey Decimal System had only two classification numbers for African Americans, one for slavery and one for colonization, she created a new classification system that ordered books by genre and author.
https://kids.kiddle.co/Dorothy_B._Porter
All of the libraries that Porter consulted for guidance relied on the Dewey Decimal Classification. “Now in [that] system, they had one number—326—that meant slavery, and they had one other number—325, as I recall it—that meant colonization,” she explained in her oral history. In many “white libraries,” she continued, “every book, whether it was a book of poems by James Weldon Johnson, who everyone knew was a black poet, went under 325. And that was stupid to me.”
Consequently, instead of using the Dewey system, Porter classified works by genre and author to highlight the foundational role of black people in all subject areas, which she identified as art, anthropology, communications, demography, economics, education, geography, history, health, international relations, linguistics, literature, medicine, music, political science, sociology, sports, and religion.
How is the Dewey Decimal System Organized ?
How is the Dewey Decimal System Organized ?
Dewey made 10 categories into which all non-fiction books could be placed. He then gave each category a name based on the information presented in the books. The category of the book is represented by the first digit. Each category is further broken down into divisions, which are represented by the second digit, and each division is further broken down into sections, the third number of the three-digit system. Let's look at an example.
Let's say you are looking for a book on lions. The book would be under the main category of Natural Science (nature). The natural sciences fall in the 500 category. So 500-599 are all in the natural sciences section. Lions are animals, which are in the 590 division, and more specifically, lions are mammals, which are in the 599 section. Many libraries are sorted even further down than that. So 500 is natural sciences, 599 is mammals and lions have a decimal point of 7. So the lion books would be under 599.7. This very specific number helps a ton if you are in a very big library where there are hundreds of mammal books to look through.
https://study.com/academy/lesson/dewey-decimal-system-lesson-for-kids.html
Melvil's Dewey System
Race for the Book
Race for the Book
This game is perfect for teaching the Dewey Decimal System because it gets kids up and moving. It’s like an academic relay! Here’s how you play: divide students into two or three teams. Give each student a call number of a book. Each student must find their book and bring it to the next person in line to verify it is the right book before the next student can go find his own book. Whichever team is quickest and retrieves the correct books win!
Dewey Scavenger Hunt
Dewey Scavenger Hunt
Make a library scavenger hunt to teach kids how to find books using the Dewey Decimal System. Here is how you can create this activity. Split the class into three or four groups. Give each team a set of instructions (try and give each team a different hunt, i.e. various books to find). In the first set of instructions lay out the rules of the hunt: no running, no yelling, finding the book for the next clue, etc. Each time the students locate the correct book, inside will be instructions for the next clue. Set out five clues and one final place to claim their prize. Whichever team completes the tasks wins!
Page updated
Report abuse