025.431: The Dewey blog

Contribute numbers like a pro

One of my favorite things about WebDewey is the way users can contribute built numbers, sending them to me and my team for review for potential inclusion for all users. I love that wiki-esque model of collaborative building. With DDC, it’s also like watching the classification grow in real time. Sure, those numbers already exist in the sense that they’re already valid, but there’s something to be said for actually seeing the number in context.

Anything you contribute, we’ll review and make any necessary changes to. Here are some tips to build a number that we can publish quickly.

#1: Look for models

I do this too, even in our internal database. Whether I’m building a number or creating a new one, I look for similar numbers to be a model as a starting point. With built numbers, sometimes it’s as easy as swapping out one component for another, such as one subdivision or Table 2 number for a similar one. Some areas have so many existing built numbers, it’s really easy to gauge, such as 327.3-327.9 Foreign relations of specific continents, countries, localities.

The ”Synthesized number components” box of existing built numbers can help too, since it lays out the number’s components, with links to each. Just be aware, I’ve compared this box to a list of ingredients on food packaging, rather than a recipe. It tells you what’s inside, but not how to put them together. (Fortunately, it’s much easier to figure out that part from the list of components than it would be to reverse engineer a recipe from a list of ingredients!)

#2: Pick the right index terms

This can often be the hardest part of building a number, partially because it’s a place that an individual’s needs can diverge from those of users in general. Anything you save as a user term will be accessible through WebDewey’s search, which can make it helpful for naming topics of local interest. But the ideal index term for users in general will be the full meaning of the number.

For example, when attending a family member’s wedding last year, I made a quick visit to Fort Monroe, in Hampton, Virginia. Following instructions at 623.19, a work on the fort could class at 623.19755412 (or perhaps with history of the city at 975.5412, but let’s keep things simple). If I were a classifier in that area and saw many works about that fort, I might well want to name it in my index term so I could quickly call up that number when desired. But the real meaning of that number isn’t the specific fort: it’s forts in the city of Hampton. So the most appropriate Relative Index term is “Fortifications—military engineering—Hampton (Va.)”. If a user contributed that number, that’s the term we’d ultimately want attached to it.

Comments are a great way to log information specific to your work, or that of your institution, and WebDewey will also search the contents of comments. When contributing numbers, try to think of its broader utility for all users.

#3: Avoid building in tables

Tables 1-6, the external tables, are important to so much number building. I’m not saying don’t use them! But I’d avoid using a table number as a base number, even though WebDewey will allow it in many cases.

Why? There are examples of this in WebDewey after all, such as T1—0245, meaning works for scientists. It’s true that in many places, wherever you can use standard subdivisions, you can add 0245 to a number to express that works on that topic for scientists. But the number builder won’t actually allow you to add pre-built notation like that. The number builder works very literally, looking at add instructions at any given place to put together a number. It needs to be led to T1—024 to follow the add instructions there.

This also helps avoid some incorrect numbers. I know it can be tedious, but building things step by step can help avoid errors. These days, I mostly just publish built table numbers if they’re in areas with many existing built numbers, such as Table 3C, or where the index term would be particularly useful—and there’s a lot of overlap between those two situations.

#4: Go forth and build!

My last piece of advice is to not worry about the rest! If you’re in doubt, you’re welcome to send something through. Maybe we could get to a point where I’m inundated with hundreds of numbers a day and I can’t keep up, but right now, we’re far from that.

Following the tips above can help your number get through more quickly. And in large part, this post is about getting general advice out there, because I don’t have a good way of contacting individual users with questions about their contributions. I can only see the institution that contributed.

So with all that said, go forth and build! It’s a great first step to getting involved with the DDC editorial process.

Standard subdivisions and the WebDewey number building tool

Since so much number building in the DDC involves standard subdivisions, understanding how they work with WebDewey’s number building tool is important for any classifier.

First, remember a couple of basics about using standard subdivisions:

• You can use them anywhere unless instructed otherwise
• You should not add one standard subdivision to another
• Where a zero is already used for subdivisions of a number in a schedule, use double zeros for standard subdivisions

As always, the number builder can be very powerful, but it’s not at all hard to create invalid numbers with it. Whenever you’re building a number that doesn’t have other instructions, WebDewey will take you to Table 1. When you’re just starting out, that’s good. But just because WebDewey takes you there doesn’t mean you can necessarily add standard subdivisions.

