Books and other resources are divided into two main categories; fiction and non-fiction.

Non-fiction

Manukau Libraries uses the Dewey Decimal System to organise our non-fiction items (eg. books, videos, cd-roms):

• The Dewey Decimal System gives each non-fiction item a number according to its subject
• The number of an item can be found on its spine, and this is used to determine its location on the shelf.

The main sections of the Dewey Decimal System are:

000-99 General Reference: atlases, dictionaries, encyclopedias.

100-199 Philosophy: how people think and feel.

200-299 Religion: peoples' faiths and beliefs from the beginning of time to the present day.

300-399 Social Sciences: how people of the world live, learn and work; their customs and legends.

400-499 Language: languages of the world.

500-599 Science: earth's animals, oceans and sky; our planet; the universe; mathematics.

600-699 Technology: how people, animals and machines move, work and help us.

700-799 Arts and Recreation: arts and crafts, painting, music, dancing, photography, hobbies, games and sports.

800-899 Literature: stories, poems, plays.

900-999 History and Geography: history, famous people, travel.

Fiction

• Fiction items (eg books, videos, cd-roms) are usually organised by the first three letters of the author's last name.
• The letters can be found on the spine label of the item, and are used to determine its location on the shelf.
• For example, for books by J.K. Rowling, look on the shelves for the 'R' section, and then look alphabetically for 'ROW'.

Adapted from Bennett, Jean. The information book. (Ashton Scholastic : Auckland, New Zealand), 1993. pp 26-28.

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