University College Plymouth St Mark & St John

Dewey Decimal Classification is the main classification scheme used in the UCP College Library. It is the system used most frequently in libraries, although other systems exist, particularly in academic or specialist libraries. In this scheme all subjects are given a particular number. To find a book on the library shelves you will need to know its SUBJECT NUMBER. This you can find from the computer catalogue. Sometimes the subject number is called classification number, shelf number or even call number.

These notes are intended to give a brief insight into how the system works, which hopefully will help you, find your way around the system more efficiently.

As its name implies Melvill Dewey constructed this classification system on a decimal base. Every subject is given a different number to represent it and a general book will have a lower number than the more specific book.

The ten main classes are:

000 Generalia including computers

100 Philosophy and Psychology

200 Religion

300 Social Sciences

400 Language

500 Science

600 Technology

700 The Arts

800 Literature

900 History and Geography

Thus a book given a subject number of 800 would be a very general work on Literature throughout the world.

Having found a main subject area the classification scheme breaks down the subject getting progressively more specific.

For example:

800 General Literature

810 American Literature

820 British Literature

830 German Literature

840 French Literature

and so on.

To continue the literature example to the third figure, the breakdown of the subject continues:

810 American literature in general

811 American poetry

812 American drama

813 American fiction

814 American essay

Next comes the decimal feature - that is the decimal point followed by one of more numbers depending on the degree of specificity of the book.

Examples:

813.4 American fiction 1861-1900

813.5 American fiction 1900-to date

813.52 American fiction 1900-1945

813.54 American fiction 1945-to date

The books when filed on the shelves are arranged as a decimal number. That is digit by digit so that numbers such as 623.8433 will come after 623.843 but before 623.844. Within a subject number the books are filed in alphabetical author order.

As with many libraries there are certain local quirks in use here. One main area, which differs from the subject number/author order norm, is the literature section. Here you will find firstly the works by the author in question and then at the same number a second sequence, which includes critiques, biographies etc about the writer and their works, in alphabetical order of author of the critique etc. The same system applies in the philosophy section.

There is no separate biography section. Books about a person are classified under the subject in which they are a specialist, for example: a biography of Newton will be classified with the physics books.

There is a separate Dewey sequence of large books, which are marked OVERSIZE on the catalogue entry. The book stock is split on two floors, and the Oversize books are at the beginning of the ordinary sequence on the first floor and at the end of the sequence on the second floor.

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