Try this: go to any potential base number in the schedules without its own add instructions. There are many possible numbers you could use—if you need a suggestion, 636.01 works. Click START in the number builder, and sure enough, you’re taken to Table 1. Now add a single standard subdivision (again without instructions of its own), say T1—05. Click ADD and you’re taken back to Table 1.

The rules of the DDC prevent you from adding further standard subdivisions, but the number builder allows it. Why is that? My #1 reason is that the number builder will never be perfect, and we’d rather let you build some invalid numbers than not build some valid ones. As a local adaptation, you might also choose to ignore the prohibition against adding multiple standard subdivisions, though the EDIT LOCAL button is a better way to handle such practices.

The way the number builder improves is constant iteration. If it prevents you from building a valid number, I want to hear about it so we can look into fixing it! But I hope the above example shows you that building invalid numbers isn’t too hard to do. Beyond standard subdivisions, you can still report cases like that, but we’ll keep erring on the side of letting you build.

If you’re interested in more on this topic, check the blog’s tag for the WebDewey number building tool.

Latin literature and classical Greek literature

Why all the changes to records in these spans? Surely there is no reason to reclassify and rearrange these books?

871-878 Subdivisions for specific forms of Latin literature

881-888 Subdivisions for specific forms of classical Greek literature

Indeed, no reason that we know. The changes are almost all to the instructions for building numbers (with a few changes to the Relative Index entries). The resulting numbers are unchanged. Virgil’s Aeneid, for example, is still classed in 873.01 Epic poetry—Latin literature—Roman period.

Why change the instructions? Previously, there were add notes like this, formerly at 871-878 Subdivisions for specific forms of Latin literature:

Add to base number 87 as instructed at beginning of Table 3, e.g., Latin letters 876; however, observe the special interpretations of and exceptions to notation from Table 3 that appear below, e.g., Latin epic poetry and fiction 873

At 873 Latin epic poetry and fiction, there was a footnote add note: “Add as instructed under 871-878 and at beginning of Table 3.”

The problem was that the schedules were full of exceptions to the general pattern in Table 3. For classifiers, those exceptions were a nuisance and an opportunity for error. The exceptions left the WebDewey number building tool completely baffled; it was constantly trying to build incorrect numbers—adding a new hazard for classifiers.

Our solution was to remove all the general instructions to “add as instructed in Table 3” and to provide specific instructions instead. We now mention Table 3 only where notation from Table 3 can be added without any need to warn about exceptions. (Would you have preferred that we revise 871-878 and 881-888 to match Table 3 and ask you to reclassify and rearrange the books? We didn’t think so.)

For an example of the new approach, at 873 Latin epic poetry and fiction, there is no add note. At 873.01-873.04 Specific periods are these instructions:

Add to base number 873.0 notation 871-878:1-4 from the period table under 871-878, e.g., Latin epic poetry of the Roman period 873.01; then, for works by or about more than one author, add the numbers following T3B—10 in notation T3B—1001-T3B—1009 from Table 3B, e.g., collections of Latin epic poetry from the Roman period 873.0108

Subdivisions are added for Latin epic poetry, for Latin fiction, or both

Following these instructions, we can use the number building tool to build a number for The Romances of Alexander: 873.03080351 Latin epic poetry and fiction—Medieval period—Specific persons—collections. The Synthesized number components box shows the elements used to build the number:

Historical periods and geographic localities

    Guest post by Rebecca Green

The entry at 930-990 is the starting point for building a large portion of the numbers in that span. An add instruction there calls first for adding notation from Table 2 to base number 9. For example, 952 History of Japan is built with base number 9 History and geography, plus notation 52 from T2--52 Japan. The add table under 930-990 then provides for notation to be added for historical periods (930-990:01-09) or for standard subdivisions (930-990:001-009), including ethnic and national groups (930-990:004).

If the number is to reflect a particular historical period, the instructions tell the classifier to "add to 0 the historical period numbers following 0 from the appropriate continent, country, locality in 930-990." But the number-building tool isn't omniscient. Given a specific locality, how would the tool know where to find the corresponding historical period numbers?

The editorial team grappled with this problem at length, considering more than a half dozen possible solutions. The solution that has been implemented involves the addition of numerous entries for "localities of" countries, under which is found an add table with subentries for standard subdivisions and for historical periods.

