Universal Decimal Classification

Universal decimal classification used at the library of the maison Losseau

The Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) is a bibliographic and library classification representing the systematic arrangement of all branches of human knowledge organized as a coherent system in which knowledge fields are related and inter-linked. The UDC is a faceted classification system featuring detailed vocabulary and syntax that enables powerful content indexing and information retrieval in large collections. Since 1991, the UDC has been owned and managed by the UDC Consortium, a non-profit international association of publishers with headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands.

Unlike other library classification schemes that started their life as national systems, the UDC was conceived and maintained as an international scheme. Its translation into other languages started at the beginning of the 20th century and has since been published in various printed editions in over 40 languages. UDC Summary, an abridged Web version of the scheme, is available in over 50 languages. The classification has been modified and extended over the years to cope with increasing output in all areas of human knowledge, and is still under continuous review to take account of new developments.

Albeit originally designed as an indexing and retrieval system, due to its logical structure and scalability, UDC has become one of the most widely used knowledge organization systems in libraries, where it is used for either shelf arrangement, content indexing or both. UDC codes can describe any type of document or object to any desired level of detail. These can include textual documents and other media such as films, video and sound recordings, illustrations, maps as well as realia such as museum objects.

37.037:796.56, provided in the article "The game method as means of interface of technical-tactical and psychological preparation in sports orienteering" in the Russian journal "Pedagogico-psychological and medico-biological problems of the physical culture and sport" (ISSN 1580-2949).

The design of UDC lends itself to machine readability, and the system has been used both with early automatic mechanical sorting devices, and modern library OPACs. Since 1993, a standard version of UDC has been maintained and distributed in a database format: UDC Master Reference File (UDC MRF) which is updated and released regularly. The 2011 version of the MRF (released in 2012) contains over 70,000 classes. In the past full printed editions used to have around 220,000 subdivisions.

A notation is a code commonly used in classification schemes to represent a class, i.e. a subject and its position in the hierarchy, to enable mechanical sorting and filing of subjects. UDC uses Arabic numerals arranged decimally. Every number is thought of as a decimal fraction with the initial decimal point omitted, which determines the filing order. An advantage of decimal notational systems is that they are infinitely extensible, and when new subdivisions are introduced, they need not disturb the existing allocation of numbers. For ease of reading, a UDC notation is usually punctuated after every third digit:

Notation	Caption (Class description)
539.120.22	Conservation laws
539.120.226	Space-time symmetries
539.120.4	Unified field theories
34 Law. Jurisprudence and 913 Regional geography, (084.3) Maps (document form). Basic features and syntax edit UDC is a faceted classification. It allows an unlimited combination of attributes of a subject and relationships between subjects to be expressed. UDC codes from different tables can be combined to present various aspects of document content and form, e.g. (410) United Kingdom, uniquely representing the concept of United Kingdom can be used to express (075) Textbook and 2(075)=111 Religion textbooks in English or (0...)	1d	Form
"..."	1g	Time
-04	Relations, processes and operations
59+636 zoology and animal breeding
/</nowiki>"}},"i":0}}]}'>/	stroke	consecutive extension	17:7 Relation of ethics to art
[ ]</nowiki>"}},"i":0}}]}'>[ ]	square brackets	subgrouping	*	asterisk	Introduces non-UDC notation	821.133.1MOL French literature, works of Molière

UDC classes in this outline are taken from the Multilingual Universal Decimal Classification Summary (UDCC Publication No. 088) released by the UDC Consortium under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 license (first release 2009, subsequent update 2012).

Class	Description
002	Documentation. Books. Writings. Authorship
004.2	Computer architecture
004.5	Human-computer interaction
004.8	Artificial intelligence
005.1	Management Theory
005.5	Management operations. Direction
005.9	Fields of management
005.94	Knowledge management
007	Activity and organizing. Information. Communication and control theory generally (cybernetics)
02	Librarianship
06	Organizations of a general nature
08	Polygraphies. Collective works (as subject)
11	Metaphysics
13	Philosophy of mind and spirit. Metaphysics of spiritual life
159.9	Psychology
159.93	Sensation. Sensory perception
159.96	Special mental states and processes
16	Logic. Epistemology. Theory of knowledge. Methodology of logic
26-5 Worship in Judaism, 21/29	Religious systems. Religions and faiths
23	Religions originating in Indian sub-continent. Hindu religion in the broad sense
26	Judaism
29	Modern spiritual movements

