Dewey Decimal Classification System Presented to Second & Third Grade Students Developed by Karen Ward Library Media Specialist Eichold-Mertz Elementary School

Who created the Dewey Decimal Classification System? Melvil Dewey was born on December 10, 1851 Melvil Dewey created the number order system for library books when he was 21 years old. Melvil Dewey started the first school for librarians.

Ten Main Classifications in Dewey’s System The world’s knowledge is divided into 10 categories or groups. Each group has a main title and is represented by three numbers.

The Big Ten! Generalities – 000 Philosophy – 100 Religion – 200 Social Science – 300 Language – 400 Science & Math – 500 Technology – 600 The Arts – 700 Literature – 800 Geography & History - 900 Brings order to the massive amount of world knowledge

You Can Judge A Book by Its Cover! The Dewey Decimal Classification call number can be found on the spine label. Why? When the book is shelved, the Dewey Decimal Classification call number can be easily seen. 200Bya 500 Lee 000 Mea

Generalities - 000 Encyclopedias News media Rare Books Encyclopedias, References

Philosophy - 100 Paranormal phenomena Psychology Logic Man thinks

Religion - 200 Bible History of Christianity Other Religions About God

Social Science - 300 Law Education Folklore About man’s neighbors

Language - 400 English Spanish Other Languages Man talks with other men

Natural Science & Math - 500 Mathematics Earth sciences Plants Animals Man discovers all that is around him

Technology – 600 Medicine Agriculture Family living Man makes useful things

The Arts - 700 Drawing Music Recreational & performing arts Man makes beautiful things

Literature - 800 American Literature Old English Literature Literatures of Other Languages Man writes

Geography & History - 900 Geography Biographies Ancient History Man writes about travel, people, and events

Flashback! What Do You Remember? Who created the Dewey Decimal Classification System? What does the DDCS do for our library? How many main classifications are there? Where do you find the DDCS number on a library book?

Resources Used… All clipart taken from the Microsoft Clipart web site: Information on the Dewey Decimal Classification taken from: Weisburg, H. & Toor, R. Teacher’s Portfolio of Library Skills Lessons & Activities (1985). The Center for Applied Research in Education, Inc. http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx?lc=en-us&cag=1