Annals of Library Science and Documentation 44,.2; 1997; 65-72.

DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION - EDITION 21

The twenty first edition of Dewey Decimal Classi-fication (D.o. C.) is now published by Forest Press,a division of OCLC Inc. New York. The previouseditions appeared after a span, ranging from twoyears (between editions 8 and 9 from 1913 to1915) to twelve years (between editions 6 and 7from 1899 to 1911). The 21st edition is publishedafter seven years of publication of the 20th edi-tion in 1989. Every new edition of D.D.C.endeavours to cope up with new knowledge andshows a reflection of the political, administrative,scientific end technological changes taking placeall around the world. An attempt has been made,here, to highlight some of the noteworthy featuresof the D. D. C. 21. With the increased use of facetanalysis, this edition could be a useful tool for thekind and form of literature which is likely to beproduced in 21st Century.

INTRODUCTION

A revised and new edition of a classificationscheme is always an exciting event in the worldof library science. The 21 st edition of Dewey Deci-mal·Classification is not an exception to this phe-nomena. Each edition of D.D.C. marks theprogress of the knowledge of classification at thatparticular point of time and it is the distillation ofthe best thinking and analysis of expanding knowl-edge at the time. It is the result of intensive andwide deliberations of the Editorial Policy Commit-tee consisting of persons from public, academicand special libraries as well as from library sci-ence education. The members represent theAmerican Library Association, Library of Con-gress, OCLP, Forest Press, Library Associationand experts from Canada and Australia. The 20thedition of D.D.C. was edited by John P. Comaromi

Vol 44 No 2 June 1997

(Mrs) PRAITBHA A. GOKHALEDept. of Library ScienceUniversity of MumbaiVidyanagariKalina CampusSantacruz (East)Mumbai-400 098.

and was dedicated to John Ames Humphry whowas Chairperson of Forest Press Committee,1971-1977 and Executive Director of Forest Press,1977-1985. The 21st edition of D.D.C. is editedby John S. Mitchell and dedicated to Benjamin A.Custer who was editor of D.D.C. during 1956-1980. Thus, the publisher has maintained the tra-dition of honouring the ex-persons who were as-sociated with the production of the Dewey Deci-mal editions, by dedicating the revised editions tothem.

SALIENT FEATURES OF THE D.D.C. -EDITION 21

Like the 20th edition, the 21st edition of D.D.C.is in four volumes and conslstsof 4115 pages(against 3388 pages of 20th edition). It waspublished by Forest Press, a division of OCLCInc., Albany (U.S.A.) in 1996.

Manual is a part of volume 4, as in the caseof earlier edition.

For the first time, D.D.C. 21 is appearing intwo formats - in print and on the Dewey forWindows CD-ROM.

Alonqwith D.D.C. 21, the second and revisededition of the textbook, "Dewey Decimal Clas-sification: A Practical Guide" is published forthe users.

The abridged edition No. 13 of D.D.C. is ex-pected to be published in 1997, alongwith awork book.

For the first time, a Russian edition of Dewey

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Jlratibha A. Gokha/e

will be published in 1997, under the aegis ofthe Russian National Public Library for Sci-ence and Technology in Moscow.

The edition is prepared with online access tothe OCLC Online Union Catalogue for guid-ance on literary warrant.

Major revisions in the schedule are at the follow-ing class numbers:

T2T2200296297350370560-590 -

47 Eastern Europe, Russia499 BulgariaReligionJudaismIslam, Babism, Bahai faith354 Public AdministrationEducation andLife Sciences.

The tables for Brazil (T2-81), New Zealand (T2-93), Norway (T2-481/484), Greece (T2-495), Jor-dan (T2-5695), Nigeria (T2-669), Haiti (T2-7294)have been revised and expanded in co-operationwith the national libraries and library associationsof these countries. Many historical and literaryperiods of different countries have also been re-vised and expanded.

Outline maps providing key area numbersfrom Table 2 were part of vol. 4 in 20th edi-tion. These are not provided in 21st edition.

