Page 24 - DLIS405_INFORMATION_STORAGE_AND_RETRIEVAL

Unit 2: Library Classification

600 – Technology and applied Science Notes
700 – Arts and recreation
800 – Literature
900 – History, geography and biography

2.4.3 Current Use
The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system is a general knowledge organization tool that is
continuously revised to keep pace with knowledge. The system was conceived by Melvil Dewey in
1873 and first published in 1876. The DDC is published by OCLC Online Computer Library Center,
Inc. OCLC owns all copyright rights in the Dewey Decimal Classification, and licenses the system
for a variety of uses.
The DDC is the most widely used classification system in the world. Libraries in more than 135
countries use the DDC to organize and provide access to their collections, and DDC numbers are
featured in the national bibliographies of more than 60 countries. Libraries of every type apply
Dewey numbers on a daily basis and share these numbers through a variety of means (including
WorldCat, the OCLC Online Union Catalog). Dewey is also used for other purposes, e.g., as a
browsing mechanism for resources on the web.

2.4.4 Development

One of Dewey’s great strengths is that the system is developed and maintained in a national
bibliographic agency, the Library of Congress. The Dewey editorial office is located in the Decimal
Classification Division of the Library of Congress, where classification specialists annually assign
over 110,000 DDC numbers to records for works cataloged by the Library. Having the editorial
office within the Decimal Classification Division enables the editors to detect trends in the literature
that must be incorporated into the Classification. The editors prepare proposed schedule revisions
and expansions, and forward the proposals to the Decimal Classification Editorial Policy Committee
(EPC) for review and recommended action.
EPC is a ten-member international board whose main function is to advise the editors and OCLC on
matters relating to changes, innovations, and the general development of the Classification. EPC
represents the interests of DDC users; its members come from national, public, special, and academic
libraries, and from library schools.

2.4.5 Editions

The DDC is published in full and abridged editions in print and electronic versions. The abridged
edition is a logical truncation of the notational and structural hierarchy of the corresponding full
edition on which it is based, and is intended for general collections of 20,000 titles or less. WebDewey
and Abridged WebDewey, the electronic versions of the full and abridged editions, respectively,
are updated frequently and contain additional index entries and mapped vocabulary. The electronic
versions and supplemental web postings are the chief sources of ongoing updates to the DDC. On
the Dewey web site, selected new numbers and changes to the DDC are posted monthly, and
mappings between selected new Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) and Dewey numbers
are posted biweekly.

2.4.6 Structure and Notation

The DDC is built on sound principles that make it ideal as a general knowledge organization tool:
meaningful notation in universally recognized Arabic numerals, well-defined categories, well-

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