The Dewey Decimal System has ten main numerical classifications:

About the Dewey Decimal Classification System:

The Dewey decimal system of classification is named for the American librarian

Melvil Dewey (1851-1931), who developed it in 1876. Dewey was founder of the American Library Association, and started the first library school at Columbia

University in 1887. The Dewey decimal classification system breaks human knowledge down into 10 main categories, represented numerically. Decimal numbers are added to the main numerical categories to represent more and more specific subject

areas. For example, Dewey decimal number 598 is the category for birds generally, while the eagle, a specific bird, receives a call number of 598.916. Truth is, the organization of the Dewey Decimal system often doesn’t make a lot of sense, but information doesn’t always fit into neat categories either…

The Dewey Decimal System has ten main numerical classifications:

000 Generalities

100 Philosophy and Psychology 200 Religion

300 Social Science 400 Language

500 Natural Science and Mathematics

600 Technology (Applied Sciences) 700 Arts

800 Literature

900 Geography and History

The Dewey Decimal Numbers can be broken down

into subject groups that are relatively coherent:

Books, Reference:

pg. 1

Information & News:

pg. 1

Computers & the Internet:

pg. 1

Metaphysics, Strange & Unusual:

pg. 1

Philosophy & Psychology:

pg. 1

Religion & Mythology:

pgs. 1, 2

Society, Government, Law:

pgs. 2, 3

Business, Economics& Investing:

pg. 3

Jobs & Careers:

pg. 3

Languages & Dictionaries:

pg. 3

Writing, Literature, Poetry & Plays:

pg. 4

Arts, Crafts, Architecture, Music & Dance:

pg. 4

Science & Mathematics:

pgs. 4, 5

Geography & Travel, History & Biographies:

pg. 5

Home & Garden:

pg. 5

Health & Family, Pets:

pg. 6

Education & Testing:

pg. 6

Computers & the Internet

004 Computers & the Internet

005 Computer Programs / Programming

Books, Reference,

Information & News

Books:

002 Books 010 Bibliography 070 Publishing 070.5028 Desktop publishing 090 Rare books

Reference, Information & News:

020 Library and information science 031 Encyclopedias

031.02 Trivia 070 Journalism

070, 302.23 News media

Metaphysics, Strange & Unusual

000.942 UFOs

001.9 Unsolved Mysteries

133 Occultism and supernatural 133 Parapsychology 133.3 Prophecies 133.4 Black Magic 133.4 Voodoo 133.4 Witchcraft 133.422 Satanism 133.5 Astrology 135.3 Dreams

Psychology (continued):

155.6 Psychology, adult 155.9042 Stress 155.937 Death 158.1 Self help 158.2 Interpersonal relations 305.3 Sex roles 616.8 Psychiatric disorders 616.85236 Multiple personality 616.8527 Depression 616.89 Abnormal psychology

Philosophy & Psychology

Philosophy:

100 Philosophy 115 Time see also: 529 133.33, 747 Feng Shui 144 Humanism 155.937 Death 160 Logic 170 Ethics 174.2 Bioethics 174.2 Medical ethics 179.3 Animal rights 179.7 Euthanasia 179.76 Abortion, ethics 181 Oriental philosophy 182 Ancient philosophy

Psychology:

see also: 306.8 Relationships, 616.85 Mental Health 150 Psychology 152.4 Emotions 152.4 Feelings 153.1 Memory 153.94 Aptitude tests 154 Subconscious 155 Developmental psychology 155.2 Psychology, individual 155.282 Handwriting analysis 155.3 Psychology, sex 155.4 Psychology, child 155.5 Psychology, young adult

Religion & Mythology

Religion:

201/289 Religion, Christian 210 Natural religion 215 Science and religion 220 Bible 221 Old Testament 225 New Testament 230/280 Christianity 230 Theology 231 God (Christianity) 232 Jesus Christ 242 Christian devotions 242 Meditations 242 Prayers 261 Christian theology 264 Christian liturgy 265 Christian sacraments 266 Christian missions 269.2 Evangelism