Arrangemertt, General Outline, Changes

In D.D.C., ten basic classes are arranged by dis-ciplines which are further divided by divisions,sections and subsections. They are further supple-mented by the tables. Notational hierarchy is ex-pressed by length of notation. At a given level,the number is a part of a number or class whosenotation is one digit shorter. Like the edition 20,the edition 21 of D.D.C. consists of four volumesand the arrangements are as under:

Volume 1

Volume 1 contains new features of D.D.C. 21- anintroduction which is comprehensive (page nos.xxxi - Ivi), giving a brief overview of D.D.C., itsconceptual framework, notational pattern, principleof hierarchy, explanation on different notes in

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D.D.C., key features of the Schedules and Tables,number building, citation and preference order andexplanation about the arrangement and format ofthe manual. Then, there is a glossary of termsused in D.D.C., seven different tables (T1- T7) ofnotations which are added to the main class num-bers for longer specificity, followed by the nos.that are relocated and reduced from edition 20 toedition 21. Comparative and the equivalencetables are provided on page nos. 527-624. Provi-sion of these numbers and tables may be one ofthe biggest assets of the D.D.C. editions.

Volume 2

This volume contains the first summary of theschedules - the ten main classes of D.D.C. i.e.,

000 Genaralities100 Philosophy and Psychology

likewise upto 900 Geography and History

This is followed by second and third summary suchas,

000 Generalities010 Bibliography020 Library and Information

Sciencelikewise upto 990 General History of Other

Parts

The third summary explains the thousand sectionssuch as,

000001002

likewise upto 999

GeneralitiesKnowledgeThe BookExtra Terrestrial Worlds

The three summaries are followed by detailedschedule numbers for class nos. 000 - Generali-ties, 100 - Philosophy and Psychology, 200 - Re-ligion, 300 - Social Sciences, 400 - Languagesand 500 - Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

Volume 3

Volume 3 consists of full schedule nos. for classnumbers 600 - Technology, Allied Sciences; 700 -The Arts, Fine and Decorative Arts; 800 - Litera-ture, Belles-Lettres and Rhetoric; and 900. - Ge-ography, History and auxiliary disciplines.

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Volume 4

DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION - EDITION 21

Volume 4 has Relative Index, a manual and anappendix regarding policies and procedures of theLibrary of Congress Decimal Classification Divi-sion. The manual provides an explanation for clas-sifying difficult subject areas. It is arranged ac-cording to the numbers in the tables and sched-ules. Both are useful for classifying difficult nos.,new nos. or nos. for which doubts may be raised.

Changes in Terminology

The use of facet indicators and notational synthe-sis are reflected in the revisions of class nos. 350-354-Public Administration and 560-59O-Life Sci-ences. The terminologies used at the second andthird summary are also more precise and self ex-planatory than the previous edition. It is updatedto reflect currency and international usage. Someof the noteworthy changes in the nomenclatureare as follows:

Edition 20 Edition 21

Class Nos. Class Nos.

050 General Serials and their 050 General Serial IndexesPublications

210 Natural Theology 210 Philosophy & Theory ofReligion

260 Christian Social rheology 260 Social &.EcclesiasticalTheology

310 General Statistics 310 Collections of GeneralStatistics

570 Life Sciences 570 Life Science, Biology580 Botanical Sciences 580 Plants581 Botany 581 Specific Topics in Natural

History of Plants582 Spermatophyta (seed bearing 582 Plants noted for Specific

plants) Vegetative Characteristics583 Dicotyledons 583 Magnoliopsida

(Dicotyledons renamed)584 Monocotyledons 584 Liliopsida

(Monocotyledons renamed)590 Zoological Sciences 590 Animals785 ChamberMusic 785 Ensembles with one

instrument per part

Vacant Numbers

Vacant numbers which are retained as vacant from20th to 21st edition are as follows

007, 008, 009, 024, 029, 040 upto 049104,112,125,132,134,136,157,159.163,164216,217,219,237,244,256,257,258,288,298308,309,311,312,313,329,396,397

Vol 44 No 2 June I 'YJ7

416,424,426,434,436,444,446,454,456,464,466,474,476,484,486 (It is worth noting thatall vacant nos. in this class are even numbers).

