Dewey's
Decimal
Did It!

Using the decimal point and numbers, Melvil Dewey created a classification system for books and other library items that assigns a book or item a permanent number.

What Melvil Dewey did with the decimal and numbers has proven to be a mainstay for libraries across North America and Europe. Now, 125 years since he put his first set of numbers and deci- mals in place, his system continues to flourish---now on the Internet. Its estimated that more than 200,000 libraries in 135 counties use the Dewey Decimal System to classify library materials: books, reference material, hanging file items and information found on the World Wide Web.

The Initial DDC

The initial DDC or Dewey Decimal Classification system was described by Dewey as having what he called special libraries or classes. These classes were broken down into divisions. And these divisions were further broken down into sections. There's been debate over Dewey's sole claim to this classification system. But, as yet, there's been no resolution to that debate.

Back in the 1870's Dewey sought to change what was then a "fixed- location" system of shelving books. Under this old system, books were given a fixed physical space rather than a content classification. The old system resulted in the costly and time-consuming task of re-classifying books as a collection expanded. Dewey's idea was to classify a book once and for all. The book's classification would be the same no matter where the book was moved.

In the United States, the other classification system that is widely used is the Library of Congress or LC system.

 For more on the DDC, click on an underlined link below!