Melvil Dewey created the Dewey Decimal System to organize information into ten major subject areas.

Dewey Decimal Classification System

* 000-099 Generalities: encyclopedias, periodicals, newspapers,TV, Internet, Macintosh, Network Troubleshooting
* 100-199 Philosophy: esthetics, psychology, logic, ethics
* 200-299 Religion: Bible, theology, church doctrine
* 300-399 Social Sciences: sociology, economics, law, education, shopping
* 400-499 Language: dictionaries, grammars, readers, all languages
* 500-599 Pure Sciences: mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry
* 600-699 Technology: engineering, agriculture, aircraft, pets, business
* 700-799 The Arts: architecture, sculpture, painting, music, sports
* 800-899 Literature: poetry, drama and essays in all language
* 900-999 Geography & History: general geography, travel, histories of all countries and ages
* Biography: Biography is arranged by the last name of the person the book is written about.
Example: George Washington is 92 Was
* Fiction: Grouped by author's last name. Example: Hemingway is FIC HEM

Dewey gave each subject a number. This number is known as the call number. A call number; like an address, tells where the book can be located in the library. His system uses letters and numbers, which make sure that books of the same topic are placed together on the shelf.