This is what we find, for example, under 952.1-952.8 Localities of Japan:

And here are all the notes found there:

Three aspects of these entries are worthy of mention:

• Numbers built using these add instructions are able to represent locality at any level given in Table 2.
• The full range of standard subdivisions given in the add table under 930-990 is made available for use.
• The add table directs the classifier to the historical period notation appropriate to the locality.

Taken collectively, these add instructions permit the classifier to build the same set of numbers that can be built by correctly following the add instructions under 930-990. The difference is that, by starting at the "localities of" entry for the country, the classifier is led through the number-building process in a way that helps ensure that numbers are built correctly.

For example, let’s build the number for The death of old Yokohama:  in the great Japanese earthquake of September 1, 1923. We start at 952.1-952.8 Localities of Japan and then add T2—521364 Yokohama, which leads us to this point in the number-building process:

We then navigate to 930-990:01-05 Historical periods and click Add, which gives:

At the same time, the Hierarchy box now displays the appropriate historical period notation:

We find the correct notation for 1923, 952.032 Taishō period, 1912-1926. Clicking Add gives us the full number:

The first 765 field in the corresponding MARC record may surprise you a little:

    765 1# $b 9 $a 930 $c 990 $z 2 $s 52 $u 952

as it shows that the instructions for adding T2--52 to the base number 9 are found in 930-990--which is true--even though we didn’t start there. The next 765 field reflects where our process in building the number began by indicating that we are following the instructions at 952.1-952.8 to add Table 2 notation, T2--521364:

    765 0# $b 952 $a 952.1 $c 952.8 $z 2 $r 52 $s 1364 $u 952.1364

Note that "localities of" entries have been added carefully to mirror the building of numbers allowed through 930-990. Specifically, "localities of" entries have not been added if the necessary add instructions were already present in the schedules (e.g., 935.71-935.79 Provinces of Iran to 637). Nor have such entries been added where historical period notation is specifically blocked (e.g., 943.648 †Liechtenstein). Lastly, "localities of" entries have not been added if there is no Table 2 notation in the downward hierarchy of the notation corresponding to the number under which period notation is found (e.g., 939.73 Carthage, 948.1 Norway).

Providing "localities of" entries has been a team effort over an extended period of time. Michael Panzer and Winton Matthews designed the prototype "localities of" entry. Rebecca Green programmed the generation of the entries, while Alex Kyrios and Juli Beall joined in verifying and putting the finishing touches on the entries.

Understanding add table notation in WebDewey

In 2012 we posted a blog entry that began:

We were asked, "Why are there colons in some numbers in WebDewey?  Is that a glitch?"  No, those numbers represent add table notation; the part before the colon gives the DDC number or number span where the add table is located, and the part following the colon represents the notation in the add table.

The information in that earlier blog post is still valid. But because we are now hearing from teachers that beginning classifiers are having trouble understanding add table notation in WebDewey, we want to address the issue again with another example.

If you have a work on reserves or supply of geothermal energy, start with the record for 333.88 *Geothermal energy; that is the base number to which you will add notation to express the concept of reserves.  Here is the Hierarchy box with 333.88 as the focal point:

Here is the Notes box for 333.88 with the add note: *Add as instructed under 333.7-333.9:

If you click 333.7-333.9 in that add note, you go to the record for 333.7-333.9 Natural resources and energy. That record has an add table in the Notes box. The add table is long; here is the beginning:

The add table entry 11 Reserves has a note indicating that reserves in this context is a synonym for stock or supply. The notation that you want to add to base number 333.88 Geothermal energy is 11 Reserves. If you click 11 in the add table, you will see the individual record for that add table number as the focal point in the Hierarchy box:

In the expression 333.7-333.9:11, the part before the colon (333.7-333.9) is the DDC number span where the add table is located, and the part following the colon (11) represents the notation in the add table. If you are building the number by copying and pasting, be sure to copy and paste only the notation following the colon (11) to build 333.8811 Geothermal energy reserves.

To use the WebDewey number-building engine instead of copy-and-paste to build the number, go to the record for 333.88 *Geothermal energy, then click START in the Create built number box. You will be taken to the record for 333.7-333.9 Natural resources and energy. In the Notes box, click 11 Reserves. Then click ADD. The Create built number box will look like this:

You can then save the number that you have built: 333.8811.

