The Dewey Decimal System

and how to use it

The Dewey Decimal System organizes books into 10 topic areas, which are then broken into smaller and smaller topics. Each topic is assigned a number, known as a "call number". For example, books on animals usually start with the call number of 599. For specific topics like lions or tigers the call number would start with the animals call number of 599 followed by a decimal number for the topic of Lions. So the call number would look like this 599.74.

Here is a quick look at the 10 topic areas of the Dewey Decimal System

000-099 General Knowledge	Big foot, UFO's, Ghosts, Unexplained Mysteries, & Curiosities Computer Guides & Instruction Almanacs & Encyclopedias Trivia & World Records
100-199 Psychology and Philosophy	Death & Dying Ethics & Feelings Logic Making Friends Optical Illusions Superstitions
200-299 Religions and Mythology	Current and Ancient Religions Ancient Mythology Spirituality
300-399 Social Sciences and Folklore	Dictionaries Thesauruses Different Languages Punctuation and Grammar
500-599 Math and Science	Animals Chemistry Dinosaurs Physics Planets Plants
600-699 Medicine and Technology	Engineering Health Exercise Farming Autos Cooking
700-799 Arts & Recreation	Crafts Drawing Painting Collectibles Jokes Music Sports
800-899 Literature	Plays Poetry Shakespeare Writing
900-999 Geography and History	Biographies Travel History Lands & Peoples Atlases