The Numbers The Numbers inin NonfictionNonfiction

Recipe for making a nonfiction number:

818PRE

Numbers for subject areaFirst 3

letters of author’s last nameNumbersNumbers & & LettersLetters

Now let’s learn more about the NUMBERSNUMBERS in a nonfiction call number.

The Dewey Decimal System is a tool

used to sort books into

groups groups or or

categoriescategories

This system was invented by a man

named

He was a librarian who lived long ago.

Sorting books by subject, what a

There are 10 general groups for sorting

ALLALL of the subjects

General means broad, lots of subjects will fit into each

group.

The 10 GroupsThe 10 Groups:

General Works Philosophy

Religion Social Studies

Language Science

Technology Arts and Leisure

Literature History/Geography

000sGeneral Works

Books that fit in this group have many

different subjects in them.

Here are some examples:

100sPhilosophy

Books that fit in this group tell about how we

think and feel.

Here are some examples:

200sReligion

Books in this group tell about different religions or stories from the bible.

Here are some examples:

FRIOFRIO

The Lightning Thief:Percy Jackson series

(Book 1) by Rick Riordan

The Lost Hero:The Heroes of Olympus series (Book 1) by Rick

RiordanFRIOFRIO

300s Social Sciences

Books in this group tell about how people live

together.

300 Social Issues 320

Government 330

Careers 340

Court System 350

Military Equipment 360

Environmental Issues 370

Education 380

Transportation 390

Holidays & Scary Stories

Fairy tales, folk tales, tall tales and myths are also placed (or grouped) in the 300s.

Here are some examples:

Here are some examples of holiday books:

Books about our government are found in the 300s.

Books about families are found in the 300s.

Books about careers are found in the

300s.

Books about trains are found in the 300s.

Books about the history of transportation are found in the

300s.

Scary stories are found in the 300s.

ESHAESHA

It’s Christmas,David!by David Shannon

811ANG811ANG

Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem by Maya Angelou

400s-Language

Books in this group are about different

languages or grammar.

Here are some examples:

500s-Science & Math

Books in this group are about things from

nature.

500 Science Experiments510 Mathematics  520 Stars, planets, astronomy530 Physical Science - force &

motion, electricity, magnetism540 Chemistry, Atoms & Molecules550 Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Weather560 Dinosaurs, Prehistoric Animals570 Forests, Deserts, Mountains,

Oceans, Evolution580 Plants & Trees590 Animals & Insects599 Mammals

Here are some examples:

Books about dinosaurs are ALWAYS found in the 500s and have this call number: 567.9

Books about snakes are

ALWAYS found in the 500s and have this call

number: 597.96

Books about elephants are ALWAYS found in the 500s and have this call

number: 599.67

Snakes as

pets: 639.3

600s-Technology

This group has man-made things that make the world

a better place.

Inventions! Cooking! Human

body!

Tractors!

Farm Animals!

Fire Trucks!

Paper Making!

Woodworking!

Dogs!

700s-Arts and Leisure

Books in this group are about things we do for

fun.

Art!Origami!

Football!Drawing!

Baseball!Camping! Cartoons!

Fishing! Crafts!

800s-Literature

Books in this group are stories, plays, poetry, and joke &

riddle books.

Here are some examples:

This is the group fiction books were put in

long ago when The Dewey Decimal The Dewey Decimal

SystemSystem was first invented.

Today we have too many fiction books in our libraries to organize them in this way, so fiction books

have their own way of being

organized.

In

order, by

author’s last name

!

900s-History/Geography

Books in this group tell about events and

places.

977.739977.7

Biography-920s

This is the biography section that contains

books about groups of people.

Here are some examples:

Knowing these 10 big groups will help make it easier to find the books

you want in the nonfiction section.

REMEMBER, nonfiction call numbers are placed in number order first, so

that means all of the books about the same

subject end up near each other on the shelf.