504,517,518,524625,654,655,656.689.699744. 756, 762, 768, 775, 776, 777804921 upto 929, 991, 992

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Pratibha A. Gokhale

Relocations, Comparisons and Reductions

Relocations and reductions are given in ascend-ing order of class numbers on page nos. 517 to529; comparative & equivalence tables are given

from page nos. 530 to 624 of volume 1. The ma-jor revisions are in class nos. 370 -Educatlon and560-590-Life Sciences. Some of the distinctrealocations from 20th edn. to 21st edn. are asunder:

Topic Relocated

From To

Enactment of SpecialTypes of Legislation 351.7223 328.378

School and Society 371.104 306.432Financial administration of public education 379.11 353.824Human Races 572 599.97Physical Anthropology 573 599.9Biophysics 574.191 571.432Genetic Engineering 575.10724 660.65Food Microbiology 576.163 664.001579Microscopy of Animals 578 590.282Lichens 589.1 579.7Prokaryotae, Bacteria 589.9 579.3Poultry Chickens 598 636.5Animal Husbandry 599 636Hunting 639.1 799.2

All these changes are listed under comparativetables.

While realocating the numbers, the order ischanged to a small extent in the 21st edition. Forexample, earlier in 20th edition, 'Viruses' was partof Microbiology in 576.64. In 21st edition, it is keptalong with other Microorganisms at 579.2. Thenumber building is as follows:

20th Edition

576.6576.62576.64

Rickettsias and VirusesRickettsiasViruses - class here Virology

21st Edition

579.2 Viruses and SubviralOrganisms

579.23579.24579.25579.3579.32579.327

Invertebrate VirusDNA VirusRNA VirusProkaryotes BacteriaMinor kinds of BacteriaRickettsias and Cholmydias

Reductions

A reduction in the number means shifting one ormore topics to a number shorter than the numberin the previous edition. but not differing from it.Greater simplicity is achieved by reducing thelength of the numbers.

Reductions are markedly seen in 35O-Public Ad-ministration, such as,

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DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION - EDITION 21

Topic Reduced

From To

Agricultural Industries 351.8233 354.5Service Industries 351.8243, 354.68

352.94243Automobiles 351.87834 354.765Accidents 351.783,

352.3 353.46Corruption in Government 351.994,

352.002 353.46Income Tax 351.7244.,

352.135 352.44Tetevision 351.87455 354.75

The reductions list alone for 350 class is from pagenos. 532 to 539.

The Geographical area notations from Table 2for the number 47-Eastern Europe, Russia arecompletely revised, obviously due to political rea-sons, which are listed under 'Comparative Tables'as well as 'Equivalence Tables'.

Maps of continents and some key areas weregiven in volume 4 of 20th edition. However, theyare completely absent in this edition.

Major Revisions

As mentioned earlier, major revisions in this edi-tion of D.D.C. are at class numbers:

T2-47200296297350-354 -370560-590 -

Eastern Europe, RussiaReligionJudaismIslam, Babism, Bahai faithPublic AdministrationEducation andLife Sciences

Vol 44 No 2 June 1997

Some examples of revisions of numbers are asunder:

Topic Edn.20 Edn.21

Trademarks 351.824 352.749Technology Assessment 351.826 354.27Railroad Transportation 351.875 354.767Intramural Sports 371.89 796.042Women in Education 376 370.82Public Education - Aims 379.201 370

& ObjectivesAsexual Reproduction 574.162 571.89Bacterial Disease_s 574.2322 571.993Cytology 574.87 571.6Molecular Biology 574.88 572.8Algae 589.3 579.8Bacteria 589.9 579.3

New Numbers

It is interesting to observe that the D.D.C. 21 edi-tion has taken note of the emerging trends andthe advances in technology by introducing somenew numbers. New topics that had gained literarywarrant since the publication of 20th edition, areincluded in this edition. For example,

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Pratibha A. Gokhale

InternetVirtual RealityNeural NetworksMultimedia SystemsSupergravitySupercollidersCommunication NetworksRap Music

004.678006006.32006.7530.1423539.736621.3821782.421649

Notes

Following types of Notes appear throughout theclassification schedules of this edition. Most ofthem are same as in the previous edition. Theseare -

Definition Notes: These notes define and ex-plain the meaning of the class further, e.g.003.54 Information theoryTheory concerning measurement of quanti-ties of information, accuracy in transmissionof messages etc.

