 Positions
Available
Shelving
Skills Test Study
Guide
Employee
Benefits
Application
Hours
Hiring
Policy
Volunteer
Opportunities |
Dewey Decimal Classification
The Dewey Decimal system coordinates materials on the same subject and on related subjects to make items easier to find on the shelves. The system uses a combination of letters and
numbers.
How does the Dewey Decimal system work?
The basic thing to remember about the Dewey Decimal filing system is this: file digit by digit not by whole number. For example:
451
451.01
451.012
451.023
451.04
451.04217
451.1
451.136
451.3
451.04217 comes before 451.1 because 0 is smaller than 1. Take it number by
number and stop when two numbers are different. So in the example of 451.04217 and 451.1, you would stop at the
0. That is the
first number in the sequence that is different, and 0 is smaller than 1 so it will be placed first. Look at our example list again.
Does it make more sense now?
What is a call number?
Every book in the library is given a unique call number to serve as an address for locating the book on the shelf. The call number itself is composed of two parts Dewey Decimal
Classification and the Cutter number or book number.
Cutter Numbers
The cutter number for a
book usually consists of the first letter of the author's last name and a series
of numbers. This series of numbers comes from a table that is designed to help
maintain an alphabetical arrangement of authors names within a subject area.
For example:
636.73
B38R |
Beauchamp, Richard G.
Rottweilers for dummies |
636.73
B69C |
Boyd, Lee.
Canaan dog: a complete and reliable handbook |
636.73
B72B |
Brace, Andrew H.
Dog owner's guide to the boxer |
What if the library has several works by the same author? How do we keep the call number unique? To do that a work mark or work
letter is used to distinguish the various works of a single author. The work mark is a letter that is usually the first letter of the
title of the book. For example:
746.4320432
W43K |
Weiss, Rita
Knitting for the pampered baby |
746.434041
W43T |
Weiss, Rita
24-hour crochet projects |
746.46
W43L |
Weiss, Rita
Little folks' quilts from big folks' patterns |
If two Cutter numbers are identical, except one has an additional character at the end, it is shelved after the other:
371.914016 C43 is shelved before 371.914016 C43B
REMEMBER: the cutter number is read digit by digit.
|
|
