Melvil Dewey’sIngenious Notational System

Melvil Dewey’sIngenious Notational System

North American Symposium on Knowledge OrganizationJune 19, 2009

Rebecca GreenDewey Decimal Classification

RoadmapRoadmap

•Shelf arrangement vs. subject collocation

•Decimal notation

•Hierarchical organization

•Number building

•Language-independent representation

•Potential for customization

Shelf arrangement in the 1800sShelf arrangement in the 1800s

•Institution-specific, using, e.g., accession order, broad subject classes, size, author name

•Duplication of effort

• Initial classification

•Reclassification

Eureka!Eureka!

•The insight•Use classification scheme to establish

relatively fine-grained subject representation

•Use decimal notation to govern order of shelf arrangement

•Immediate benefits derived from the insight

• Institution-independent relative location

•Cooperative classification

•Linear sequence + hierarchical organization

Decimal notation (1)Decimal notation (1)

•DDC 1,1876•Every class admitted of division into 9

subclasses (represented 1-9), plus 0 to represent no division

•“No difficulty found in . . . omitting the initial zero;” some 2-digit numbers (e.g., 51 [051])

•Also some 4-digit numbers (e.g., 5545 [554.5])

•Notation incorporated decimal point “as if it were written after the first figure”

Decimal notation (2)Decimal notation (2)

•DDC 2, 1885•Leading zeroes retained

•Decimal point between third and fourth digits

•Effect•Notation more expressive

•Filing order same whether interpreted numerically or alphanumerically

Hierarchical organization (1)Hierarchical organization (1)

•New subjects can be accommodated by notational expansion, e.g.,

005.75 Specific types of data files and

databases

005.753 Temporal, spatial, constraint databases

Hierarchical organization (2)Hierarchical organization (2)

• Interoperable expansions

2—455 5 Pisa province (Eng)

Provincia di Pisa (It)

2—455 51 Pisa (Eng)

Comune di Pisa (It)

2—455 52 Nordovest della provincia di Pisa (It)

2—455 523 San Guiliano Terme (It)

Hierarchical organization (3)Hierarchical organization (3)

•Flexible granularity

320.5 Political ideologies

320.53* Collectivism and fascism

320.532 Communism

320.532 2 Marxism-Leninism

*Abridged edition stops here

Hierarchical organization (4)Hierarchical organization (4)

•Expressivity of notation•Specificity

• Psychology 150

• Emotions of children 155.4124

•Relationships among subjects• Oats 633.13

• Rye 633.14

• Corn 633.15

• Barley 633.16

Number building (1)Number building (1)

•Mnemonicity

•China T2—51, 951

•Chinese language T6—951, 495.1

•Chinese literature 895.1

•Chinese religions 299.51

•Chinese Communist Party 324.251075

•Chinese calendar 529.32951

Number building (2)Number building (2)

•Intrafacet relationships

Ceramic arts of Jews 738.089924

738 Ceramic arts

089 Ethnic and national groups

(from Table 1)

924 Jews

(from Table 5 as instructed under

T1—08905-T1—08999: Add to base number T1—089 notation T5—05-T5—9 from Table 5)

Number building (3)Number building (3)

•Intrafacet relationships—cont.French masters 759.4074

759 (Painting and paintings) Historical, geographic, persons treatment

4 France (from Table 2, as instructed at 759.3-759.8 Miscellaneous parts of

Europe: Add to base number 759 the numbers following –4 in notation 43-48 from Table 2)

074 Exhibitions (from Table 1)

Language-independent representation (1)Language-independent representation (1)

713

Landscape architecture of trafficways

Arquitectura paisajística de las vías de tráfico

Aménagement paysager des voies de communication

Landschaftsgestaltung für Verkehrswege

Landskapsarkitektur for trafikkårer

Language-independent representation (2)Language-independent representation (2)

713

Αρχιτεκτονική τοπίου για αρτηρίες μεταφορών

Ландшафтная архитектура транспортных

путей

אדריכלות נוף של דרכי תחבורה

تصميم الناظر الطبيعية للطر ق

Potential for customization (1)Potential for customization (1)

•Choice of level of specificity •Shelf arrangement

• Full vs. abridged edition

• Local practice

•Search• Truncated search plus wildcard operator

Potential for customization (2)Potential for customization (2)

•Search by subject component, using 085 - Synthesized Classification Number Components (MARC bibliographic format)

•085 ## $b759 $a759.3 $c759.8 $z2 $r4 $t4 $u759.4

•085 ## $b759.4 $z1 $t074 $u759.4074

•Search on 75* and 2—44* for French painting and paintings

Potential for customization (3)Potential for customization (3)

•Display using personal citation order•Standard citation order in Table 1:

place + time• Europe, 19th century 1—094034

• Europe, 20th century 1—09404

• Asia, 19th century 1—095034

• Asia, 20th century 1—09504

• Africa, 19th century 1—096034

• Africa, 20th century 1—09604

Potential for customization (4)Potential for customization (4)

•Display using personal citation order•Reverse citation order: time + place

• Europe, 19th century 1—094 + 034

• Asia, 19th century 1—095 + 034

• Africa, 19th century 1—096 + 034

• Europe, 20th century 1—094 + 04

• Asia, 20th century 1—095 + 04

• Africa, 20th century 1—096 + 04

Benefits arising from the notation

•Large amount of categorized content

•Worldwide user community

•Language-independent representation

•Interoperable translations

•Mappings and crosswalks