Dewey Decimal System Day

How did I not know this was a thing?!?! It’s Dewey Decimal System Day! I want to share just a little information about this system of classification that is used worldwide, tell you a little bit about why it’s not always the best option, and give you some resources for finding more information.

What Is the Dewey Decimal System?

The Dewey Decimal System was created by Melvil Dewey in 1876 while working in the library at Amherst College. Dewey was only 21 years old when he created this system. It breaks down subjects into ten categories. The categories are:

• 000–099 – general works
• 100–199 – philosophy and psychology
• 200–299 – religion
• 300–399 – social sciences
• 400–499 – language
• 500–599 – natural sciences and mathematics
• 600–699 – technology
• 700–799 – the arts
• 800–899 – literature and rhetoric
• 900–999 – history, biography, and geography

I would say that most public libraries in the United States use the Dewey Decimal System in some parts of their library. But, more and more librarians are arguing that it might not be the best way to organize materials.

Problems & Isuses

Let’s start with the most obvious problem with the Dewey Decimal System – it was created in 1876 by a white male in the United States. That being said, in today’s much more diverse and global world, there are categories that are greatly lacking the subcategories needed to organize books correctly. The Dewey Decimal System does get updated, but it takes a really long time to update topics and vocabulary.

Another issue that many librarians are finding is that it can be extremely difficult for patrons to understand the system. Patrons want to browse for the material they want. Think about a bookstore, books are categorized in larger groups and can be browsed easily. Unlike the Dewey Decimal System, where a patron can browse for information about their health in the 300s, but then may have to head to the 610s for more science-based information, and might have to move to the 640s for healthy cookbooks.

Resources

If you’re looking to teach little ones about the Dewey Decimal System, definitely check out Little Library Learners for great books and lots of great activities! Although this is specific to the Lewistown Public Library, this is a great YouTube video with some explanation of where to find some of your favorite subjects. Check out this website for a great breakdown of where to find major concepts within the categories. I even discussed this very topic way back in 2012 here on the blog. If you want to dive deep, check out LibraryThing where you can dig into individual parts of the classification system and learn more!

If you’re looking to blow some kids’ minds ask them where you might find pets in the nonfiction section. Spoiler: pets are not found in natural science in the 500s, they’re actually in the 600s under technology for domesticated animals. We shared this with our middle schoolers and they were so confused. And they were ready to argue why it was the wrong place!

It’s definitely not perfect but librarians need some sort of system to organize books so they can easily be found. Some libraries are creating hybrid systems and some are completely changing how they organize their books. Maybe someday public libraries will adopt a new way to organize nonfiction, but until then, we have the Dewey Decimal system.