280 Denominations and Sects 282.092 Saints

Religion & Mythology (continued):

290 Theories of religion 291 Shamanism 294.3 Buddhism 294.5 Hinduism 296 Judaism 297 Islam

299 Other religions, Paganism 394 Holidays

394.2 Celebrations 394.2 Festivals 394.268 Christmas

Mythology

:

292 Mythology, Greek and Roman 299 Other Mythologies

398 Folklore

Society, Government & Law

Society:

301 Sociology 302.2 Communication 303.625 Terrorism 304.6 Population 305.234 School children

305.235 Young adults (Aged 12-20)

305.3 Sex roles 305.4 Women 305.522 Royalty

305.8 Racial, ethnic groups 306.7 Sexual institutions 306.7, 362.8392 Teenage pregnancy 306.766 Gay rights 306.8 Marriage 306.85 Families 306.874 Family relationships 306.89 Divorce

Society (continued):

310 Statistics 317.3 Almanacs 317.3 Census 326 Slavery 331 Labor 333 Environment 333.7 Conservation 355 Military science 356 Land warfare 358.4 Air warfare 359 Naval warfare

360 Social problems & services 362.1 Medical care

362.1 Medicine, social issues 362.19 AIDS, social issues 362.2 Mental illness 362.28 Suicide 362.29 Alcohol abuse 362.29 Codependency 362.29 Drug abuse 362.29 Substance abuse 362.295 Marijuana abuse 362.296 Smoking addiction 362.298 Cocaine abuse 362.5 Welfare 362.76 Child abuse 362.86 Veterans 362.883 Rape victims 363.1 Public safety 363.1251 Drunk driving 363.17 Hazardous materials 363.2 Police

Society (continued):

363.25 Forensic science 363.33 Gun control

363.46 Abortion, social issues

363.5 Housing 363.61 Water supply 363.7 Environmental problems 363.7282333 Recycling 363.73 Pollution 363.739 Air pollution 363.8 Food supply 364 Crime 364 True crime 364.152 Homicide 364.153 Rape 364.3 Criminals 365 Prisons 368 Insurance 380 Commerce 380 Transportation 383 Postage stamps 385 Railroads 387.2 Ships 387.7 Air transportation 388 Ground transportation 391 Costume 391 Fashion 392.5 Wedding customs 393 Funerals 394 Holidays 394.2 Celebrations 394.2 Festivals

2.

Society (continued):

394.268 Christmas 394.268 Thanksgiving 395 Etiquette 395 Wedding plans 398 Folklore

Government:

320 Government 320 Politics 321 Government systems 323 Civil rights 324 Elections 324 Political Parties 324.6 Political campaigns 327 International relations 327.1 Spies 327.7 Foreign policy 328 Legislative process 330 Economics 333 Environment 333 Land Economics 333.33 Real estate 336 Finance, public 336.2 Taxation 336.24 Income tax 337 International economics

Government (continued):

338 Production 338.7 Business enterprises 338.88 International business 351/354 Public administration 352 City government 353 Federal government 355 Military science

Law

: 340 Law 341.23 United Nations 342 Constitutional law 343.04 Tax law 344.04192 Abortion, law 344.04197 Living wills 345 Criminal law

346.0434 Landlord and tenants 346.0434 Tenants' rights 346.0437 Real estate law 346.052 Probate 346.054 Wills 344.04197 Living wills 346.078 Bankruptcy 347 Civil law 347.7 Judiciary 347.7316 Notary public 351/354 Public administration

Business, Economics & Investing,

Jobs & Careers

Business:

060 Meetings, procedures 061 Organizations 337 International economics 338 Production 338.7 Business enterprises 338.88 International business 650 Business 650.0285 Data processing 652.3 Typing 652.5 Word processing 658 Management 658.022 Small business 658.1141 Business in the home 658.1522 Business plans 658.3 Personnel 658.42 Entrepreneurs 658.8 Marketing 658.8 Sales 658.848 Export marketing 659 Advertising 808.06 Business letters

Economics & Investing:

330 Economics

332.024 Finance, personal 332.6 Investing

657 Accounting

Jobs & Careers:

331 Jobs & Careers 650.0285 Data processing

650.14 Resumes & Cover Letters 652.3 Typing

652.5 Word processing

Languages & Dictionaries

Languages:

400 Language history

420 English & Anglo-Saxon languages 430 Germanic languages (German) 440 Romance languages (French) 450 Italian, Romanian, Rhaeto-Romanic 460 Spanish & Portuguese languages 470 Italic languages (Latin)

480 Hellenic languages (Classical Greek) 490 Other languages

Dictionaries

: 423 Dictionaries 423.1 Thesauri

Writing, Literature, Poetry & Plays

Writing:

808.02 Writing research papers 808.06 Business letters 808.5 Toasts 808.82 Drama collections 808.83 Fiction collections 808.88 Quotations 808.882 Jokes

Literature

: 372.6 Storytelling 800 Cliffs notes 809 Literary criticism 810 American literature 811 Poetry, American 812 Drama, American 812 Plays, American 814 Essays, American 816 Letters, American 817 Humor 820 English literature 820 Literature, English 821 Poetry, English 822 Drama, British 822 Plays, British 824 Essays, British

Literature (continued):

830 Germanic literature 840 French literature 840.9 Literature, French 850 Literature, Italian 860 Literature, Spanish 891.7 Russian literature 895 Chinese literature 896 African literature

897 Native American literature

Poetry:

808.1 Poetry

Plays

:

812 Plays

Arts, Crafts, Architecture,

Music & Dance

Arts & Crafts:

391 Costume 391 Fashion 700 Arts 709 Art history 738 Ceramic arts 741 Drawing 743 Artistic anatomy 745 Decorative arts 745.1 Antiques

Arts & Crafts (continued):

745.5 Crafts 745.59 Dolls 745.92 Dried flowers 746.434 Crocheting 746.92 Fashion design 748.2075 Depression glass 751-759 Art technique 751.422 Watercolor 751.426 Acrylics 751.45 Oil painting 770 Photography 771.3 Cameras

Architecture:

720 Architecture 726.5 Church buildings 728 Floor plans

747 Interior design / decorating See also: Home & Garden

Music & Dance:

780-787's Music 782.81 Sheet Music 793.3 Dance

Science & Mathematics

Science:

333 Environment 333.7 Conservation 363.25 Forensic science 363.61 Water supply 363.7 Environmental problems 363.7282333 Recycling 363.73 Pollution 363.739 Air pollution 363.8 Food supply 507.8 Science experiments 520 Astronomy 523.2 Solar system 523.4 Planets 523.8 Black holes 530 Physics 540 Chemistry 550 Earth science 551 Geology 551.6 Greenhouse effect 551.63 Weather forecasting 560 Paleontology 567.91 Dinosaurs 574 Biology 574.5 Ecology

see also: 333 Environment

Science & Math (continued):

575 Evolution 581 Botany 582.13 Wildflower identification 591 Zoology 591.4 Animal dissection 594.047 Seashells 595.7 Insects 597 Fish 597.9 Reptiles 598 Birds 598.07234 Bird watching 599 Mammals

Mathematics

: 510 Mathematics 512 Algebra 513 Arithmetic 516 Geometry

Geography & Travel,

History & Biographies

Geography & Travel:

910 Exploration 910 Geography 912 Atlases 912 Maps 914.04 Travel, European 915.04 Travel, Asian 916.04 Travel, African 917 Travel, North American 917.104 Travel, Canadian 917.3 National parks 917.3 Travel, U.S.

