This awesome infographic designed and published by Newhouse Design explains how two major library classification systems work:
- The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) – the system makes use of three-digit Arabic numerals for main classes, with fractional decimals allowing expansion for further detail,
- The Library of Congress Classification (LCC) – this system uses a set of capital letters and numbers. The first letter describes one of 21 major areas of knowledge. Two letters mean a narrower subject within a major area. Numbers are used to further narrow down the subject.
For instance, in the infographic below, the NK1150 in the LCC system (on the right) is read:
- a letter “N” stands for “fine arts”,
- a subclass “NK” means “decorative arts”,
- a number “1150” specifies the book belongs to “decoration & ornament” class.
And in case you can’t still find the book, you can always ask a librarian:-)
Click or tap on the chart to see it in full size.
Via Visually.
Check out more posts about libraries:
[ef-archive number=5 tag=”libraries”]