The number-building engine has added only 11 to 333.88 to build 333.8811; but in the Create built number box it uses the expression 333.7-333.9:11 to show that 11 has come from the add table at the span 333.7-333.9.

Use standard subdivisions notation in an add table, or go straight to Table 1?

Are you having problems using the WebDewey number building tool when you have been sent to an add table, but you want to add standard subdivision notation? Do you know when you should click on notation in the add table, then click Add; and when you should instead go straight to Table 1? The key is to determine whether there is special notation or a special add note in the add table that you need for your work; if not, you should go straight to Table 1. Let's explore that decision by looking at three different add tables that include standard subdivisions.

For the first example, consider the add table under 368.1-368.8 Specific kinds of insurance:

In the add table, standard subdivision T1—06 Organizations and management has a modified caption as well as an extra zero: 006 Organizations and management; insurance companies. It has the note "Notation T1—06 from Table 1 as modified below." Special notation 0065 Insurance companies appears below.  If you need to use that special notation for your work, then you must use the notation in the add table; you will not find that notation in Table 1. If, however, you need instead to add another standard subdivision (e.g., T1—09 History, geographic treatment, biography), you should go straight to Table 1. The number building tool will supply the extra zero, based on the double zeros shown in the add table. For a more detailed presentation of this example, see this earlier blog post.

For the second example, consider the add table under 781.63-781.69 Other traditions of music:

The note "Notation from Table 1 as modified under 780.1-780.8, e.g., performances 078" under 01-08 Standard subdivisions serves as a de facto add note. If you need to use one of the modifications under 780.1-780.8 for your work, you should click 01-08 Standard subdivisions in the add table, then click Add to get that note inside the Create built number box. For a more detailed presentation of this example, see this earlier blog post.

For the third example, consider the add table under 721-729 Specific aspects of architecture:

If you need to use the special notation or special add notes in this table for your work, then you should click the appropriate notation in the add table, e.g., click 04 Special topics to get the add note "Add to 04 the numbers following 720.4 in 720.44-720.49, e.g., energy conservation 0472" into the Create built number box. 

Similarly, if you need to indicate that your work treats architectural drawings from a specific area, then you need to click notation 0222 Pictures and related illustrations, which has the notes:

Class here architectural drawings

Add to 0222 notation T2—1-T2—9 from Table 2, e.g., architectural drawings from England 022242

That add note is not found in Table 1 in the record for T1—0222 Pictures and related illustrations.

But if you need to indicate that your work treats buildings from a specific area, and you read the notes under the add table notation 09 History, geographic treatment, biography and see that there is no note saying to add from Table 2, then you should not click on 09 in the add table; you should go straight to Table 1, where you will find the add note that you need in the record for T1—093-T1—099 Specific continents, countries, localities; extraterrestrial worlds: "Add to base number T1--09 notation T2—3-T2—9 from Table 2, e.g., the subject in North America T1—097, in Brazil T1—0981. . . ."  

What if you add notation 09 History, geographic treatment, biography from the add table, then go to T1—093-T1—099 Specific continents, countries, localities; extraterrestrial worlds and add again? You will get an extra, unwanted 09 in the middle of your number, e.g., 728.81090942 when what you wanted was 728.810942 for castles in England.

For a more detailed presentation of examples treating architecture of houses with green technology or castles in a specific area, see this earlier blog post.

What if you want to add notation that looks the same in the add table or in Table 1, e.g., notation 03 Dictionaries, encyclopedias, concordances from the add table under 721-729 Specific aspects of architecture or T1--03 Dictionaries, encyclopedias, concordances? The resulting number will look the same whether you add from the add table or from Table 1; but if you add from the add table, the MARC 765 field generated by the number building tool will misleadingly suggest that you have added something special from the add table. (You can see the 765 fields in built number records by clicking MARC at the top of the WebDewey screen.)

Additional resources

• Posts on using the number building tool with standard subdivisions (post 1, post 2, post 3)
• Post on using the number building tool in music (part 1; part 2 cited also above)
• Post on using the number building tool in literature
• Post on using the number building tool for works on natural resources
• Posts on using the number building tool for works in history (post 1, post 2)
• WebDewey training modules for the WebDewey number building tool

WebDewey Number Building and Two Add Tables in History

If you go to the span record 930-990 History of specific continents, countries, localities; extraterrestrial worlds and click Start, you can begin to build a number (as described in blog post "WebDewey Number Building Tool: History Numbers Built with Table 2 plus Notation for Historical Period").

