Index and Manual

Please look at your Dewey Decimal Classification 13th abridged edition, page 675.  Specifically examine the entry on Borneo.

The Index is a very important part of the process of assigning notations to library materials. The index in the back of the DDC is very detailed, and will steer the user to the correct section of the schedules. The index also includes indications under some entries that refer the user to information in the tables. For example, looking up the name of a country or state, such as Borneo, in the index will give the user a reference to a number in the 900 section of the schedules. A second entry in the index, preceded by T2, is the geographic notation from Table 2 for that country or state. The index should be the first place for the cataloger to look when developing a notation for an item in the library collection.

The Manual is included in the DDC to help explain how decisions were made in organizing the information contained in the DDC. Many times areas of knowledge overlap or relate to each other. In classification, this is hard to indicate when only one location can be assigned to each item in the library. This is unlike subject headings, where several terms can be used as access points to help indicate the variety of focus of an item in the library. Many times catalogers have a difficult time determining whether an item should be given a notation from one class or another. For example, should a book on modern Islamic principles be listed in the 200 class as a work on a religion, or be listed in the 300 class as a work of political science. The manual contains many explanations for situations such as this, defining the meaning of each of the conflicting areas so that the cataloger can choose the best location for the item being worked on.

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