917.304 Campground directories 917.304 North American travel. 917.5924 Walt Disney World 918 Travel, South American 918.04 South American travel 929.1 Genealogy 929.9 Flags

History:

909 World history 910 Exploration 930 Ancient history 930.1 Archeology 940 European history 940.3 World War I 940.53 World War II 940.53492 Frank, Anne 941 British history 943 German history 944 French history 945 Italian history 947 Russian history 950 Asian history

History (continued):

951 Chinese history 951.9 Korean War 955.054 Iran-Iraq War 956 Middle Eastern history 956.7 Iraq-Kuwait crisis 956.7043 Desert Storm 956.7043 Persian Gulf crisis 959.704 Vietnam War 960 African history 970 American Indians 973 American history 973.7 Civil war

980 South American history

Biographies:

920 General biographies 921 Biography

Home & Garden

Home:

641 Cookbooks 133.33, 747 Feng Shui 643 House buying 643.3 Bathroom remodeling 643.3 Kitchen remodeling 643.5 Basement remodeling 643.55 Decks 643.55 Patio building 643.55 Porches 643.6 Household appliances 643.6 Small appliance repair 643.7 Home repair

720 Architecture 728 Floor plans

747 Interior design / decorating

Garden:

630 Agriculture 630 Farming

631.35 Lawn mower repair 631.875 Composting 634 Fruit trees 634 Trees 635 Gardening 635 Vegetable gardening 635.9 Flower gardening 635.964 Lawns 635.965 House plants 635.967 Wildflower growing 635.976 Shrubs 645.8 Garden furniture

5.

Health & Family, Pets

Health:

362.2 Mental illness 362.28 Suicide 362.29 Alcohol abuse 362.29 Codependency 362.29 Drug abuse 362.29 Substance abuse 362.295 Marijuana abuse 362.296 Smoking addiction 610 Medicine 611 & 612 Anatomy 613 Health 613.0432 Infant health 613.2 Diets 613.7 Exercise 613.7 Physical fitness 613.71 Aerobics 613.713 Weight lifting 613.85 Smoking 615 Drugs (pharmacology) 615 Medicine, drugs 615 Pharmacology 615.1 Prescription drugs 615.77 Steroids 616 Medicine 616 Diseases 616.047 Headache 616.12 Heart disease 616.722 Arthritis 616.8 Psychiatric disorders 616.85236 Multiple personality 616.8527 Depression 616.89 Abnormal psychology 616.97 AIDS, medical issues 616.994 Cancer 616.995 Tuberculosis

Health (continued):

617 Surgery 617.1027 Sports medicine 617.375 Backache 618 Abortion, medical 618.1 Gynecology / Menopause 618.2 Obstetrics

Family:

344.04197 Living wills 346.054 Wills 618 Pregnancy 618.4 Childbirth 618.928 Bed-wetting 646.78 Family living 646.79 Retirement 649.1 Child rearing 649.1 Parenting 649.122 Infant care 649.62 Toilet training 649.65 Sex education 649.8 Home health care

793.2 Baby showers 793.21 Children's parties 929.1 Genealogy 929.4 Names 929.4 Baby names

Pets:

636 Pets / pet names 636.1 Horses 636.6 Birds 636.7 dogs 636.8 Cats 636.93 Rabbits 636.9323 Gerbils, hamsters 636.395 Lizards 636.396 Snakes 639.97 Backyard birds

Education & Tests

Education:

370 Education 371 School management 371.9 Special education 372 Elementary education 372.21 Preschool education

373 Secondary education 378 Higher education

Tests:

373.1264 GED test guides 378.1664 Examination guides 378.1664 GRE guides 378.73 College directories 800 Cliffs notes

355.0076 Armed forces examination (ASVAB)

Sports, Exercise & Recreation

613.7 Exercise 613.7 Physical fitness 613.71 Aerobics 613.713 Weight lifting 617.1027 Sports medicine 793.3 Dance

Sports, Exercise & Recreation (continued):

796.93 Skiing 796.32 Basketball 796.332 Football 796.3342 Soccer 796.342 Tennis 796.355 Hockey 796.357 Baseball 796.5 Camping / hiking 796.72 Automobile racing 797.1 Boating / sailing 798.8 Dog racing 799.2 Hunting 799.32 Archery

Hobbies

See also Arts, Crafts, Music & Dance

737.4 Coins 745.1 Antiques 769.49796 Baseball cards 794.1 Chess 794.8 Computer games 795.4 Card games 796.56 Stamps

6.