However, if you go to the span record 940-990 History of specific continents, countries, localities in modern world; extraterrestrial worlds and click Start, you will get an error message: "This span can’t be used in number building."

Why the difference?  At 930-990 the add note specifies a base number:

"Add to base number 9 notation T2--3-T2--9 from Table 2, e.g., general history of Europe 940, of England 942, of Norfolk, England 942.61; then add further as follows:"

At 940-990 the add note does not specify a base number:

"Except for modifications shown under specific entries, add to each subdivision identified by ‡ as follows:"

Does that mean you really cannot use the add table under 940-990 to build numbers with the number building tool, as the error message might seem to say?  No, not at all.  But first you must find the base number that you need—a subdivision  identified by ‡ with the footnote add instruction: "‡Add as instructed under 940-990."

For example, let’s say you want to build a number for War and Nationalism: The Balkan Wars, 1912-1913, and Their Sociopolitical Implications. The first LCSH is Balkan Peninsula – History – War of 1912-1913.

Step 1. Browse the Relative Index (or search) for "Balkan Wars" or "Balkan Peninsula" to find the base number that you need, with the footnote add instruction:

949.6039 ‡Balkan Wars, 1912-1913

‡Add as instructed under 940-990

Step 2. Click Start in the record for 949.6039. The base number 949.6039 appears in the title bar of the Create built number box. The base number, its caption, and the footnote add instruction appear inside the Create built number box:

Step 3. The number building tool takes us to the full record for 940-990 History of specific continents, countries, localities in modern world; extraterrestrial worlds.  The add table is displayed in the Notes box.  In the Notes box click on add table notation 1. The Hierarchy box shows that you have selected 940-990:1 Social, political, economic history:

The notes for that entry are displayed in the Notes box:

Step 4. In the Create built number box, click Add. In the title bar of the Create built number box, the number has changed to: 949.60391. The add table notation and its caption appear inside the Create built number box:

The number building tool gives the option to add notation from Table 1, but that is not needed for this example.  The built number is complete. 

Step 5. In the Create built number box, click Save.  The newly built number appears in the Hierarchy box:

We have an opportunity to change the user term and add other user terms to the built number.  A summary of the pieces used to build the number remains with the record:

Key to success: at the beginning, get both the base number and the add note inside the Create built number box.

Additional resources

• Posts on using the number building tool with standard subdivisions (post 1, post 2, post 3, post 4)
• Posts on using the number building tool in music (part 1, part 2)
• Post on using the number building tool in literature
• Post on using the number building tool for works on natural resources
• WebDewey training modules for the WebDewey number building tool

WebDewey Number Building Tool: History Numbers Built with Table 2 plus Notation for Historical Period

Are you having problems using the WebDewey number building tool for history numbers built with Table 2 Geographic Areas notation plus notation for historical period? If yes, let’s try building numbers for two similar works.

First example. Let’s start by building a number for London in the Victorian period: Victorian London: The Life of a City, 1840-1870. The first LCSH is "London (England)—History—19th century."

Step 1. Go to 930-990 History of specific continents, countries, localities; extraterrestrial world to find the add notes that you need. Click Start to get the initial add note displayed in the Create built number box:

As the add note indicates, the base number for the history number is 9, and 9 appears in the title bar of the Create built number box.

Step 2. Find the Table 2 notation for London (England): T2—421 Greater London. With that full record displayed, click Add in the Create built number box. The Table 2 notation appears in the Create built number box, and the title bar shows that the number built so far is 942.1:

The number building tool takes us back to 930-990.

Step 3. In the add table at 930-990 History of specific continents, countries, localities; extraterrestrial worlds, click 01-09 Historical periods. That displays the full record for 930-990:01-09 Historical periods, with its Notes box:

Click Add to get the add note displayed in the Create built number box:

 

As the title bar shows, the number built thus far is 942.10.

