QUESTION Bianca Rego, Mogi das Cruzes, SP
In Brazil, most of them are organized according to the Dewey Decimal System.
Created by the American librarian Melvil Dewey in 1876, it uses three main digits to classify the theme of each book. The first, in the hundreds place, establishes the broadest area. The second, in the tens place, is a subdivision of this area. And the third, a subdivision of the subdivision. The system also allows for more detailed subtopics, with the addition of decimal places. Below, you can check the meaning of some of these numbers.
Another code that you can find on the spine of works in a library, this time mixing letters and numbers, indicates who the author is. It builds on another table, the Cutter, established by Charles Ammi Cutter, another US librarian, around 1890.
The Dewey and Cutter patterns are universal, but libraries apply them independently. Therefore, it is possible that some books receive different (but similar) codes in different establishments. For example: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stonequoted below, can also be found with the Dewey number 809.89282 and the Cutter code R884h.
1) Area of knowledge
It is indicated by the code in the Dewey Decimal System. The first number establishes the broad theme of the book. Each subsequent digit defines it more specifically.
8– literature
two– English language
3– fiction
9– modern period
1– 20th century
4– released between 1945-1999
2) Author’s name
Defined by the Cutter system. The letters (always uppercase at the beginning and lowercase at the end) are easily explained, but the central numbers have much more complex rules.
R– first name initial
797– Code Cutter
H– initial of the name of the book
3) Other information
It reveals the year the book was first released, its edition and how many copies are in the library. If the work is divided into volumes, this is also indicated («v. 1», «v. 2», etc.) –
1997– Year of publication
3 ED.– Third edition
EX. 5– Fifth copy
THE TEN MAIN AREAS
Themes established by the first digit in the Dewey System
THE SUBDIVISIONS
Examples of themes indicated by the second and third number, in literature. Therefore, if you find a book with the code “841”, for example, you will know that it is French poetry.
ANOTHER EXAMPLES
The Dewey and Cutter Classification of Some Classics
Roots of Brazil, by Sérgio Buarque de Holanda
Dewey:981
Cutter:h722r
The Origin of Speciesdand Charles Darwin
Dewey:575.0162
Cutter:D228o
Thus Spoke Zarathustra, by Friedrich Nietzsche
Dewey:193
Cutter:N558a
SOURCES Websites BritishMinistry of Education and Online Computer Library Center (OCLC)