The Dewey Decimal System

The Dewey Decimal System

Finding Our Way In The Library

Fiction and Nonfiction

• Books that tell a story from the author’s imagination are called fiction.

• Fiction= False• Books that give

factual information about real people, things, and events are called nonfiction.

• NonFiction=Not False

True or False?

• Sometimes you can tell whether a book is fiction or nonfiction just by looking at its title. Do you think these titles are fiction or nonfiction?

• The Voyages of Christopher Columbus

• The Dragon’s Halloween Party

• The Boys’ and Girls’ Cookbook

• Fox in Socks• I Know an Old Lady Who

Swallowed a Fly• Meet the Pilgrim Fathers• Building a Fire Truck• Euclid Bunny Delivers

the Mail• Forces in the Earth• “I can’t!” said the Ant

Furry Fiction Friends

• When you read a book with talking animals or animals that act like people, you are probably reading a FICTION book.

• Try to tell if these fictional animals are :– Bears, Dogs, Rabbits– Cats, Horses, Frogs– Elephants(HINT: there are 6 bears, 3

cats, 6 dogs, 5 rabbits, 3 elephants, 2 horses, and 2 frogs)

• Paddington, Clifford• Barbar, Misty• Thumper, Corduroy• Mr. Jeremy Fisher• Marmalade, Garfield• Kermit, Pongo, Lady• Max, Winnie the Pooh• Horton, Snoopy, Peter• Fozzie, Gentle Ben• Big Bad Bruce, Bugs• Black Beauty, Dumbo• Old Yeller, Sounder• Miss Moppet, Bunnicula

Meet Melvil

• Fiction books are arranged alphabetically by the author’s name

• Nonfiction books are arranged using the Dewey Decimal System.

• Nonfiction books usually have numbers on their spines.• If you know the Dewey Decimal System you can easily

find any nonfiction book in your library.

• Melvil Dewey was born more than a hundred years ago, not far from here, in ADAMS, NEW YORK

• Melvil began working on the Dewey Deciaml System when he was a 21 years old and working as a library clerk.

On the Street Where You Live…

• We put nonfiction books on the shelf in order by their Dewey number. Think of the Dewey number as the book’s address. The Dewey number tells you where the book “lives” on the shelf.

• Your Library is a Town and each Dewey group of hundreds is a street in that town.

• The Streets in Your Town– 000= Reference

Boulevard– 100= Philosophy Street– 200= Religion Avenue– 300= Social Science

Square– 400= Language

parkway– 500= Nature Road– 600= Technology Trail– 700= Recreation Court– 800= Literature Lane– 900= History Highway

(What street would you visit to Build an airplane, speak Spanish, draw a cartoon, learn about dinosaurs, and find out when Abraham Lincoln was born? )

Dewey’s Decimals• The Dewey Decimal

System is divided into very broad subjects like nature and history.

• To makes sure it was easy to find something specific, Dewey used the Decimal System.

• A Decimal is a dot which separates whole numbers from fractional numbers.

• You can think of a Dewey number in terms of dollars and cents.

• The three-digit number is on the “dollars” side and tells you the main category or subject of the book.

• The numbers on the “cents” side refer to a topic within that subject.

Using Dewey’s Decimals

• Here are some examples of how two main subjects are broken down into divisions:

636 Pets and Domestic Animals636.1 Horses636.2 Cows636.5 Chickens636.7 Dogs636.8 Cats796 Outdoor Sports and Games796.33 Ball Games using the foot796.34 Ball Games using rackets796.35 Ball Games using clubs or bats796.42 Track and Field796.54 Hiking and Camping

• What is the correct Dewey number from the list for where your book would “live” on your library shelves?

• Horses and Ponies• Playground Fun• Look at a Kitten• Better Softball for Boys and

Girls• Secrets of Kicking the Football• The Puppy Book• Tennis Basics• Holly’s Farm Animals• A Calf is Born • Backpacking is for Me

000 : Generalities• Oh, Oh, Oh! Reference books live here.

Oh, Oh, Oh! Information’s near. Look up facts you need to know, Find them fast! Check 0-0-0! Research isn’t very hard with books from 000 Boulevard!

• Some of your favorite books, including World Records, Computers, and Monsters are often found in the 000s. These books have information on just about every subject under the sun.

100: Philosophy and psychology

200: Religion and Mythology

• How many heads do you have? Just one! What goes on in your head? A ton! Memories, hopes, beliefs and fears, Dreams and knowledge, laughter, tears. Books about Philosophy are neat. They live on 100 Street!

• These books are about your thoughts, beliefs, behaviors, and feelings.

• Two by two and side by side Going to worship, we walk or ride. Two by two we stop to pray On a religious holiday. Mythology books can be fun, too. Find them on 200 Avenue!

• The books numbered from 200-299 are about religion and mythology

Put These Books in Order:

• These books are shelved in the 100 or 200 sections. Their Dewey numbers are listed after the titles. Tell the order that these numbers would appear in on the library shelf- that is lowest to highest.

• Let’s Talk about Feeling Sad 155

• Honesty 158.1• The Illustrated Book

of Myths 291• Child’s Book of

Prayers 242• World religions 290• Everything You Need

to Know about Stress 158

• Being Moody 152

300: Social Sciences400: Language

• Three bears, three pigs, three billy goats, Three firemen in bright red coats, Three senators, three giants, three kings, These are Social Science things! Social Science books aren’t rare. They live on 300 Square!

• The books numbered between 300-399 are about stories people have told, services people need, and problems people have when they live together in groups.

• Bonjour, Guten tag, Hola, Zdravo. Four new ways to say “Hello.” Learn to speak in many lands, Even say it with your hands! Language books have a lot to say. They live upon Language Parkway!

• The books numbered between 400-499 are about language and communication. Books in other languages are usually filed here.

500: Natural Sciences600: Technology

• Deep in the jungle, high in the sky, Is that a dinosaur walking by? Lions and tigers, spiders and snakes, Trees and flowers, the five Great Lakes. Books about reptiles, frogs, and toads hop around on 500 Road!

• The books numbered between 500- 599 are about natural sciences- that is, things that occur in nature and are not man-made.

• 6:00- It’s dinner time. A cookbook now would work just fine. Need to feed your horse and cow? Here’s a book that shows you how. Train books let you ride the rail. They live on 600 Trail!

• The books numbered between 600-699 are about things that people invent, build, or create to better their world or make their lives easier. This is also called applied science.

700: Recreation800: Literature

• What do you do to have some fun- Art or music? Swim or run? Sports and dancing, movie shows, Television, radios? Read a book about your sport. They live on 700 Court!

• The books numbered 700-799 are about arts and recreation.

• Great eight! First rate! Things that we appreciate- Poetry and prose and plays, Composition, many ways. Fun in the sun or in the rain. These books are on 800 Lane!

• The books numbered 800-899 are about classical literature, poetry, and plays.

900: Geography and History

• Let me tell you all the story of a man named Nine. His name was sort of weird but they say his life was fine. He had nine cats and wore nine hats, lived in a nine-foot tree. And if you want to find out more just read a biography! Planning a trip from Sweden to Norway? Just use the information from 900 Highway!

• The books numbered 900-999 are about history, geography, and travel.

Review

• You will each receive a street. Try to match the street to the place in our library town where it belongs.

• Complete the worksheet about your favorite

street.