Numbers with Two Sets of Standard Subdivisions

From time to time you may have run across a Dewey number with two sets of standard subdivisions. For example:

• 470.01–470.09 Standard subdivisions of Italic languages vs. 470.1–470.9 Standard subdivisions of Latin
• 646.7001–646.7009 Standard subdivisions of management of personal and family life vs. 646.701–646.709 Standard subdivisions of grooming
• 947.0001–947.0009 Standard subdivisions of eastern Europe vs. 947.001–947.009 Standard subdivisions of Russia

You may be surprised to find out there are more than three dozen such standard subdivision pairs in Dewey. Most of them are found in the 400s, 800s, and 900s.

Up to this time, it has not been possible to distinguish between the members of these pairs in WebDewey’s number building engine. If you were adding standard subdivisions at 646.7, for example, the number building engine automatically assumed you wanted 646.7001–646.7009 Standard subdivisions of management of personal and family life because that span came first. If you wanted to use 646.701–646.709 Standard subdivisions of grooming instead, you would have to use Edit Local and the record for the resulting number would not show how the number should have been built, were it possible to build it correctly.

But now—ta da!—the number building engine will allow you to distinguish between the two sets of standard subdivisions. In these cases only, at the appropriate point in your number building, click and add the standard subdivision span you want. You will then be taken to the appropriate standard subdivision span. When you click and add a standard subdivision notation from this span, it will be added with the correct number of zeros.

Let’s consider three examples—one from the 400s, one from the 800s, and one from the 900s.

Example 1. How can we build 470.143 Semantics of Latin? We go directly to 470.1–470.9 and click Start:

This takes us to Table 4 Subdivisions of Individual Languages and Language Families, based on the note that notation from Table 1 is to be used as modified under T4—01–09:

From there we navigate to, and then add, T4—0143 Semantics:

This allows us to build the correct number:

When we click Save, we generate a correct and informative MARC 765 field (you can see the 765 fields in built number records by clicking MARC at the top of the WebDewey screen):

765 0# $b 47 $a 470.1 $c 470.9 $z 4 $s 0143 $u 470.143

Example 2. Our investigation here will focus on 840.01–840.09 Standard subdivisions of literatures of Romance languages vs. 840.1–840.9 Standard subdivisions; collections in more than one form; history, description, critical appraisal of works in more than one form of French literature. If we want to build 840.03 for encyclopedias of Romance language literatures, we navigate to 840.01–840.09 and click Start:

This takes us to Table 1 Standard Subdivisions:

Clicking T1—03, and then Add, gives us the desired number:

When we save this number, we get the following 765 field:

765 0# $b 84 $a 840.01 $c 840.09 $f 0 $z 1 $s 03 $u 840.03

What if instead we wanted to build the number for encyclopedias of French-language literature? This time we start with 840.1–840.9, which takes us to Table 3B—01–07 Standard subdivisions:

Since the standard subdivision we want to add is not modified under Table 3B, we navigate to T1—03 and add our standard subdivision from there:

When we save this number, we get the following 765 field:

765 0# $b 840 $a 840.1 $c 840.9 $z 1 $r 0 $s 3 $u 840.3

But if we want to build 840.8 or 840.9 or any of their subdivisions, we should navigate to the appropriate notation within the context of Table 3B and add that notation. For example, to build the number for collections of French literary texts about holidays we navigate to T3B—0801–0809 and click Add:

Following the directions there, we navigate to T3C—334 Holidays and add that notation:

This results in building the number 840.80334:

When we save this number, we get the following 765 fields:

765 0# $b 840.8 $f 0 $z 3B $a 0801 $c 0809 $z 3C $s 334 $u 840.80334

765 0# $b 840 $a 840.1 $c 840.9 $z 3B $r 0 $s 8 $u 840.8

Example 3. Now we look at building a standard subdivision number for Germany, from the span under 943.001–943.009, which we distinguish from standard subdivisions of central Europe from the span under 943.0001–943.0009. More specifically, we wish to build the number for the history of Turks in Germany. We begin by clicking Start at 943.001-943.009:

This takes us directly to the Table 2 notation for Germany, which we add:

This takes us, in turn, to the standard subdivisions in the add table under 930–990:

From here we add in turn 930-990:0041-0049, T5—943, and T6—9435, to give us 943.0049435:

When saved, the resulting 765s are:

765 0#  $b 943.004943 $z 5 $a 943 $z 6 $r 943 $s 5 $u 943.0049435

765 0#  $b 943.004 $a 930 $c 990 $w 930 $c 990 $y 1 $a 0041 $c 0049 $z 5 $s 943 $u 943.004943

765 0#  $b 943 $a 943.001 $c 943.009 $w 930 $c 990 $y 1 $t 004 $u 943.004

765 0#  $b 9 $a 943.001 $c 943.009 $z 2 $s 43 $u 943

Unfortunately, we are aware of a problematic set of circumstances, namely, when a 900 number is being built using the add table under 930–990 and the standard subdivision range with fewer zeros applies. There are three subcases. First, if the standard subdivision being added is special notation in the add table under 930–990 and or if it is built using an add note in that add table, everything should be fine; for example, consider what we have just seen in building the number for the history of Turks in Germany, which uses special notation 930–990:0041–0049. (Recall that standard subdivisions of central Europe are on three zeros at 943.0001–943.0009, thus making standard subdivisions of Germany at 943.001–943.009 the standard subdivision range with fewer zeros.)

Second, but what if we wanted to build the number for an encyclopedia of German history, i.e., 943.003, where notation 930–990:003 Dictionaries, encyclopedias, concordances is found in the add table, but it is not special notation, nor is it built using an add note in that add table? We begin by clicking Start at 943.001-943.009 and then add T2—43. After this we are given the chance to add from 930–990:001–009. If we then click 930–990:003, we get the correct number, but the 765 field will (appropriately enough) reflect that the 003 came from the add table under 930–990, when its source should be Table 1. (For help in determining when to use standard subdivisions notation in an add table and when to go straight to Table 1, see this previous blog post). We can get the correct number, but only at the expense of an incorrect 765 field.

The third subcase occurs when the standard subdivision being added is not special notation in the add table under 930–990, is not built using an add note in that add table, and doesn’t display as a single notation in that add table. For example, if we wanted to build the number for a journal of German history, we begin by clicking Start at 943.001-943.009 and then add T2—43. After this we are given the chance to add from 930–990:001–009. But the notation for journals occurs only as part of a range, 930–990:005–006. Under these circumstances, we have no choice but to navigate to T1—05 Serial publications. When we click and add T1—05, the result will include an extra zero, which must be corrected using Edit Local. This subcase also includes all the subordinate Table 1 notations not explicitly listed in the add table under 930–990 (e.g., T1—0202 Synopses and outlines, T1—083 Young people). Again, the only option is to navigate to the desired notation in Table 1 and to correct the number of zeros in the resulting number using Edit Local.