If you want to volunteer or get a job in a library, you have to know how to store books. All books in all libraries are arranged according to the Dewey Decimal System or the Library of Congress Classification System. While many colleges and specialty libraries use the Library of Congress Classification System, most public libraries and elementary and secondary schools use the Dewey Decimal System.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Sort the books according to the Dewey Decimal System
Step 1. Learn how the Dewey Decimal System works
Learning how this system works is not difficult, as it is logically organized and developed on a decimal basis. Basically, each kind of book is assigned a category number (a whole number, such as 800) and a Cutter number or numbers (the numbers to the right of the decimal point). These are the numbers you can see on the spines of library books. They are called reference numbers. The system is made up of ten classes, which are then divided into 10 more subcategories. Each of the subcategories contains 10 subdivisions. The 10 main classes of the Dewer Decimal System are:
- 000-Computer science, information and general works
- 100-Philosophy and Psychology
- 200-Religion
- 300-Social Sciences
- 400-Tongue
- 500-Science
- 600-Technology and applied science
- 700-Art and recreation
- 800-Literature
- 900-History and geography
Step 2. Remember that the function of reference numbers is to group books on the same subject and they are made up of at least two parts:
the class number (from 000 to 900) and the cutter number. The class number is an integer and the Cutter number is placed after the decimal point.
Step 3. Pay attention to how the ranking is divided
The following is a brief example of how to find or save a book of American science fiction literature written between the years 1861 and 1990 (the general classification is “800”).
- Look at the second number after the "8". The number "1" indicates that the book is further classified as "General American Literature." The second number after the "8" also defines the division; 811 is American poetry, 812 is American drama, 813 is American fiction, 814 is American essays, and so on.
- Examine the first number after the decimal point; this number shortens the ranking even more. Thus, a book with a reference number of “813, 4” indicates that the book is American fiction and was written between the years 1861 and 1900. Of course, the more numbers it has, the more specific the subject will be.
Method 2 of 2: Sort your books according to the Library of Congress Classification System
Step 1. Learn the 20 classifications that the Library of Congress Classification System uses to separate areas of knowledge
Each class corresponds to a letter of the alphabet.
- A General works
- B Philosophy-Religion-Psychology
- C History (Civilization)
- D History (Except America)
- And American History
- F Local American history, Latin American history
- G Geography and Anthropology
- H Social Sciences
- J Political science
- K Right
- M Music
- N Fine arts
- P Language and Linguistics
- Q Science and Math
- R Medicine
- S Agriculture
- T Technology
- U Military science
- V Naval Science
- Z Bibliography and Library Science
Step 2. Read more about how each class is further subdivided into subclasses through the combination of numbers and letters
As in the Dewey Decimal System, the more numbers and letters in the reference number, the more specific the classification will be (and the easier it will be to find or save the book). The LCC reference number "PS3537 A426 C3 1951" corresponds to "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger, published in the year 1951 (the last four numbers of the reference number).
Advice
- The reference numbers in both systems are read from left to right, top to bottom.
- All library books, regardless of the classification system, are physically arranged from top to bottom and left to right.