Scope notes: These indicate the coverageor scope of a subject, e.g. 004.33-Real timeProcessingLimited to processing defined by predictabil-ity constraints and timing deadlines.

Former heading notes: These notes appearwhen a new heading is allotted with little orno resemblance to the old heading. e.g. 4479pyrenees - Atlantiques department (T2)Former Name: Basses - pyrenees

Class here notes: They list major ingredientsof a class, e.g. 003-systemsClass here operations research, systemstheory, analysis, design, optimization models(simulation) applied to real world systems.

Including notes: These notes specify the cov-erage of a topic, e.g. 12~Origin and destinyof individual souls including immortality, incar-nation, reincarnation.

Class elsewhere notes: These notes lead theclassifier to interrelated topics in other classnos. or in the same hierarchical array, e.g.371.261- Test constructionClass evaluation of tests in 371.26013

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Variant name notes: These notes are usedfor synonyms, e.g. 579.597 PolyporalesVariant name: Aphyllophorales

Revision notes: These notes are provided tothe users to inform them that a class or sub-division of a class is completely revised. e.g.37G-EducationThis schedule is extensively revised, 370.1,370.7, 375-377 and 378.14-378.19 in particu-lar departing from earlier editions.

Discontinued notes: These notes indicate thateither full or part of the contents of a numberhave been shifted or discontinued totally. e.g.[502.822] Simple microscopesNumber discontinued: Class in 502.82

Relocation notes : These indicate a reloca-tion of a number e.g. [589] ThallobiontaRealocated to 579

Do not use notes: These notes are providedspecifically to instruct not to use a particularnumber for a topic, e.g. 551.6-Climatologyand weather forecasting and forecasts Do notuse; Class in 551.63

Sufficient see references and see-also refer-ences are provided throughout for interdisciplinarynumbers. The Do not Use notes appear only inthe 21st edition.

Notational Hierarchy and Number Building

Notational hierarchy is expressed by length of thenotation, e.g.

500540546546.4546.41546.411

Natural Sciences and MathematicsChemistry and Allied SciencesInorganic ChemistryGroup 3 BRare earth elements (Lanthanide Series)Lanthanum

Appropriate entries under 'Lanthanide Series'(546.41), 'Lanthanum' (546.411) are found underrelative index with a see also reference to "Rareearths". The co-existence of the subject with re-spect to other areas is shown in the Relative In-dex as,

Lanthanide Series:ChemistryEconomic GeologyMetallurgy

see also Rare earths

546.41553.494669.291

However; at times, to shorten the length of thenotation and to emphasize the importance of asubordinate topic, the notational hierarchy is vio-lated.

For example:500 Natural Sciences and Mathematics520 Astronomy and Allied Sciences523 Specific Celestial Bodies and

PhenomenaMoonPlanetsMercuryPluto, except for 'Earth', which isEarth (Astronomical geography)

523.3523.4523.41523.482525

In a logical sequence, 'Earth' being a planet and'Moon' being its satellite, earth could have foundits position after 'Venus' as 523.43 and 'Moon' as523.431, but both "Moon" and "Earth" are treatedseparately at 523.3 and at 525 respectively withtheir subordinate topics.

Number building in D.D.C. is done by either tak-ing a ready-made built in number from the sched-ule or by synthesis. A number can be synthesizedby adding standard subdivisions from Table 1.

e.g. Encyclopedia of Human anatomy611.003 (T1)

Adding numbers from Tables 2-7e.g. Taxes and Taxation in India

336.200954 (T2)

Adding from other parts of the schedulee.g. Curricula in cataloguing 375.0253

Adding as per Add as instructed notese.g. 372.011-Elementary education forspecific objectives.