Step 4. Find the record that has these Relative Index entries:

England—19th century
England—1837-1901
Victoria, Queen of Great Britain—English history

One easy approach is to browse for "England" in the Relative Index. What we find is a number marked with an orange puzzle piece to signal that it is a built number (942.081):

For best results, we should not use that built number to build our new number. Records for built numbers do not have add notes. Records for spans that are not centered entries commonly do have add notes.  We look up in the hierarchy to find the record with the add note used to build 942.081: 942.06-942.08 House of Stuart and Commonwealth periods to present, 1603- .  Click to display that record. Then click Add to get the add note displayed in the Create built number box:

Step 5. Find the record that has these Relative Index entries:

Great Britain—19th century
Great Britain—1837-1901
Victoria, Queen of Great Britain—British history

The number for Queen Victoria in British history (941.081 Reign of Victoria, 1837-1901) is not marked as a built number. Click Add to get that number displayed in the Create built number box:

Step 6. Click Save. The newly built number will be displayed in the Hierarchy box:

We have an opportunity to change the user term and add other user terms to the built number.  A summary of the pieces used to build the number remains with the record:

Second example. Now let’s try a book that is similar: Elizabeth's London: Everyday Life in Elizabethan London. For this work, the subject headings are as follows:

Elizabeth I, Queen of England, 1533-1603—Homes and haunts—England—London
London (England)—Social life and customs—16th century
London (England)—History—16th century

Even though the first heading gives emphasis to Queen Elizabeth, this work is similar to the other work in giving broad historical treatment to life in London during a specific historical period. The DDC number will be the same except for the different time period.

Steps 1-3 are the same as for the first example. Before we start on step 4, the Create built number box looks like this:

Step 4. Find the record that has these Relative Index entries:

Armada, 1588
Elizabeth I, Queen of England—English history
England—1558-1603
Spanish Armada, 1588

What we find is a number not marked with an orange puzzle piece (942.055 Reign of Elizabeth I, 1558-1603):

Click Add to get 942.055 displayed in the Create built number box:

Step 6. Click Save. The newly built number, 942.1055, will be displayed in the Hierarchy box:

We have an opportunity to change the user term and add other user terms to the built number.

Unfortunately, although the number 942.1055 was correctly built, the summary that remains with the record is incorrect. Somehow, between creating the user term that serves as a caption and creating the summary, the number building tool forgets where the "055" came from:

The MARC 765 fields associated with that summary are correspondingly incorrect. This problem occurs whenever there are no local add instructions involved in building a number; that is, the key difference between the results of the first example and the second example is the add note at 942.06-942.08—the add note that we made sure was displayed in the Create built number box.

The good news is that until we are able to fix this problem, you can still use the number building tool to create correct history numbers and give them good user terms.

Additional resources
• Posts on using the number building tool with standard subdivisions (post 1, post 2, post 3, post 4)
• Posts on using the number building tool in music (part 1, part 2)
• Post on using the number building tool in literature
• Post on using the number building tool for works on natural resources
• WebDewey training modules for the WebDewey number building tool
Note: The general approach to building numbers described in posts about a specific discipline can be applied in other disciplines.

WebDewey Number Building Tool: Standard Subdivisions and Three-Digit Numbers Ending with Zero: Part 2

Note: See also the post on using the number building tool with three-digit numbers ending with zero, part 1, and additional resources listed at the end of this post.

Are you having problems using the WebDewey number building tool to add standard subdivisions to three-digit numbers ending in zero when extra zeros are required for standard subdivisions?  If yes, let’s build a number for a work on preparing for an examination in building construction, e.g., Building Contractor's Exam Preparation Guide: Based on the Latest Building Codes. Its first LCSH is "Building—Examinations, questions, etc."  Browsing the Relative Index for "Building" yields:

Building—technology 690

If we click to see the full record, we get this Hierarchy box:

We can see from these entries in the downward hierarchy that an extra zero is required for standard subdivisions:

690.01 Philosophy and theory
 
690.02 Miscellany
 
690.03-690.09 Standard subdivisions

However, we need to start building the number just as if no extra zero were required, because the number building tool has learned to supply the extra zero when the need for an extra zero is shown as above in the number column.  What the number building tool has not learned is to drop the placeholder zero when adding a standard subdivision to a division number. A division number has two significant digits plus one placeholder zero, e.g., 690. One step up in the Hierarchy box is an entry with the placeholder zero greyed out:

690 Construction of buildings

If we click to see the full record, we get this Hierarchy box:

