How Libraries Are Organized
To provide organization and facilitate access, most small and academic
libraries utilize the Dewey decimal classification system, which uses
numbers from 000 through 999 to classify all material by subject
matter. It begins by organizing all books into 10 major groupings.
Given the millions of books available in major libraries, just dividing
them into these 10 groups would still make it quite difficult to find
a specific title. So each of the 10 major groupings is further divided
into 10, and each of these now 100 groups is assigned to more
specific subjects within each large group. For example, within the
philosophy classification (100), 150 is psychology and 170 is ethics.
Within the history classification (900), 910 is travel and 930 is ancient
history.
000–099 General
100–199 Philosophy
200–299 Religion
300–399 Social Sciences
400–499 Language
500–599 Natural Science and Mathematics
600–699 Technology
700–799 Fine Arts
800–899 Literature
900–999 General Geography and HistoryChapter 6 ■How to Conduct Your Research 127