2-2

Evidences of religion
2-5	Worship broadly. Cult. Rites and ceremonies
2-8	Religions characterised by various properties
304	Social questions. Social practice. Cultural practice. Way of life (Lebensweise)
311	Statistics as a science. Statistical theory
316	Sociology
34	Law. Jurisprudence
37	Education
502	The environment and its protection
510	Fundamental and general considerations of mathematics
514	Geometry
519.2	Probability. Mathematical statistics
519.8	Operational research (OR): mathematical theories and methods
531/534	Mechanics
537	Electricity. Magnetism. Electromagnetism
54	Chemistry. Crystallography. Mineralogy
544	Physical chemistry
548/549	Mineralogical sciences. Crystallography. Mineralogy
57	Biological sciences in general
621.882.212 Hexagon screws with additional shapes. Including: Flank screws. Collar screws. Cap screws Class Description 611/612 Human biology 615 Pharmacology. Therapeutics. Toxicology 618 Gynaecology. Obstetrics 621 Mechanical engineering in general. Nuclear technology. Electrical engineering. Machinery 624 Civil and structural engineering in general 629 Transport vehicle engineering 631/635 Farm management. Agronomy. Horticulture 64 Home economics. Domestic science. Housekeeping 655 Graphic industries. Printing. Publishing. Book trade 658 Business management, administration. Commercial organization 67 Various industries, trades and crafts 71 Physical planning. Regional, town and country planning. Landscapes, parks, gardens 74 Drawing. Design. Applied arts and crafts 76 Graphic art, printmaking. Graphics 79 Recreation. Entertainment. Games. Sport 793 Social entertainments and recreations. Art of movement. Dance 797 Water sports. Aerial sports 7.01/.09 Special auxiliary subdivision for the arts Class Description 7.03 Artistic periods and phases. Schools, styles, influences 7.06 Various questions concerning art 7.091 Performance, presentation (in original medium) 8 Language. Linguistics. Literature edit Tables for class 8 are fully faceted and details are expressed through combination with common auxiliaries of language (Table 1c) and a series of special auxiliary tables to indicate other facets or attributes in Linguistics or Literature. As a result, this class allows for great specificity in indexing although the schedules themselves occupy very little space in UDC. The subdivisions of =1/=9 (Table 1c) by substituting a point for the equals sign. Thus =111 English language. Common auxiliaries of place and time are also frequently used in this class to express place and time facets of Linguistics or Literature, e.g. 801	Prosody. Auxiliary sciences and sources of philology
811	Languages Derived from the common auxiliaries of language 811.. E.g. 811.1/.9	All languages natural or artificial
811.21/.22	Indo-Iranian languages
811.5	Ural-Altaic, Palaeo-Siberian, Eskimo-Aleut, Dravidian and Sino-Tibetan languages. Japanese. Korean. Ainu
811.8	American indigenous languages
821	Literatures of individual languages and language families Derived from the common auxiliaries of language 821.. E.g. 81`1/`4 Special auxiliary subdivision for linguistics and languages
Class	Description
81`3	Mathematical and applied linguistics. Phonetics. Graphemics. Grammar. Semantics. Stylistics
81`44	Typological linguistics

82-2

Drama. Plays
82-32	Short stories. Novellas
82-6	Letters. Art of letter-writing. Correspondence. Genuine letters
82-9	Various other literary forms
82.02/.09 Special auxiliary subdivision for theory, study and technique of literature
Class	Description
82.091	Comparative literary studies. Comparative literature

Tables for Geography and History in UDC are fully faceted and place, time and ethnic grouping facets are expressed through combination with common auxiliaries of place (Table 1e), ethnic grouping (Table 1f) and time (Table 1g)

Class	Description
903	Prehistory. Prehistoric remains, artifacts, antiquities
91	Geography. Exploration of the Earth and of individual countries. Travel. Regional geography
911.2	Physical geography
912	Nonliterary, nontextual representations of a region
929	Biographical studies
929.7	Nobility. Titles. Peerage
930	Science of history. Historiography
930.25	Archivistics. Archives (including public and other records)
View original on Wikipedia | Back | FazBrowse Home