Cataloging

Dewey Table

SUBJECT DEWEY NUMBER NOTES
Anecdotes, jokes, quotations, riddles, tongue twisters, etc. 808.882 For long form works of humor by a single author (i.e., Stephen Colbert, Dave Barry, Bill Maher), use 814 (essays) or 818.XX07 (miscellaneous works, including parodies and satires). Alternatively, class “funny” memoirs or commentaries by topic matter, appending the humor facet -0207 to the relevant class number.
American poetry in English 811 Use for collections of US poetry. Also class here any biography of an American poet not shelved in the BIO neighborhood. Append to the literature class (811), language family (811), and form (811) a time period facet representing the years in which the author’s writing career flourished. For example, Sylvia Plath’s works are under 811.54. This pattern repeats for the other language families — British poetry 821, German poetry 831, etc.
American drama in English 812 Use for the text of plays. Also class here any biography of an American playwright not shelved in the BIO neighborhood. Append to the literature class (812), language family (812), and form (812) a time period facet representing the years in which the author’s writing career flourished. For example, Arthur Miller’s Death of a salesman is shelved at 812.52, where the -52 represents the first half of the 20th century. This pattern repeats for the other language families — British plays 822, German plays 832, etc.
American fiction in English 813 Class works on American novelists and short story writers here. Append to the literature class (813), language family (813), and form (813) a time period facet representing the years in which the author’s writing career flourished. For example, our books on Hemingway are under the number 813.52, where the -52 represents the first half of the 20th century. This pattern repeats for the other language families — British fiction 823, German fiction 833, etc.
American essays in English 814 Use for collections of short-form nonfiction by American authors. Many of the works classed here are literary in nature, but the number is not restricted to “serious” works. Humorous observations about contemporary life, for example, often go well under 814. As with the other entries on this page, append to the literature class (814), language family (814), and form (814) a time period facet representing the years in which the author’s writing career flourished. For example, essays by Dave Barry and Christopher Hitchens are shelved at 814.54, where the -54 represents the latter half of the 20th century. This pattern repeats for the other language families — British essays 824, German essays 834, etc.
American speeches in English 815 Rarely used at NPT. Prefer 808.85 (rhetoric and collections, speeches) OR the topic matter the speeches cover (i.e., a collection of FDR’s speeches: 973.917).
American letters in English 816
American miscellaneous writings in English 818
COVID-19, literary collections 808.8493561 Put anthologies of essays, stories, poems, etc. on the pandemic here.