Non-Fiction
The Dewey Decimal System
The
library is arranged according to the Dewey Decimal System. In
1876,Melvil Dewey decided to make finding library books easier. Up
until then each library had a different system and only librarians
could
find books because it was so complicated. Dewey believed that everyone
should be able to use libraries for themsleves so he organised books
into 10 categories according to the questions they answered about
the world and gave each category a number. This became known as the
Dewey Decimal System, which is still used in libraries across the
world today.
| Dewey Asked | The answers are in books about | The Dewey call numbers are |
| How do we organise information? | Reference and Computers | 000's |
| Who am I? | Philosohpy and Psychology | 100's |
| How did we get here? | Religion and Mythology | 200's |
| Who are the people in the world? | World Culture and Governments. The Social Sciences | 300's |
| How can I communicate with others? | Language and Grammar |
400's |
| How can I explain the world around me? | Science | 500's |
| How can I control the world around me? | Technology | 600's |
| How can I enjoy my free time? | The Arts and Recreation | 700's |
| What are the stories of our lives? | Literature | 800's |
| What was the world like in the past? | Biography, Histroy and Geography | 900's |
These categories can be be sub-divided further. For example the 340's in the social sciences category have books about law.
Non-fiction books are arranged by their Dewey number, and then by the author's surname.