Describe the main classes of Dewey Decimal and the library of congress classification systems

The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system and the Library of Congress Classification (LCC) system are two of the most widely used library classification systems in the world.

1. Dewey Decimal Classification System: This system was created by Melvil Dewey in 1876, and it is a proprietary library classification system first published in the United States. The DDC is divided into ten main classes covering the entire world of knowledge; each main class is further structured into ten divisions, and each division into ten sections (not all numbers for all divisions in all sections have been used). The main classes are:

   • 000 – Computer science, information & general works
   • 100 – Philosophy & psychology
   • 200 – Religion
   • 300 – Social sciences
   • 400 – Language
   • 500 – Science
   • 600 – Technology
   • 700 – Arts & recreation
   • 800 – Literature
   • 900 – History & geography

2. Library of Congress Classification System: The LCC system is a classification system that was first developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to organize and arrange the book collections of the Library of Congress. Over the course of the 20th century, the system was adopted for use by other libraries as well, especially large academic libraries in the United States. It is a system that uses alphanumeric codes to denote the subject of a book. The LCC system divides the field of knowledge into twenty main classes with an additional class on general works. This system allows books to be stored in shelf order, a system that makes it easier for people to find books. The main classes are:

   • A -- General Works
   • B -- Philosophy. Psychology. Religion
   • C -- Auxiliary Sciences of History
   • D -- World History and History of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, etc.
   • E -- History of America
   • F -- Local History of the United States and British, Dutch, French, and Latin America
   • G -- Geography, Anthropology, and Recreation
   • H -- Social Sciences
   • J -- Political Science
   • K -- Law
   • L -- Education
   • M -- Music and Books on Music
   • N -- Fine Arts
   • P -- Language and Literature
   • Q -- Science
   • R -- Medicine
   • S -- Agriculture
   • T -- Technology
   • U -- Military Science
   • V -- Naval Science
   • Z -- Bibliography, Library Science, and General Information Resources

These are the main classes of both the Dewey Decimal and the Library of Congress classification systems. Each main class is further divided into subclasses that get more specific with each subdivision.