Add to base number 372.011, the numberfollowing370.11 in 370.111-370.119

e.g. Character education 372.0114

Vol 44 No 2 June 1997

DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION - EDITION 21

[4 is added from 370.114 Moral,ethical, character education]

Tables

The seven different tables T1 to T7 maintain thesame pattern as in the previous edition. They areas under:

T1 Standard subdivisionsT2 Geographic areas, historical periods, personsT3 Subdivisions for the Arts (term added), Indi-

vidual literatures, for specific literary forms.This table is further divided into T3-A, T3-B,T3-C.

T4 Subdivisions of individual languages, families(term added)

T5· Racial, ethnic, national groupsT6 LanguagesT7I Groups of persons

Except, for notations-from Table 1, the notationsfrom other tables are to be added only whereverinstructed in the schedules. Selected revisions inthe Tables (other than T2-47, which is completelyrevised) are given in the section 'New Features'in volume 1.

Relative Index, Manual, D.C.

Relative Index and Manual are part of volume 4,which are now integral to the system. The retrievalefficiency of D.D.C. is greatly enhanced by theuse of the Relative Index. Sufficient alternativesare given for terms, wherever necessary with theclass nos. The Manual for the use of D.D.C. isunique and it comes as a ready reference guideto the classifiers. It also promotes uniformity inthe number building exercise since class numbersare liable to varying interpretations. As is the prac-tice of the Forest Press, the decisions regardingchanges in D.D.C. numbers will be made knownto the users through the publication, "Dewey Deci-mal Classification - Additions, Notes and Deci-sions", popularly known as D.C., published an-nually.

DEWEY FOR WINDOWS

Dewey for Windows is a Microsoft Windows basedversion of Electronic Dewey, which is in the formof a compact disc. It has the features of DOS

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Pratibha A. Gokha/e

Version of Electronic Dewey which are extendedfurther for the Microsoft Windows environment.It includes natural language index terms and in-dex terms from other thesauri that have not ap-peared in the printed index. For schedule num-bers, this version includes, up to five Library ofCongress Subject Headings that have been fre-quently used with a given class number. The Li-brary of Congress Subject Headings are a sourceof additional entry vocabulary terminology for top-ics in the classification.

This CD-ROM database includes separate recordsfor built numbers from D.D.C.-21, Relative Indexand the nearest matching D.D.C. schedule num-ber with its caption. It will require a microcom-puter 486 system capable of running Windows 3.1or higher version along with a colour monitor, CD-ROM drive and a minimum of 8 MB memory.

An updated CD-ROM will be issued by OCLCForest Press with each new edition of D.D.C. andwith each publication of D.C. annually. There willbe an annual replacement fee for current users ofthe Windows Version who wish to upgrade thesame.

D.D.C. ON INTERNET

Dewey 'Home Page' has been created which in-cludes OCLC Forest Press Catalog, Dewey News,the Dewey A.L.A. report, some classification top-ics and Internet addresses of online cataloguesusing Dewey. The Home Page is located at WWWand may be addressed at URL:http:WWw.oelc.org/fp/

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CONCLUSION

The Editorial Policy Committee of the Dewey Deci-mal Classification - Edition 21 has taken everycare to incorporate the changes that are neces-sary to make it as a tool of classification for the21st Century. The comprehensive introductiongiving a brief overview of D.D.C., explaining itsconceptual framework, notational pattern, principleof hierarchy, explanation of different notes andnumber building exercise, citation and precedenceorder, manual, relative index, various options pro-vided thoughout the classification schedule to jus-tify local emphasis, racial, ethnic, national groups,the CD-ROM version-all these features make thisedition a grand addition to the present classifica-tion schemes.

The current trends in every branch of knowledgehave been taken note of meticulously. Thus, thepublication of this edition is one of the importantevents in the library & information science worldtowards the end of the 20th Century.

REFERENCES

1. DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION ANDRELATIVE INDEX. Vols. 1-4. Edn. 21. 1996.O.C.L.C., Forest Press; Albany, New York.

2. DEWEY FOR WINDOWS o.C.L.C. Newslet-ter: Asia Pacific Services.1996; July-August.

3. Know/dege Organization, 1995; 22, 314; 177.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The author is thankful to the Head, Departmentof Library Science, University of Mumbai for giv-ing permission to publish this paper.

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