Universal Decimal Classification

A bibliographic classification system that organizes knowledge by subject using decimal notation. Its notation combines and relates numbers to represent compound topics.

UDC Main Tables: The schedules of Universal Decimal Classification numbers for major subject areas and their subdivisions. They provide the core subject numbers that form a UDC classification.
Paul Otlet: A Belgian lawyer and bibliographer who helped create the Universal Decimal Classification and the Mundaneum. Otlet led the project to expand Dewey’s scheme into a more expressive universal system.
Bibliographic classification: The assignment of subjects to documents through structured schemes designed for bibliographic organization and retrieval. UDC is a prominent scheme within this broader approach to organizing documents.
Library of Congress Classification: A library classification system that organizes materials into broad classes identified by letters and further subdivisions. It offers a major alternative to UDC’s decimal notation in large research libraries.
UDC Auxiliary Tables: Schedules of reusable signs and symbols that add common or subject-specific details to UDC numbers. They let a classifier add facets such as place, time, language, and form.
Henri La Fontaine: A Belgian lawyer and pacifist who collaborated with Paul Otlet on international documentation projects. La Fontaine helped establish the institutional and intellectual setting for UDC.
Subject indexing: The process of representing a document’s subject with terms or codes to support information retrieval. UDC numbers can function as structured subject access points in catalogs and databases.
Colon Classification: A faceted library classification developed by S. R. Ranganathan that uses symbols, including the colon, to combine facets. It shares UDC’s capacity for synthesis but builds compound subjects through a different faceted structure.
UDC Notation: The numbers, punctuation marks, and symbols used to express subjects and relationships in Universal Decimal Classification. Its punctuation distinguishes simple subjects from linked or qualified topics.
Dewey Decimal Classification: A hierarchical library classification system that divides knowledge into ten main classes using decimal notation. UDC began as an adaptation of Dewey’s scheme and developed more elaborate synthesis.

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S. R. RanganathanCompared with: It offers a contrasting general-purpose system to Ranganathan’s Colon Classification.