Dewey decimal classification

American  

Trademark.

1. a system of classifying books and other works into ten main classes of knowledge with further subdivision in these classes by use of the numbers of a decimal system: devised by Melvil Dewey, published in 1876, and used in many libraries in the U.S. and elsewhere.

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Etymology

Origin of Dewey decimal classification

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

My own Dewey Decimal Classification is 306.765, for bisexual.

From New York Times

As a librarian who has dated both men and women, I couldn’t help but think of how my various loves would be categorized by the Dewey Decimal Classification.

From New York Times

As you may recall from grade school, Dewey was the man behind the Dewey Decimal Classification system, the schema of numbers and subject areas used at libraries around the world to categorize books.

From Slate

In 1876, he published A Classification and Subject Index for Cataloguing and Arranging the Books and Pamphlets of a Library, which outlined what would become known as the Dewey decimal classification – a system which is now used by libraries throughout the English-speaking world.

From The Guardian

He's most famous for inventing the Dewey Decimal Classification system, which is still widely used in libraries around the world.

From Los Angeles Times