An essential handbook of the Dewey Decimal Classification System

CHICAGO — The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), used in 200,000 libraries across 140 countries, has entered a new age, primarily maintained today as a continuously revised electronic system rather than an occasionally updated set of print volumes. Its editors have added newly emerging topics and made it an increasingly faceted, semantically rich, modern system. Simultaneously, the editorial process has become democratized and more responsive to global needs. Published by Facet Publishing and available through the ALA Store, “A Handbook of History, Theory and Practice of the Dewey Decimal Classification System” is an indispensable guide to today’s DDC, an essential companion for DDC classifiers, and an accessible resource for students and continuing learners. Written by M. P. Satija and Alex Kyrios, this handbook’s coverage includes:

• a brief history of the system, its editors, and its development;
• specialized examinations of specific parts of the classification;
• extensive guidance on number building, with many examples;
• a WebDewey-specific chapter, covering the system's benefits and features; and
• concise summaries of primary takeaways, a glossary, and extensive bibliography.

Satija is an Emeritus fellow in the Department of Library & Information Science, Guru Nanak Dev University, India. In his long professional career he has written extensively on library classification systems, especially the Dewey Decimal Classification and the Colon Classification. He has authored textbooks on every edition of the DDC since 1979 and has collaborated with three successive editors of the DDC. Dr. Satija serves on the editorial boards of many international journals including the ISKO journal Knowledge Organization, and is a member of the UDC Consortium, The Hague.

Kyrios is the Senior Editor of the Dewey Decimal Classification at OCLC, based out of the Library of Congress. He is responsible for overseeing the continuous updating and revision of the classification, working with partners and volunteers around the world.

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