How To Use the Dewey Decimal System
The Dewey Decimal System organizes information into 10 broad areas, which are broken into smaller and smaller topics. Different topics are assigned numbers, known as "call numbers." For example, "Tigers" are given the number 599.756. To see what books the library currently has in on tigers, go to the nonfiction shelves and find the books that have that number on their spine label. A list of some of the information you can find in the different Dewey Decimal areas appears below.
You can learn more about the Dewey Decimal System and how it works in the book The Dewey Decimal System by Allan Fowler. The call number for this book is: J 025.431 Fo.
Dewey Decimal System
- 000 General Knowledge
Almanacs, Encyclopedias, Libraries, Museums, Newspapers ...
- 100 Psychology and Philosophy
Death & Dying, Ethics, Feelings, Logic, Making Friends, Optical Illusions, Superstitions ...
- 200 Religions and Mythology
Amish, Bible Stories, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Quakers, and other world religions; Greek, Roman and other myths...
- 300 Social Sciences and Folklore
Careers, Customs, Environment, Families, Folktales, Government, Manners, Money, Recycling ...
- 400 Languages and Grammar
Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Sign Language, Spanish. Includes dictionaries...
- 500 Math and Science
Animals, Biology, Chemistry, Dinosaurs, Fish, Geology, Insects, Physics, Planets, Plants ...
- 600 Medicine and Technology
Computers, Cookbooks, Engineering, Farming, Health, Human Body, Inventions, Manufacturing, Nutrition ...
- 700 Arts and Recreation
Architecture, Crafts, Drawing, Games, Jokes, Movies, Music, Puppets, Songbooks, Sports ...
- 800 Literature
Children's Literature, Plays, Poetry, Shakespeare, Writing ...
- 900 Geography and History
Biographies, Countries, Native Americans, States, Travel, Wars ...