In addition to the Hierarchy box, the full record has a Create built number box with the base number that we want: 69 without the placeholder zero:

If we click Start in that box, we get:

Now the Hierarchy box shows standard subdivisions:

We expect to use a subdivision of T1—07 Education, research, related topics; thus we click on that entry in the Hierarchy box and get this new Hierarchy box with the focus on T1—07 Education, research, related topics:

In the Hierarchy box we click on T1—076 Review and exercise to see the full record and get this new Hierarchy box with the focus on T1—076 Review and exercise:

In the Notes box for T1—076 Review and exercise is an including note that begins: "Including workbooks with problems, questions, answers. . . ." Alternatively, we could have found this same number by browsing the Relative Index, e.g., for "Examinations" or "Questions":

Examinations (Educational tests) T1—076
. . . .
Questions and answers—study and teaching T1—076

T1—076 looks like the right standard subdivision for our work. In the Create built number box, we click Add and get this result:

The number has been built correctly with the one extra zero that is needed. If we click Save, the newly built number appears in the Hierarchy box:

We now have an opportunity to change the user term and add other user terms—but enough for now!  We have successfully built the number.

The key to success is to find the record with the placeholder zero greyed out, and click Start in that record.

Note: This approach does not work for 940-990, where the instructions in the 930-990 add table must be followed; we'll look at that more complicated situation in a later blog post.

Additional resources  
•    Posts on using the number building tool with standard subdivisions (post 1, post 2)
•    Posts on using the number building tool in music (part 1, part 2)
•    Post on using the number building tool in literature
•    Post on using the number building tool for works on natural resources
•    WebDewey training modules for the WebDewey number building tool
Note: The general approach to building numbers described in posts about a specific discipline can be applied in other disciplines.

 

WebDewey Number Building Tool: Standard Subdivisions and Three-Digit Numbers Ending with Zero: Part 1

Note: See also previous posts (1 and 2) on using the number building tool with standard subdivisions. See also posts 1 and 2 on using the number building tool in music, and posts on using the number building tool in literature and in natural resources. The general approach to building numbers described in those posts can be applied in any discipline. See also the WebDewey training modules for the WebDewey number building tool.

Are you having problems using the WebDewey number building tool to add standard subdivisions to three-digit numbers ending in zero?  If so, let’s start with the simplest case: a division number where no extra zeros are needed with standard subdivisions. (We’ll look at more complicated situations in subsequent blog posts.) Division numbers have two significant digits plus one placeholder zero, e.g., 550 Earth sciences.  Classifiers are taught to drop the placeholder zero when adding a standard subdivision to a division number.  We plan to teach the number building tool to drop that placeholder zero, but that has not happened yet. In the meanwhile, here are instructions on how to overcome the problem.

Let’s consider an encyclopedia of earth sciences, e.g.: Macmillan Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences.  Its first LCSH is "Earth sciences – Encyclopedias."

Browsing the Relative Index for "earth sciences" yields:

Earth sciences    550   

If we click to see the full record, we get this Hierarchy box:

The focus is 550 Earth sciences, with downward hierarchy showing some numbers built with standard subdivisions, all with one zero.  There is no indication that extra zeros are needed.  One step up in the hierarchy is an entry with the placeholder zero greyed out (550) and the heading edited for browsing purposes as found in the DDC Summaries:

550 Earth sciences & geology  

If we click to see the full record, we get this Hierarchy box:

In addition to the Hierarchy box, the full record has a Create Built Number box with the base number that we want: 55 without the placeholder zero:


 

If we click Start in that box, we get:



          

Now the Hierarchy box shows standard subdivisions:

 


In the Hierarchy box we click T1—03 Dictionaries, encyclopedias, concordances and get this Hierarchy box:


 

If we now click Add in the Create Built Number box, we get:


 

We have now built the number with the correct number of zeros.  If we click Save, the newly built number appears in the Hierarchy box:


 

We now have an opportunity to change the user term and add other user terms—but enough for now!  We have successfully built the number.

The key to success is to find the record with the placeholder zero greyed out, and click Start in that record.

Note: The WebDewey number building tool may be confused by bracketed standard subdivisions. For example, if there are bracketed entries indicating that standard subdivisions have been relocated from a double zero to a single zero (e.g., at 380 or 730), you will need to use Edit local to get the single zero.