Melvil Dewey
Throughout the history of the world, there have continually been attempts made to record culture by people who saw the importance of preserving the knowledge of their own civilization. The degree and nature of this activity varied as did the peoples; and have ranged from simple cave paintings to more sophisticated systems of classification seen in ancient institutions, such as the Alexandrian Museum and Library. Cultural relevancies and temporal developments have always been deciding factors in determining the kinds of subjects that were compiled, primarily on tablets, scrolls, and books; how they were interpreted; and the fashion in which they were classified, but some things may be said in general about the historical development of knowledge and how two of its principle characteristics make classification quite easy under the Dewey Decimal system. Specifically, this essay, will look at the fundamental fact that the universe of knowledge is forever expanding and how the Dewey Decimal Classification system hospitably integrates that reality. Also discussed will be the historically acceptable fashion of setting knowledge down in an hierarchical order and its relevancy within the Dewey Decimal System. What is the DDC20 and how does it classify the universe of knowledge?
Melvil Dewey was born on December 10, 1851 in Adam's Center in New York State (Wiegand 1996,4). His extensive diaries are filled with his hopes, fears, dreams, and decisions, and show that by the time he reached eighteen years of age, he had made the decision to "... devote my life to Education" (Wiegand 1996,12). During his years at Amherst College, his conviction that free schools and free libraries were the right of everyone, was cemented (Wiegand 1996,19). His involvement with the library at Amherst, coupled with his strongly held views on the power of books, led him to investigate the cataloguing of libraries to make them easier to use. Melvil Dewey first published his classification system in 1876 (Wiegand 1996,32), and although it has expanded and seen many changes, it has survived and flourished.
Principally, a classification system has historically been used to develop some order out of the ever expanding world of knowledge, and more specifically, as Wynar states: "the ultimate aim of any classification system is to lead the patron to the items required" (Wynar 1992,317). That was the dream of Melvil Dewey. He wanted to have a hand in the education of the masses and he fulfilled it by developing a system which put related topics in an hierarchical order from general to specific as needed. His was a faceted system, which developed facets or the characteristics of division. The facets are mutually exclusive and exhaustive so that every topic may be accounted for (Wynar 1992,320 21). Some are very specific, while others are more general and can be applied to many subjects. Most importantly, Dewey's system depends upon recurring facets, such as Periods (Wynar 1992,320). He did not classify under subjects his hierarchical system organized the universe of knowledge into "traditional academic disciplines or fields of study" (DDC20 1989,xxvi).
He used ten such fields, numbering them from 000 to 900, with the first digit representing its main class. Each main class was then divided into ten separate divisions, with numbers running from zero to nine and each division divided into sections or subdivisions, also using the zero to nine numerical sequence. An example may help to illustrate the system. Using the number 931, one can say that the nine represents the main class, the three, the separate division, and the one, a distinct section (DDC20 1989,xxviii). To the right of the third number goes a decimal point, which can theoretically continue to divide the number by ten to make a place for very specific topics. This is Dewey's most important contribution to the field of classification: with the use of hierarchical divisions, which are subdivided with the decimal system, division can continue indefinitely, thus, allowing for new areas to be added (Wynar 1992,328). By using the decimal system, Dewey allowed for pure notation and relatively close shelf proximity for books on related topics (Wynar 1992,327). Since there is no "single place for a given subject, ... the Relative Index assembles the disciplinary aspects of a subject in one place" (DDC20 1989,xxvii). For example, if you look up "Birth", you will find notations as varied as 392.12 and 808.80354 under the heading. The Relative Index is an integral part of the system.
Dewey's system made relative location possible and did away with all the inherent problems of rigidly fixed location methods (Evans & Heft 1994,431 33). Books could be shelved anywhere a librarian wanted them without altering their order. This was an extremely progressive advancement since knowledge is always growing. The continually increasing base of knowledge is the foremost consideration in employing a catalogue system because it is the one constant that can be relied upon (Abrera 1974,30). Examples would be the fast growing fields of genetics and computer technologies. Also, Sociology used to be 301, now it is 301 307 (DDC20 1989,xiii). It needed a broader range to reflect new societal concerns. The DDC20 can incorporate any new areas developed, since its structure of decimals allows for infinite additional notations. It does so with 'hospitality' (Abrera 1974,33), having the ability to include any additions easily and quickly. The DDC20 is very adaptable to expanding horizons of information. As Phyllis A. Richmond states:
The system must he hospitable to all knowledge, including things that never were, such as phlogiston; things that never shall be, like utopias; and things that are impossible, like the square root of minus one (Bengtson & Hill 1990,18).
Next to consider is the common procedure of beginning with general knowledge and working towards specific, in an hierarchical system of ordering. This can be traced primarily to Aristotle, who identified classes and sub classes. By arranging them in an hierarchy, he was able to see relationships between objects or concepts (Abrera 1974,21 29). He moved from the general to the specific or from the extension to the intention. This had great possibilities for library classification and is actually what lies behind Dewey's whole system. As Wynar stresses, "[n]o matter what scheme is chosen, or how large the library, the purpose of classification is to bring related items together in a helpful sequence from the general to the specific" (Wynar 1992,317). For example, 700 represents the Arts, while 702 is Miscellany of fine and decorative arts, and 735.21 is Sculpture from 1400 1799. With Dewey, one can get as specific as needed, with the infinite notation system, just by adding another number. Remember, when using hierarchical classifications, one must always make natural and logical decisions in sub-dividing (Wynar 1992,317).
The Dewey Decimal system has like most things, good and bad parts. It is very adaptable for small libraries because "it stresses hierarchies of subject matter..." (Wynar 1992,323), but its numbers can become long, making them difficult to remember, and even more difficult to fit on book spines (Evans & Heft 1994,433). Also, Wynar makes the point that along with all the positives of being flexible enough to accept new topic areas, there is the work and expense of making those changes in a library setting (Wynar 1992,325). Overall, the DDC20 has a long history because it is a valuable tool in the classification of knowledge, it is used extensively throughout world, and is flexible enough to make it the only choice for many institutions.
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